Tricia
Bader (1991-1996) is one of the top players in Bronco women’s basketball
history. She came to
Boise
as the Colorado Player of the Year
and a Street and Smith’s High School All-American.
You will find her name scattered throughout the
Boise State
records section.
Bader
holds the career assists record (451), the single-season record for assists (139
in 1993-94. She also ranks second
in season assists with 127 in 1992-1993 and is eighth with 106 assists her
senior year. Bader ranks third in
career assists average with 3.9 per game
In
addition to her ability to spot an open teammate with uncanny skill, she could
score from anywhere on the court. Bader
is sixth in career points with 1,171, sixth in free throws with 277, fifth with
408 free throw attempts, eighth in field goals with 411, 11th with 72
three-pointers and eighth with 269 3-point attempts. She is also tied for second all-time with 86 steals in 1993-94, second in
career steals with 271, third in career steals per game with 2.4 and fifth in
games played with 115.
Tricia
was a three-time All-Big Sky Conference member and a four-time Big Sky
All-Academic selection. Bader helped
Boise State to a 76-36 record with two Big Sky regular season championships
(1992 and 1994) and Boise State’s first national ranking, first women’s
sellout in the Pavilion of over 11,000 fans and first appearance in the NCAA
Women’s National Basketball Tournament in 1994 as an at-large selection. She was a member of the 1993 West Team at the U.S. Olympic Festival.
Where
is Tricia Bader now?
Following her great Bronco career,
Bader played professional basketball in
Australia
for two years with the Latrobe
Demons in the North West Basketball Union. 12
years later, she still holds the league scoring record with 67 points in a 1997
game for Latrobe in which she had a quadruple double (67 points, 14 assists, 10
steals and 10 rebounds). The
Women’s National Basketball Association was getting underway and Bader was
drafted in the fourth round (31st pick overall) in the 1998 WNBA
Draft by the Utah Starzz. She played
one full season with
Utah
but when she was waived in July of
1999 she signed with the Cleveland Rockers.
Bader played four years with
Cleveland
including the 2001 Eastern
Conference Championship team, but her best WNBA success came in her rookie
season with
Utah
(1998) when she averaged 2.1 points
with 20 assists, 13 steals and 10 rebounds.
For her career, Bader averaged 1.3 points with 79 assists, 53 rebounds
and 47 steals. Bader was elected to
the Boise State Hall of Fame in 2001.
Bader was hired as an assistant
women’s coach at
Boise
State
from 1999-2001 and it was there that
she met her husband Todd Binford. The
couple was married in 2002 and Tricia Binford was hired as an assistant at
Utah
under Raegan Scott-Pebley. Now
known as Tricia Binford having married her husband Todd, she became the 11th
head women’s basketball coach at
Montana
State
in 2005.
Binford
just completed her fourth season at
Montana
State
. Binford has led the Bobcats from the depths of college basketball (3-22 in
2005-6) back to prominence in the Big Sky Conference with her up-tempo offense.
Montana
State
finished 2007-8 with an 18-13 overall and 11-5 Big Sky record Binford’s Bobcats upset
Idaho
State
in the Big Sky Tournament semifinals to reach the conference championship game
for the first time since 2003. Last
season, MSU was ranked 13th in the nation in scoring, averaging a league best
74.1 points per game.
Binford
has produced a basketball video called “Sweet Sixteen Shooting”.
She and Todd have a son, Justin, born
April 3, 2004
and a daughter,
Brooklyn
, born
August 4, 2008
What
impression has she made?
“Tricia
Binford has clearly articulated her vision to help student-
athletes
be successful college graduates. She has been a
valuable
addition to the
Montana
State
University
team.”
— Dr. Geoffrey Gamble,
President,
Montana
State
University
“In
all my years of coaching, I’ve never had a player work harder
and
raise the value of a team more than Tricia Binford did from
her
position. She embodies all the right things about collegiate
athletics.
She knows how to message players about working effectively,
being
good student-athletes and how to go about reaching their full
potential.”
— Dan Hughes, Head Coach,
WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars
“
Montana
State
has a
great one. It’s exciting to see a former Big
Sky
Conference great back to the league and coaching. Tricia
Binford
is a dynamic person and a real pistol. She is a competitor,
and
her being at
Montana
State
is a great
situation for everyone.
I’ve
known her since she was 17 years-old. Tricia comes
from
a great background and family. She is bright, intelligent,
passionate
and never backs down from anything.”
— June Daugherty, Head Coach,
Washington
State
University
Sounds
like the Tricia we all know and love. Congratulations
on your great accomplishments in life Tricia and best wishes for continued
success!
|