MSU 86 UM-Western 46

Good start for the 'Cats on Saturday night. I don't care who the competition is, winning by 40 is a good win. Some highlights:

-Katie Bussey is good. She put up 17 including 3 long balls. But what I was more impressed with was her ball handling ability and willingness to head right into the teeth of the defense.

-Erica Perry took it easy on the Bulldogs, but she still had a good night. Four steals, 4 assists and 6 rebounds to go along with her 10 points. At one point in the first half she forced three consecutive turnovers, not allowing the Bulldogs to get the ball across halfcourt. After UMW's point guard got the ball stolen two possessions in a row, they gave it to one of their forwards who was a decent ball handler to bring it up. Erica trapped her along the sideline with another Cat (I believe it was Nubia Garcia) and forced the third turnover. If Erica isn't the Defensive MVP of the Big Sky this year, then things could get ugly.(Yes that is a threat).

-The Cats' are deep. Everyone on the active roster scored at least 4 points and all looked fairly comfortable working within Coach Binford's system. It is clear that they have bought in to the high intensity game built on quickness and tough defense that she likes to run. There wasn't much of a drop off when the bench was in the game. Anne Phippard provided some great spark and got communication rolling. Rachel Pauli looked good in her debut, she's got a nice shot and uses her height well in defending and rebounding. There were too many bench highlights to mention.

-The defense looked good. After giving up 91 to the scout team, I was worried about the defense and the focus on that end of the floor. The Cats forced 28 turnovers and kept the Bulldogs below 50 points. While some of that can be attributed to the fact the UMW roster featured 5 transfers that were still trying to figure out the offense, it was clear all night that the Cats had them on their heels and kept them sufficiently flustered all night long. It will be interesting to see how the Cat defense performs when the athleticism of the opponent it similar to their own.

Great game on Friday night at Utah Valley University. The game between MSU and UVU last year in Bozeman may have been the biggest win of the non-conference portion of the season. UVU was undefeated and receiving votes in the national polls when MSU blasted them in the Fieldhouse. The Wolverines will want some revenge and the McKay Center is a tough place to play. This game will be a great test early in the year. However, UVU got kicked around in their exhibition opener to DII Fort Lewis. 82 to 53!!! I haven't tried to figure out why yet, but it is a real head scratcher because they have a good portion of last year's roster back.

To get you ready for the big weekend of hoops, here is that highlight montage that I promised: