Friday, December 29
BOZEMAN
7 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
Idaho State
Marah Dykstra (32)
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
Bobcats Host Idaho State in Big Sky Opener Friday Night
12/28/2023 5:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Montana State plays games three and four of its current five-game home stand when it hosts Idaho State, Friday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m., and Weber State, Sunday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m., in Worthington Arena.
NEXT UP: Montana State plays games three and four of its current five-game home stand when it hosts Idaho State, Friday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m., and Weber State, Sunday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m., in Worthington Arena.
BIG SKY OPENER: Since the inception of women's basketball in the Big Sky Conference during the 1988-89 season the Bobcats are 20-15 in league openers, while Tricia Binford is 9-9 all-time. MSU had a streak of seven consecutive Big Sky opening wins snapped in a 72-53 setback against Idaho in Moscow, last season. MSU's last Big Sky opening victory was a 63-57 decision over Northern Colorado on Dec. 2, 2021, in Bozeman.
BSC POW: Senior Katelynn Limardo is this week's Big Sky Conference Player of the Week after scoring a career-high 25 points in Montana State's win over North Texas on Dec. 21.
THE SCOUTING REPORT: Idaho State is 4-5 overall, posting victories over Park University, UC Santa Barbara, Air Force, and Utah Valley. The Bengals suffered a 79-76 overtime setback at BYU in its last game before the Christmas break. In its loss at BYU, the Bengals were led by Tasia Jordan, a 5-8 junior guard from Melrose Park, Ill., who tossed in 22 points connecting on nine-of-15 from the field. On the season, ISU has been paced by Jordan (10.6 ppg), and Maria Dias, a 5-9 junior guard from Lisbon, Portugal, who is averaging 10.1 points per game. Kacey Spink, a 5-9 sophomore guard from Spokane, Wash., who averages 9.0 rebounds per contest- 2nd best in the BSC.
ALL JACKED UP: Madison Hall has started in all 11 games and is averaging 7.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Against North Texas on Dec. 21, Hall matched a season-high 12 points and hauled down five rebounds. She had one of her best outings with 12 points, three steals, two assists and two rebounds in the season opener against BYU. Against the Cougars, Hall connected on five-of-nine from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. Last season, Hall (Jackson) played in 29 games, including 16 starts. Over the summer, she married Brayden Hall, a former MSU men's basketball manager. Last winter, Hall tallied a season-best 12 points on two occasions, the last coming against Northern Colorado. Against the Bears, Jackson connected on 5-6 from the field, with two triples. For the season, she averaged 5.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, Hall had a career-high 20 points against Idaho State.
OH CANADA: Marah (MARE-ah) Dykstra has started 21-of-40 games as a Bobcat and is currently averaging 8.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per outing, while dishing out a team-best 3.4 assists per game. Dykstra, who has started in all 11 games this season, has been in double-figures on three occasions. In MSU's last outing against North Texas, Dykstra posted nine points and four rebounds, while adding three assists. This fall, she notched her best game at Arizona State on Nov. 10, pouring in 17 points, while adding six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Last winter, the native of Vancouver, B.C., Canada averaged 3.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest, while shooting 38.2% from the field and 80.5% (33-41) from the free throw line. Last summer, Dykstra, a 6-2 forward, played for Team Canada at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup in Madrid, Spain, July 15-23. During the last offseason she navigated a year-long process and survived two rounds of cuts to make the final 12-player roster. Five players returned to the squad from the 2022 U18 Canadian team that competed in the Women's Americas Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, of which Dykstra was a member. Team Canada cruised through pool play, defeating China 83-62, Czech Republic 66-61, Egypt 100-44, and Brazil 89-45. Dykstra averaged seven rebounds per game, the second-best mark of any athlete in opening round action. Dykstra finished World Cup play averaging 23.1 minutes, while chipping in 4.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
THE PRIDE OF ROSEMOUNT: Taylor Janssen notched a season-best 16 points at Portland on Dec. 2, connecting on six-of-10 from the field, including a three-of-four effort from beyond the three-point line. Janssen notched 11 points, including the game's last nine against North Texas on Dec. 21. She also registered five rebounds and two assists against the Mean Green. On the season, the product of Rosemount, Minn., is averaging 7.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.1% from the field. Janssen played in all 30 games and averaged 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per outing last season. She notched a season-high 11 points against Northern Arizona on Jan. 7, 2023. Janssen pulled down a season-high seven rebounds against Providence (MT) in the season-opener. As a freshman, she connected on 20 straight free throws before missing a charity toss against Weber State. Janssen came up short of the all-time Bobcat record of 25 set by Rebecca Mercer during the 2007-08 season.
