Long Journey Nearing Completion for Bobcats All-Purpose Ace Martha Kuderer

BOZEMAN, Montana – Martha Kuderer's path to Montana State was anything but direct.

"It was definitely a lot of ups and downs, tough times, but I feel like it was all worth it," senior forward said before the final home weekend of her Bobcat career. MSU hosts Northern Arizona Saturday for at 2 pm for Senior Day before finishing the regular season with two road games before the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Boise, Idaho. "It went by really fast, it feels like I was just a senior in high school the other day."

Kuderer's journey may have seemed fast, but geographically it was lengthy. The Chanhassen, Minnesota, product began her college career at Seton Hall as a "heavily-recruited high school player," Bobcat coach Tricia Binford said. As a freshman in 2015-16 she played in 20 games for a Pirates team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. She scored 10 points in the 10 points in the team's first-round game against Duquesne, then shot 54 percent from the floor and 71 percent from the line. She scored 10 points twice in 2016-17, but she endured some turbulence.

"She had a year where she struggled at Seton Hall," Binford said, when she was limited her to 17 games. So when "her club coach reached out to us during the Big Sky Tournament (in 2017 on behalf of) her and Claire (Lundberg) and asked if we'd be interested." Also a Minnesotan, Lundberg and Kuderer both sought a change of scenery. Once Seton Hall granted their releases, "we had two scholarships open so we were very interested."

Kuderer and Lundberg transferred to Montana State and redshirted in 2017-18, and both contributed immediately last season. Kuderer averaged 10.0 points a game, third on the team, with 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.7 steals a game. In fact, that statistical summary explains her value to any team on which she plays. "She's the kid that at the end of every game you look (at the box score) and she's hit every category," Binford said. "She's probably one of the most consistent kids."

What drives Kuderer, though, isn't stats. It's something much more elemental. "I feel like we're tough competitors," she says of the group of five seniors that play their final games in Worthington Arena this weekend, along with the rest of her Bobcat mates. "We just want to win, we've played really tough, we've played together, and the main goal has been to go out with a bang for a lot of us because it's our final season."

That focus on the team result over individual success has led to an incredible 2019-20 season. The Bobcats notched the program's third 20-win season in the last five with Thursday's win over Sacramento State, and now stand 20-6 overall, 16-1 in Big Sky play. This is the sixth 20-win season in the history of Bobcat women's basketball, the 16 Big Sky wins is also an MSU record, and the current .941 winning percentage also trends as a program-best. In fact, one more victory gives MSU the most wins in league games by a Big Sky team (the conference began its current 20-game schedule in 2012-13).

"We've done some things here that haven't been done in a long time," she said, "and we're on our way to accomplishing some big goals. Looking back this will be one of the best seasons any (team) has ever had here, so that's something to be proud of."

Kuderer's ability to perform at a high level at the small forward position has played a key role in MSU's success. She is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.4 points a game, fifth in rebounding (4.4), and her ability to score inside and out has her third on the team in shooting (.469) and second in three-point shooting (.407). "When you look at the pieces of the puzzle the three spot is so important," Binford said. "That three's ability to get to the foul line and rebound, to keep (opponents) honest from three, Martha has that versatility. She can post up, she has all these moves off the bounce, but she's also consistent from three."

Relying on her versatility has come natural for Kuderer. "Mainly what I'm trying to do is play really hard on defense and rebound," she said. "On offense I crash the boards hard. If I have an open three I take it, or drive to the basket, just play aggressively and attack-minded is what I try to do."

Since transferring to MSU from Seton Hall, Binford said Kuderer has gradually grown into her role as a team leader and important cog in the roll to a Big Sky regular season title, which it clinched Saturday against Montana. "For her I think it was being able to be vulnerable again as far as opening up, trusting we are who we say we are, and that first year (as a redshirt) she was a little quieter because she wasn't competing. Once she got into the starting lineup (in 2018-19) she started to open up a little bit more. This year I feel like she's really broken out as far as the connection with the team and the fun that she's having and the joy that she's playing with. I think that's allowed her to step into her own leadership style."

While the path Kuderer has followed since her brilliant prep career – Minnesota to New Jersey to Montana – is rare, she'll take a more familiar one upon graduating from Montana State with a business degree. She plans to follow family tradition by attending law school. "It's a family history," she said. "My dad and my uncle have a law firm that I work at in the summer, and I've always been into it."

While admitting that one of her career highlights was standing on the Worthington Arena floor with her teammates and friends as confetti fell after the conference-clinching win against Montana – "That was a really cool experience, us five seniors walked out hand-in-hand, we got a standing ovation from the crowd and it was really special to be recognized by that many people," she said – what has mattered is the journey.

"I'm really happy to be here," Kuderer said of her time at Montana State, "and I'm sad that my time here is coming to an end."

#GoCatsGo

Schedule

Long Journey Nearing Completion for Bobcats All-Purpose Ace Martha Kuderer

Players Mentioned

Martha Kuderer

Footer

Upcoming Events