Friday, December 8
Moraga, CA
7:30 p.m. (MT)
Montana State University
at
Saint Mary's
Katelynn Limardo (11).
Photo by: Jack Murrey
Cats Conclude Six-Game Road Swing at Saint Mary’s
12/7/2023 4:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Montana State is playing its final contest of a six-game road adventure, which has already made stops in Grand Forks, N.D., Cancun, Mexico, Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., when it faces Saint Mary’s, Friday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. MT in University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.
NEXT UP: Montana State is playing its final contest of a six-game road adventure, which has already made stops in Grand Forks, N.D., Cancun, Mexico, Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., when it faces Saint Mary's, Friday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. MT in University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, Calif. The Bobcats' next home game is slated for Sunday, Dec. 17 against Wyoming in Worthington Arena at 12 p.m.
A LITTLE ABOUT MONTANA STATE: Montana State gave up a late 10-2 run to Washington midway through the fourth quarter and the Huskies held on for a 55-50 victory over the Bobcats on Tuesday night. MSU stayed with Washington throughout most of the game, trailing 44-42 with 8:42 left as Taylor Janssen hit a jumper. Over the next five minutes, the Huskies increased the margin to 54-44 capped by an Elle Ladine triple at the 3:03 mark. UW went without a basket in the final three minutes, but MSU hit just one-of-eight down the stretch and got no closer than the final score as Marah Dykstra hit two free throws with 30-seconds left.
A LITTLE ABOUT SAINT MARY'S: Saint Mary's enters Friday night's game 3-5 overall after dropping a 74-69 decision at Cal last Saturday. Against the Bears, SMC was paced by Tayla Dalton and Zeryhia Aokuso with 19 and 18 points, respectively. The Gaels are under the direction of first-year head coach Jeff Cammon. Cammon previously served six seasons at Long Beach State before making the move north.
THE SCOUTING REPORT: Saint Mary's enters Friday night's game 3-5 overall after dropping a 74-69 decision at Cal last Saturday. Against the Bears, SMC was paced by Tayla Dalton and Zeryhia Aokuso with 19 and 18 points, respectively. The Gaels are under the direction of first-year head coach Jeff Cammon. Cammon previously served six seasons at Long Beach State before making the move north. Saint Mary's has posted wins over UCSD (61-58 ot), UC Irvine (52-37), and North Carolina A&T, while suffering setbacks to Cal, Illinois State, St. Thomas (MN), Rice, and Grand Canyon. On the season, the Gaels have been led by Aokuso, a 5-10 freshman guard from Amarillo, Texas, who averages 11 points and 3.3 rebounds, while shooting 55.9% from the field. SMC is also getting solid production from Dalton, a 5-9 senior guard from Auckland, New Zealand, who chips in 9.8 points 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, while shooting 49% from the floor. Saint Mary's top outside threat is Hannah Rapp, a 5-10 junior guard from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, who has connected on nine-of-19 from long distance.
ALL JACKED UP: Madison Hall has started in all eight games and is averaging 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. On Tuesday, Hall posted three points and three rebounds at Washington. At the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving, she averaged 7.5 points and 3.0 assists as the Bobcats split with New Mexico and James Madison. This season, she had her best outing with 12 points, three steals, two assists and two rebounds in the season opener against BYU. Last season, 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 18-of-37 games as a Bobcat and is currently averaging 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per outing. Dykstra, who has started in all eight games this season, has been in double-figures twice. At Washington on Tuesday, she recorded eight points and four assists. At the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving, Dykstra notched 10 points and dished out a career-high seven assists as the Bobcats defeated New Mexico 75-57. 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 this year's 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: Janssen notched a season-best 16 points at Portland last Saturday night and contributed eight at Washington on Tuesday. At the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving, she came off the bench to averaged 7.0 points and 2.5 rebounds as MSU defeated New Mexico, before suffering a three-point setback to James Madison. She had her best outing against JMU recording 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers. On the season, the product of Rosemount, Minn., is averaging 7.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.4% from the field. Janssen played in all 30 games and averaged 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per outing last season for the Bobcats. She notched a season-high 11 points against Northern Arizona on Jan. 7, 2023. Against the Lumberjacks, she went 3-of-6 from the field, hit one 3-pointer and was 4-of-4 at the line. 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 eight games for the Bobcats and is averaging 12.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest. She has been in double-digits on six occasions, including a season-best 18 points as MSU fell to Arizona State on Nov. 10. Against the Sun Devils, Limardo went 9-9 from the line, while also adding four rebounds and two assists. At Portland on Saturday, she notched her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Against Washington, Limardo registered nine points. At the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving, she averaged 12 points and eight 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, Limardo registered a career-high 21 points, all coming from beyond the three-point line. Her seven triples 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 30.1% from the field and 83.3% (35-42) from the line. Limardo is first on the team with 14 3-pointers. She is shooting 30.4% (14-46) from long distance.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman Natalie Picton, a 5-5 guard from Welland, Ontario, Canada has played and started in all eight games as MSU's point-guard following the injury to returning letterwinner Dylan Philip. The freshman has filled the role admirably, averaging 7.8 points and 2.1 assists per game. Picton has reached double-figures in four games, including 12 points against both San Jose State and North Dakota. At the Cancun Challenge, she averaged 9.5 points and 4.5 assists per contest. On Tuesday, she led Montana State with 10 points.