OUT ON A LIMB: Senior Katelynn 'KJ' Limardo has started all 11 games for the Bobcats and will make her 101st start at MSU on Thursday night against Idaho State. Limardo is averaging a team-best 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. She has been in double-digits on nine occasions, including a career-high 25 points against North Texas on Dec. 21, connecting on seven-of-11 from the field, five-of-nine from long distance and six-of-seven from the line. Limardo also added six rebounds, three steals and two assists against the Mean Green. For her efforts, she was named Big Sky Player of the Week. At Portland on Dec. 2, she notched her first ever double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Last year, she played in all 31 games and averaged 5.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Against Saint Mary's on Dec. 12, 2022, Limardo registered a career-high seven triples- which were the second most in a single game at Montana State, behind Tori Martell's 8 3-pointers against North Dakota on Dec. 6, 2020. The product of Silver City, N.M. (a town where lawman Harvey Whitehall was the first to arrest Billy the Kid, known at the time under the alias Henry Antrim in 1875), is shooting 33% from the field and 81.8% from the line. Limardo is first on the team with 21 3-pointers.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman Natalie Picton, a 5-5 guard from Welland, Ontario, Canada has played and started in all 11 games at following the injury to sophomore Dylan Philip. The freshman has filled the role admirably, averaging 6.3 points and 2.2 assists per game. Picton has reached double-figures in four games, including 12 points against both San Jose State and North Dakota.
MADE IN MONTANA: Sophomore Lindsey Hein (Forsyth) and redshirt freshman Brooke Berry (Billings) have both come off the bench to make big contributions. The duo had their best outings against Wyoming. Hein finished with 11 points, which included a five-of-six effort from the free throw line. She also recorded three rebounds and a blocked shot. Berry, who prepped at Skyview, scored eight points to spark MSU in the opening quarter against the Cowgirls. She finished the game with 10 points on four-of-eight shooting. Berry is the daughter of former MSU men's player Gale Berry, who was part of the Bobcat program from 1988-90.
THE WONDER FROM WALES: Freshman Issy Bunyan has made an impact in her short time at MSU. The 6-0 guard from Tonyrefail, Wales, is averaging 6.8 points per game. She has been in double figures scoring on four occasions, including a season-best 15 against BYU in the season opener.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Over the past 10 seasons the Bobcats have thrived in the warm confines of Worthington Arena. Since the 2012-13 season, Montana State has gone an impressive 117-33 (78%) overall and 80-23 (77.7%) in Big Sky Conference play on its home court. During that span - from the start of the 2015-16 Big Sky season to the beginning of 2017-18 in league play- MSU rattled off a 19-game home court win streak. In her 19 seasons at Montana State, Bobcat head coach Tricia Binford is 165-73 (69.3%) overall and 109-48 (69.4%) in Big Sky play in Worthington Arena.
WIN 300: With its 75-60 win over Weber State on Feb. 9, 2023, MSU head coach Tricia Binford notched her 309th career win, moving her past former Weber State bench boss Carla Taylor (308 -23 years). With MSU's 92-84 victory at Eastern Washington on Dec. 31, 2022, Binford became just the third coach in Big Sky history to record 300 wins- all coming as a member of the league. Binford is second to Montana's Robin Selvig (865, 38 years). In Big Sky play, Binford is second to Selvig (358) with 197 victories. Binford is MSU's winningest coach - men/women. This season marks Binford's 19th with the Bobcat program. She is currently 317-236 overall and 197-118 in BSC play.
