Saturday, November 27
San Luis Obispo, CA
3:30 p.m. (MT)
Montana State University
67
at
55
Cal Poly
Katelynn Limardo
Photo by: Garrett Becker
Cats Corral Mustangs
11/27/2021 8:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Katelynn Limardo hit three fourth quarter triples and Darian White went five-of-five at the line in the final 10-minutes to lift Montana State to a 67-55 win over Cal Poly on Saturday afternoon in the Holiday Beach Classic at the Mott Athletics Center.
Katelynn Limardo hit three fourth quarter triples and Darian White went five-of-five at the line in the final 10-minutes to lift Montana State to a 67-55 win over Cal Poly on Saturday afternoon in the Holiday Beach Classic at the Mott Athletics Center.
The Montana State (2-5) win snapped a five-game losing skid.
"I'm proud of the way we responded from our loss to North Texas," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. "We were engaged the entire time and we had a lot of different people give us the lift we needed."
Montana State jumped out to an early 13-8 lead on a White floater in the paint, but Cal Poly (1-3) answered with an 8-2 run to hold a 16-15 cushion after the opening 10-minutes.
The Mustangs took its largest lead of the contest with 5 minutes, 44 seconds left in the second quarter as Sarah Dumitrescu converted one of two free throw tosses. The Bobcats closed out the half on a 9-4 run capped by White's jumper in the lane at the buzzer to give MSU a 26-25 advantage at intermission.
"I felt we really gritted-out the second quarter when we were cold offensively," Binford said. "It was important to limit them to just nine points in the quarter."
Bobcat sophomore Leia Beattie nailed a three-pointer halfway into the third frame to give MSU a 35-30 lead. Taylor Janssen came off the bench to score four points in the span of 30-seconds to push Montana State's advantage to 42-36 at the 1:36 mark. A Lexi Deden offensive put back with 45-seconds left kept the margin at six, before Cal Poly closed to within 44-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
With 5 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the contest, Limardo hit her second triple of the period to give MSU a 52-44 lead. The Mustangs closed to within four points, but Limardo's final bucket from long distance gave the Bobcats a 63-53 cushion with 1:45 left to secure the victory.
"This win is a huge confidence booster for us heading into Big Sky Conference play," Binford said. "We found a way to win. In our last four games, we've held a lead, but it was great to finish out this game."
White, who scored 11 points in the first half, finished with a team-best 19 points, including a six-of-seven effort from the line. She also handed out six assists, pulled down five rebounds and had three steals. Limardo also reached double digits with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Kola Bad Bear, who posted a career-high 18 points against North Texas on Friday, recorded a career-high 10 rebounds against the Mustangs. Deden also led MSU under the glass with nine boards.
"Our post play made big strides this weekend," Binford said. "It was really nice to see Kola have a breakout performance and I thought Darian really did a nice job leading our team."
The game marked the end to six straight road games that saw MSU drop contests to mid-major powers Gonzaga and South Dakota State. The Bobcats now embark on a schedule that features six consecutive home games, beginning with its Big Sky opener against Northern Colorado on Thursday night.
The home line-up also includes games against Utah Valley, a 2020-21 NCAA participant, and BYU, who is currently ranked second in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major poll.
"Six straight road games were mentally, physically and emotionally challenging," Binford said. "Hopefully, that experience will be to our benefit as we move through the conference season.
"We're really looking forward to being back in front of our fans," Binford added. "It's going to be nice to be at home for the month of December."
The Montana State (2-5) win snapped a five-game losing skid.
"I'm proud of the way we responded from our loss to North Texas," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. "We were engaged the entire time and we had a lot of different people give us the lift we needed."
Montana State jumped out to an early 13-8 lead on a White floater in the paint, but Cal Poly (1-3) answered with an 8-2 run to hold a 16-15 cushion after the opening 10-minutes.
The Mustangs took its largest lead of the contest with 5 minutes, 44 seconds left in the second quarter as Sarah Dumitrescu converted one of two free throw tosses. The Bobcats closed out the half on a 9-4 run capped by White's jumper in the lane at the buzzer to give MSU a 26-25 advantage at intermission.
"I felt we really gritted-out the second quarter when we were cold offensively," Binford said. "It was important to limit them to just nine points in the quarter."
Bobcat sophomore Leia Beattie nailed a three-pointer halfway into the third frame to give MSU a 35-30 lead. Taylor Janssen came off the bench to score four points in the span of 30-seconds to push Montana State's advantage to 42-36 at the 1:36 mark. A Lexi Deden offensive put back with 45-seconds left kept the margin at six, before Cal Poly closed to within 44-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
With 5 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the contest, Limardo hit her second triple of the period to give MSU a 52-44 lead. The Mustangs closed to within four points, but Limardo's final bucket from long distance gave the Bobcats a 63-53 cushion with 1:45 left to secure the victory.
"This win is a huge confidence booster for us heading into Big Sky Conference play," Binford said. "We found a way to win. In our last four games, we've held a lead, but it was great to finish out this game."
White, who scored 11 points in the first half, finished with a team-best 19 points, including a six-of-seven effort from the line. She also handed out six assists, pulled down five rebounds and had three steals. Limardo also reached double digits with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Kola Bad Bear, who posted a career-high 18 points against North Texas on Friday, recorded a career-high 10 rebounds against the Mustangs. Deden also led MSU under the glass with nine boards.
"Our post play made big strides this weekend," Binford said. "It was really nice to see Kola have a breakout performance and I thought Darian really did a nice job leading our team."
The game marked the end to six straight road games that saw MSU drop contests to mid-major powers Gonzaga and South Dakota State. The Bobcats now embark on a schedule that features six consecutive home games, beginning with its Big Sky opener against Northern Colorado on Thursday night.
The home line-up also includes games against Utah Valley, a 2020-21 NCAA participant, and BYU, who is currently ranked second in the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major poll.
"Six straight road games were mentally, physically and emotionally challenging," Binford said. "Hopefully, that experience will be to our benefit as we move through the conference season.
"We're really looking forward to being back in front of our fans," Binford added. "It's going to be nice to be at home for the month of December."
Players Mentioned
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