Tricia Binford: Attack Minded Defense

The Coach

Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches Association

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When Tricia Binford took over the Montana State women’s basketball program in the spring of 2005, she inherited a program in search of stability and someone to guide the Bobcats back to the upper echelons of the Big Sky Conference.

Now, 15 years later, the former Boise State and WNBA standout is MSU’s longest tenured coach as well as its winningest in history with an unprecedented level of excellence on the court, in the classroom and within the community. Those three hallmarks make Bobcat basketball one of the most respected programs in the country.

For the past 13 seasons, Binford has not had a losing season, a stretch that ranks No. 1 in the annals of Bobcat women's basketball.  MSU averaged 2,322 fans during the 2018-19 campaign, ranking second in the Big Sky Conference and among the top 61 in all of NCAA Division I women's hoops. To say Binford has turned MSU, Worthington Arena and the greater Gallatin Valley into a hot-bed for the sport is an understatement. The Cats have won 54 of its last 62 games inside the friendly confines of the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, which includes Montana State's stretch of 31 consecutive home court wins (Dec. 2015 - Jan. 2018) that ranked second only to national power UConn at the time the streak was snapped.

This past winter, and for the 14th straight season, the Bobcats did not have a losing record in Big Sky action. The Bobcats finished with a Big Sky Conference record 19-1 league mark. No other women's basketball program in Big Sky history has ever won 19 conference games. For its efforts, MSU entered the 2020 Big Sky Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed.

Three years ago, Binford had her most prolific season as a head coach on the Bozeman campus. She guided the Bobcats to a school-record 25-7 record and her 15 Big Sky Conference victories were also the most in school history. In addition, Binford guided MSU to the 2016-17 Big Sky Regular-Season and Tournament titles and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 1993 campaign. Individually, she mentored senior Peyton Ferris, who received 2016-17 Preseason Big Sky MVP, Big Sky Regular-Season MVP and Big Sky Tournament MVP accolades.

On the court, Binford’s squads have been a part of four championship games, winning the Big Sky Tournament title in 2017, while its 2020 championship game appearance was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. MSU made 14 straight postseason appearances, including owning the No. 1 seed in 2016, 2017 and 2020. In the classroom, the Bobcats have been ranked among the top 12 academic teams in the nation at the NCAA Division I level in five of the last eleven years. And, within the community, the women’s program has consistently given back its time.

Not too many programs in the nation can boast a trifecta such as the likes in which Binford and staff have put together at Montana State.

Binford has notched 253 career victories at Montana State, which ranks first on MSU’s all-time women’s basketball coaching ladder and fourth in Big Sky history.

In her 15 years in the Gallatin Valley, Binford has produced a whopping 104 Big Sky Conference All-Academic honorees; 32 Big Sky Conference Players of the Week; 28 All-Big Sky Conference performers; one Two-Time Academic All-America; five CoSIDA Academic All District VII recipients; three Big Sky MVPs - Fallyn Freije, Peyton Ferris and Jasmine Hommes; two Big Sky Conference Defensive Players of the Year; three Big Sky Newcomers of the Year; two Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year; three Big Sky Top Reserves of the Year; one All-America Honorable Mention in Katie Bussey in 2012; and five MSU/Big Sky Conference Female Scholar Athletes of the Year.

Binford became the 11th Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Montana State on April 13, 2005. Prior to MSU, Binford, served two seasons at Utah State. At USU, Binford earned her coaching wings under head coach Raegan Scott-Pebley. The duo helped reestablish the Aggie program following a 16-year hiatus. With the Aggies, Binford was responsible for recruiting, defense, and guard play.

Binford also served as an assistant coach at her alma mater - Boise State University - from 1999-2001.

Binford was the 31st overall pick in the 1998 WNBA draft, and played professionally with the Cleveland Rockers from 1999-02, where she participated on the 2001 Eastern Conference Championship team. She played with the Utah Starzz from 1998-99.

She also played professionally in Australia for two years, including stints with the NWBL’s Brisbane Blazers, Latrobe Demons and Launceston Tornadoes.

Playing in the NWBL in 1997, she set a single-game scoring record with 67 points - which was part of a quadruple-double along with 14 assists, ten steals and ten rebounds.

As Tricia Bader, she was a three-time All-Big Sky Conference selection on some of the best teams in Boise State history. She led the Broncos to a national ranking and the NCAA tournament.

Binford was also a member of the 1993 West Team at the U.S. Olympic Festival coached by current Connecticut head man Geno Auriemma.

For her efforts, she was named the 1996 Idaho NCAA Woman of the Year and was inducted in the Boise State Hall of Fame in 2001.

Binford left Boise State with the school’s career assists record and was second in steals. She posted a career 1,171 points — all from the point guard position.

Binford prepped at Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale, Colo., where she was the Colorado Player of the Year and a Street and Smith’s High School All-American in 1991.

She received her degree in criminal justice from Boise State in 1995