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RENO, Nev. (March 8, 2016)- Montana State coach Tricia Binford has always been a builder.
She’s built the Bobcats into one of the Big Sky’s yearly contenders, with Montana State always figuring prominently in the conference’s top-half of the standings. Binford is in her 11th season in Bozeman, and is the program’s winningest and longest-tenured coach.
In her tenure, Montana State has been honored for classroom excellence and community service, but a regular-season Big Sky title eluded the Bobcats. That all changed this season, as Montana State earned the conference’s top-seed on the #RoadToReno, finishing the season with a 14-4 record.
For her efforts in leading the Bobcats to the top of the Big Sky Conference, Binford was honored Tuesday as the conference’s Coach of the Year, as voted on by her peers in the conference.
Excellence and Montana State have been synonymous in the 2015-16 season, as Binford is yet another Bobcat to earn an individual award. Senior forward Jasmine Hommes was the conference’s Most Valuable Player, besides being a unanimous first-team All-Big Sky selection. Additionally, Riley Nordgaard was named the Newcomer of the Year, and Peyton Ferris was named the conference’s Top Reserve.
The conference’s Coach of the Year is similar to the voting process for the all-conference awards, with coaches voting for the award. Coaches were not allowed to vote for themselves.
The top-seeded Bobcats will play ninth-seeded Idaho State at 12:05 p.m. on Wednesday in the 2016 Big Sky Women’s Basketball Championships. The game will be available on WatchBigSky.com.