BIG SKY OPENER: Since the inception of women's basketball in the Big Sky Conference during the 1988-89 season the Bobcats are 20-15 in league openers, while Tricia Binford is 9-9 all-time. MSU had a streak of seven consecutive Big Sky opening wins snapped in a 72-53 setback against Idaho in Moscow, last season. MSU's last Big Sky opening victory was a 63-57 decision over Northern Colorado on Dec. 2, 2021, in Bozeman.
BSC POW: Senior Katelynn Limardo is this week's Big Sky Conference Player of the Week after scoring a career-high 25 points in Montana State's win over North Texas on Dec. 21.
THE SCOUTING REPORT: Idaho State is 4-5 overall, posting victories over Park University, UC Santa Barbara, Air Force, and Utah Valley. The Bengals suffered a 79-76 overtime setback at BYU in its last game before the Christmas break. In its loss at BYU, the Bengals were led by Tasia Jordan, a 5-8 junior guard from Melrose Park, Ill., who tossed in 22 points connecting on nine-of-15 from the field. On the season, ISU has been paced by Jordan (10.6 ppg), and Maria Dias, a 5-9 junior guard from Lisbon, Portugal, who is averaging 10.1 points per game. Kacey Spink, a 5-9 sophomore guard from Spokane, Wash., who averages 9.0 rebounds per contest- 2nd best in the BSC.
ALL JACKED UP: Madison Hall has started in all 11 games and is averaging 7.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Against North Texas on Dec. 21, Hall matched a season-high 12 points and hauled down five rebounds. She had one of her best outings with 12 points, three steals, two assists and two rebounds in the season opener against BYU. Against the Cougars, Hall connected on five-of-nine from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. Last season, Hall (Jackson) played in 29 games, including 16 starts. Over the summer, she married Brayden Hall, a former MSU men's basketball manager. Last winter, Hall tallied a season-best 12 points on two occasions, the last coming against Northern Colorado. Against the Bears, Jackson connected on 5-6 from the field, with two triples. For the season, she averaged 5.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, Hall had a career-high 20 points against Idaho State.
OH CANADA: Marah (MARE-ah) Dykstra has started 21-of-40 games as a Bobcat and is currently averaging 8.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per outing, while dishing out a team-best 3.4 assists per game. Dykstra, who has started in all 11 games this season, has been in double-figures on three occasions. In MSU's last outing against North Texas, Dykstra posted nine points and four rebounds, while adding three assists. This fall, she notched her best game at Arizona State on Nov. 10, pouring in 17 points, while adding six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Last winter, the native of Vancouver, B.C., Canada averaged 3.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest, while shooting 38.2% from the field and 80.5% (33-41) from the free throw line. Last summer, Dykstra, a 6-2 forward, played for Team Canada at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup in Madrid, Spain, July 15-23. During the last offseason she navigated a year-long process and survived two rounds of cuts to make the final 12-player roster. Five players returned to the squad from the 2022 U18 Canadian team that competed in the Women's Americas Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, of which Dykstra was a member. Team Canada cruised through pool play, defeating China 83-62, Czech Republic 66-61, Egypt 100-44, and Brazil 89-45. Dykstra averaged seven rebounds per game, the second-best mark of any athlete in opening round action. Dykstra finished World Cup play averaging 23.1 minutes, while chipping in 4.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
THE PRIDE OF ROSEMOUNT: Taylor Janssen notched a season-best 16 points at Portland on Dec. 2, connecting on six-of-10 from the field, including a three-of-four effort from beyond the three-point line. Janssen notched 11 points, including the game's last nine against North Texas on Dec. 21. She also registered five rebounds and two assists against the Mean Green. On the season, the product of Rosemount, Minn., is averaging 7.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.1% from the field. Janssen played in all 30 games and averaged 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per outing last season. She notched a season-high 11 points against Northern Arizona on Jan. 7, 2023. Janssen pulled down a season-high seven rebounds against Providence (MT) in the season-opener. As a freshman, she connected on 20 straight free throws before missing a charity toss against Weber State. Janssen came up short of the all-time Bobcat record of 25 set by Rebecca Mercer during the 2007-08 season.
