Montana St. Gets Past Gonzaga

Women’s basketball

Angel Nickelson gave Montana State a 69-67 non-league women’s basketball win over Gonzaga University Tuesday night in Bozeman with a layup with 3 seconds left in the game.

The Bulldogs (4-5) were able to get off a final shot before the buzzer, but the long effort missed the mark.

With the score tied at 67, Montana State had the ball in the final seconds. The Bobcats inbounded with 5 seconds left, worked a back pick and Nickelson was free to hit the winner.

Although Gonzaga’s Ivy Safranski fouled out in the second half, she finished with a game-high 26 points.

Montana State (4-6) dominated the boards, outrebounding the Bulldogs 52-37, and also had a wide margin from the free-throw line, sinking 18 of 31 to GU’s 8 of 15 from the line.

The Bulldogs play at Montana tonight at 6:30.

Resa Watterson of Eastern Washington shares Player of the Week honors in Big Sky Conference women’s basketball with Montana’s Sherri Brooks.

Watterson, a junior guard, was named tournament most valuable player after leading the Eagles to the championship of the BYU Holiday Classic. She had 39 points in victories over Howard and BYU and added six rebounds, six assists and six steals in the two games.

Brooks, also a junior guard, was selected most valuable player in the Western States showdown hosted by her school. Brooks scored 57 points in four Montana games during the holidays.