The Big Sky tournament field is set
Big Sky Women's Basketball Notes - March 8th
T. William Gooch
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Up Next: The Big Sky women’s basketball tournament will begin March 11th at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. No. 3 Sacramento State will face no. 6 Montana State at 3:30 p.m. PST. In the other first round game no. 4 Idaho State will faceoff against no. 5 Portland State at 6:00 p.m. PST. No. 1 Eastern Washington and no. 2 Montana receive a bye in the first round. The Eagles will get the lowest remaining seed in the second round, while Montana will receive the highest remaining seed.
Fighting for Seeds in the Tournament: Portland State had a chance at receiving a no. 2 seed with a win Saturday afternoon against Eastern Washington. The Eagles were able to hold of the upset minded Vikings in a 78-68 victory. Montana topped Northern Colorado 63-60 Saturday and in the processes moved 10-6 in the conference. Sacramento State was the last tournament team to play and the Hornets collected a 75-61 win over Weber State. The wins by the Hornets and the Lady Griz created a three-way tie for second between Idaho State, Sacramento State, and Montana. The Lady Griz received the no. 2 seed because they swept the Bengals and split with the Hornets. Sacramento State split with both Montana and Idaho State, delivering the No. 3 seed to Hornets and the Bengals stand at no. 4. Portland State fell all the way to the no. 5, while Montana State received the no. 6 even with a win over Northern Arizona in earlier action. The Vikings win the tiebreak between the two because the Bobcats were swept by Eastern Washington. Montana State and Portland State split in their season series, therefore forcing the tiebreak to be determined by their records against the Eagles.
Faucher Extends Her Lead: Portland State’s Claire Faucher became the Big Sky’s all-time career assist leader earlier this season and with each game improves on her mark. This weekend she posted 11 assists, pushing her total to 802.
Single Season Records: Sacramento State’s Charday Hunt has made 173 free-throws this season. Her single season total is tied for 7th best in conference history, while her 220 attempts are also ranked 6th. Weber State point guard Tonya Schnibbe has tallied 191 assists this season, it is 8th best single season total in Big Sky history.
Chasing All-Time Records: Weber State’s Tonya Schnibbe moves to 6th place on Big Sky all-time assist list with 574 for her career. Montana State’s Erica Perry is currently ranked 2nd on the conference’s all-time steals list with 281. She has improved from 11th place at the beginning of the season. Former Bobcat Liz Holz holds the current record with 340. Portland State’s Faucher is on Perry’s heels as she stands at 5th in the category with 266.