OUT ON A LIMB: Senior Katelynn 'KJ' Limardo has started all 11 games for the Bobcats and will make her 101st start at MSU on Thursday night against Idaho State. Limardo is averaging a team-best 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. She has been in double-digits on nine occasions, including a career-high 25 points against North Texas on Dec. 21, connecting on seven-of-11 from the field, five-of-nine from long distance and six-of-seven from the line. Limardo also added six rebounds, three steals and two assists against the Mean Green. For her efforts, she was named Big Sky Player of the Week. At Portland on Dec. 2, she notched her first ever double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Last year, she played in all 31 games and averaged 5.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Against Saint Mary's on Dec. 12, 2022, Limardo registered a career-high seven triples- which were the second most in a single game at Montana State, behind Tori Martell's 8 3-pointers against North Dakota on Dec. 6, 2020. The product of Silver City, N.M. (a town where lawman Harvey Whitehall was the first to arrest Billy the Kid, known at the time under the alias Henry Antrim in 1875), is shooting 33% from the field and 81.8% from the line. Limardo is first on the team with 21 3-pointers.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman Natalie Picton, a 5-5 guard from Welland, Ontario, Canada has played and started in all 11 games at following the injury to sophomore Dylan Philip. The freshman has filled the role admirably, averaging 6.3 points and 2.2 assists per game. Picton has reached double-figures in four games, including 12 points against both San Jose State and North Dakota.
MADE IN MONTANA: Sophomore Lindsey Hein (Forsyth) and redshirt freshman Brooke Berry (Billings) have both come off the bench to make big contributions. The duo had their best outings against Wyoming. Hein finished with 11 points, which included a five-of-six effort from the free throw line. She also recorded three rebounds and a blocked shot. Berry, who prepped at Skyview, scored eight points to spark MSU in the opening quarter against the Cowgirls. She finished the game with 10 points on four-of-eight shooting. Berry is the daughter of former MSU men's player Gale Berry, who was part of the Bobcat program from 1988-90.
THE WONDER FROM WALES: Freshman Issy Bunyan has made an impact in her short time at MSU. The 6-0 guard from Tonyrefail, Wales, is averaging 6.8 points per game. She has been in double figures scoring on four occasions, including a season-best 15 against BYU in the season opener.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Over the past 10 seasons the Bobcats have thrived in the warm confines of Worthington Arena. Since the 2012-13 season, Montana State has gone an impressive 117-33 (78%) overall and 80-23 (77.7%) in Big Sky Conference play on its home court. During that span - from the start of the 2015-16 Big Sky season to the beginning of 2017-18 in league play- MSU rattled off a 19-game home court win streak. In her 19 seasons at Montana State, Bobcat head coach Tricia Binford is 165-73 (69.3%) overall and 109-48 (69.4%) in Big Sky play in Worthington Arena.
WIN 300: With its 75-60 win over Weber State on Feb. 9, 2023, MSU head coach Tricia Binford notched her 309th career win, moving her past former Weber State bench boss Carla Taylor (308 -23 years). With MSU's 92-84 victory at Eastern Washington on Dec. 31, 2022, Binford became just the third coach in Big Sky history to record 300 wins- all coming as a member of the league. Binford is second to Montana's Robin Selvig (865, 38 years). In Big Sky play, Binford is second to Selvig (358) with 197 victories. Binford is MSU's winningest coach - men/women. This season marks Binford's 19th with the Bobcat program. She is currently 317-236 overall and 197-118 in BSC play.
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