Montana State is the No. 3 seed and Montana the No. 6 in the Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament, which will be held March 8-12 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho. The Big Sky released the seeds, bracket and schedule for the tournament on Friday.
The Bobcats won the 2019-20 Big Sky Conference regular-season title and were scheduled to play in the tournament championship until the coronavirus pandemic canceled the tournament. MSU finished the 2020-21 regular season with a 16-6 overall record and 13-3 mark in Big Sky play. The Cats will begin their 2021 Big Sky tournament on at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 9 with a quarterfinal game against either Montana or Sacramento State.
The sixth-seeded Lady Griz (12-10 overall, 9-8 Big Sky) play the No. 11-seeded Hornets (2-21, 2-18) in a first-round game on Monday, March 8. UM and Sac State are scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. in the final game of the first-day action.
Idaho State (19-3, 15-2) is the No. 1 seed for the tournament after winning the regular-season conference title. Idaho (15-6, 14-3) is the No. 2 seed. Like Montana State, both the Bengals and Vandals receive first-round byes at the tournament and will play quarterfinal games on March 9.
The two semifinal games are scheduled for 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 10. The women take Thursday off and then play their championship game on Friday, March 12 at noon.
The full Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament schedule is below. Click here to view the bracket.
The Big Sky has announced a limited number of fans will be allowed to attend each game of the men's and women's tournaments. Tickets for the tournament will be distributed by the 11 Big Sky institutions and cannot be purchased from the arena or the conference office.
A ticket will admit a spectator to watch only the game in which their team is competing, as this year there will not be sessions with multiple contests. The arena will be cleared after every game to allow for thorough cleaning, disinfecting, and other safety measures before fans are admitted for the next contest. All attendees must wear face coverings and physically distance from others, and seating options will be designated in blocks of no more than four with each team’s fans assigned to specific sections.
Concessions will not be available during the tournament, but each attendee will be allowed to bring in an unopened bottle of water. No other outside food or drink will be permitted, and only small clear bags will be allowed for entry. Fans will not be able to reenter after they exit the arena.
Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament
Monday, March 8, first round
Game 1: No. 9 Eastern Washington vs. No. 8 Portland State, 2 p.m.
Game 2: No. 10 Weber State vs. No. 7 Northern Arizona, 5 p.m.
Game 3: No. 11 Sacramento State vs. No. 6 Montana, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, March 9, quarterfinals
Game 4: No. 1 Idaho State vs. Game 1 Winner, 11 a.m.
Game 5: No. 5 Southern Utah vs. No. 4 Northern Colorado, 2 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Idaho vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m.
Game 7: No. 3 Montana State vs. Game 3 Winner, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, March 10, semifinals
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 6 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 9 p.m.
Friday, March 12, championship
Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner, noon
