Thursday, November 23
Cancun, Mexico
7 p.m. (MT)
Montana State University
3-2,0-0Big Sky
75
vs
57
New Mexico
4-1,0-0Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Montana St.
20
16
17
22
75
New Mexico
23
8
8
18
57
Issy Bunyan
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
Deden’s Double-Double Lifts Bobcats to Second Win over Mountain West Opponent
11/24/2023 12:20:00 AM | Women's Basketball
“We came out a little tight and let their three-point shooter get away from us,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “But then we showed a lot of hustle, grit and fight and played very unselfishly. I thought we moved the ball well, and that showed with our 23 assists.”
Montana State senior Lexi Deden posted 23 points and 14 rebounds to lift the Bobcats to its second win over a Mountain West Conference opponent this season as MSU defeated New Mexico 75-57 on Thursday night at the Hard Rock Hotel Riveria Maya Convention Center as part of the Cancun Challenge.
Montana State (3-2) handed New Mexico (4-1) its first loss of the season behind 51.8% shooting and limiting the Lobos to just eight points in both the second and third quarters. The Bobcats held a 36-31 advantage at intermission, despite trailing by as much as 10-points in the opening quarter.
"We came out a little tight and let their three-point shooter get away from us," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. "But then we showed a lot of hustle, grit and fight and played very unselfishly. I thought we moved the ball well, and that showed with our 23 assists."
Deden, a product of Missoula Sentinel, opened the second half with eight consecutive points, as the Bobcats stormed to a 44-31 advantage. "Lexi was phenomenal," Binford said. "We did a great job recognizing the hot-hand and getting her the ball."
Katelynn Limardo's three-pointer with 31-seconds remaining in the third period gave MSU its largest lead at 53-39 heading into the final 10-minutes.
New Mexico whittled the Montana State lead down to seven points with four-minutes, 33-seconds left, but following a Lobo timeout, the Bobcats rattled off an 11-0 run to put the game away.
"This was our first complete game," Binford said. "We've had some good quarters and bad quarters, but I thought we played well throughout the course of the entire game. New Mexico is a very good team, and they play a lot like Arizona State, so we were prepared.
"It was also nice to see us put our foot on the gas down the stretch," Binford added. "We kept it simple and did a great job moving the ball around. We had a lot of impact players, and our bench was great. It's exciting to see this team come together."
Also in double-figures for MSU were Issy Bunyan 14, and Limardo and Marah Dykstra with ten apiece. Bunyan, a freshman from Wales, finished connecting on six-of-nine from the field. Dykstra filled the stat sheet adding eight rebounds and a career-high seven assists, while Limardo connected on three triples and added eight rebounds.
Montana State plays James Madison on Friday night at 7 p.m. (MT)
Montana State (3-2) handed New Mexico (4-1) its first loss of the season behind 51.8% shooting and limiting the Lobos to just eight points in both the second and third quarters. The Bobcats held a 36-31 advantage at intermission, despite trailing by as much as 10-points in the opening quarter.
"We came out a little tight and let their three-point shooter get away from us," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. "But then we showed a lot of hustle, grit and fight and played very unselfishly. I thought we moved the ball well, and that showed with our 23 assists."
Deden, a product of Missoula Sentinel, opened the second half with eight consecutive points, as the Bobcats stormed to a 44-31 advantage. "Lexi was phenomenal," Binford said. "We did a great job recognizing the hot-hand and getting her the ball."
Katelynn Limardo's three-pointer with 31-seconds remaining in the third period gave MSU its largest lead at 53-39 heading into the final 10-minutes.
New Mexico whittled the Montana State lead down to seven points with four-minutes, 33-seconds left, but following a Lobo timeout, the Bobcats rattled off an 11-0 run to put the game away.
"This was our first complete game," Binford said. "We've had some good quarters and bad quarters, but I thought we played well throughout the course of the entire game. New Mexico is a very good team, and they play a lot like Arizona State, so we were prepared.
"It was also nice to see us put our foot on the gas down the stretch," Binford added. "We kept it simple and did a great job moving the ball around. We had a lot of impact players, and our bench was great. It's exciting to see this team come together."
Also in double-figures for MSU were Issy Bunyan 14, and Limardo and Marah Dykstra with ten apiece. Bunyan, a freshman from Wales, finished connecting on six-of-nine from the field. Dykstra filled the stat sheet adding eight rebounds and a career-high seven assists, while Limardo connected on three triples and added eight rebounds.
Montana State plays James Madison on Friday night at 7 p.m. (MT)
Team Stats
MSU
UNM
FG%
.518
.333
3FG%
.333
.313
FT%
.786
.455
RB
36
32
TO
17
18
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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