LOSING LEXI: Senior standout Lexi Deden has been lost for the season following a knee injury sustained in the fourth quarter of MSU's contest against James Madison at the Hard Rock Hotel Riveria Maya (Mexico) Convention Center, over the Thanksgiving holiday. Deden led Montana State in scoring averaging 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and had just recorded a career-high 23 points and hauled down a career-best 14 rebounds in MSU's 75-57 win over New Mexico. In three quarters against James Madison, she had already put up 14 points and six rebounds. For her efforts she was named Big Sky Player of the Week. Deden indicated she will return to MSU next year.
A LITTLE ABOUT MONTANA STATE: Montana State gave up a late 10-2 run to Washington midway through the fourth quarter and the Huskies held on for a 55-50 victory over the Bobcats on Tuesday night. MSU stayed with Washington throughout most of the game, trailing 44-42 with 8:42 left as Taylor Janssen hit a jumper. Over the next five minutes, the Huskies increased the margin to 54-44 capped by an Elle Ladine triple at the 3:03 mark. UW went without a basket in the final three minutes, but MSU hit just one-of-eight down the stretch and got no closer than the final score as Marah Dykstra hit two free throws with 30-seconds left.
A LITTLE ABOUT SAINT MARY'S: Saint Mary's enters Friday night's game 3-5 overall after dropping a 74-69 decision at Cal last Saturday. Against the Bears, SMC was paced by Tayla Dalton and Zeryhia Aokuso with 19 and 18 points, respectively. The Gaels are under the direction of first-year head coach Jeff Cammon. Cammon previously served six seasons at Long Beach State before making the move north.
THE SCOUTING REPORT: Saint Mary's enters Friday night's game 3-5 overall after dropping a 74-69 decision at Cal last Saturday. Against the Bears, SMC was paced by Tayla Dalton and Zeryhia Aokuso with 19 and 18 points, respectively. The Gaels are under the direction of first-year head coach Jeff Cammon. Cammon previously served six seasons at Long Beach State before making the move north. Saint Mary's has posted wins over UCSD (61-58 ot), UC Irvine (52-37), and North Carolina A&T, while suffering setbacks to Cal, Illinois State, St. Thomas (MN), Rice, and Grand Canyon. On the season, the Gaels have been led by Aokuso, a 5-10 freshman guard from Amarillo, Texas, who averages 11 points and 3.3 rebounds, while shooting 55.9% from the field. SMC is also getting solid production from Dalton, a 5-9 senior guard from Auckland, New Zealand, who chips in 9.8 points 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, while shooting 49% from the floor. Saint Mary's top outside threat is Hannah Rapp, a 5-10 junior guard from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, who has connected on nine-of-19 from long distance.
ALL JACKED UP: Madison Hall has started in all eight games and is averaging 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. On Tuesday, Hall posted three points and three rebounds at Washington. At the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving, she averaged 7.5 points and 3.0 assists as the Bobcats split with New Mexico and James Madison. This season, she had her best outing with 12 points, three steals, two assists and two rebounds in the season opener against BYU. Last season, 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 18-of-37 games as a Bobcat and is currently averaging 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per outing. Dykstra, who has started in all eight games this season, has been in double-figures twice. At Washington on Tuesday, she recorded eight points and four assists. At the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving, Dykstra notched 10 points and dished out a career-high seven assists as the Bobcats defeated New Mexico 75-57. 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 this year's 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: Janssen notched a season-best 16 points at Portland last Saturday night and contributed eight at Washington on Tuesday. At the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving, she came off the bench to averaged 7.0 points and 2.5 rebounds as MSU defeated New Mexico, before suffering a three-point setback to James Madison. She had her best outing against JMU recording 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers. On the season, the product of Rosemount, Minn., is averaging 7.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.4% from the field. Janssen played in all 30 games and averaged 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per outing last season for the Bobcats. She notched a season-high 11 points against Northern Arizona on Jan. 7, 2023. Against the Lumberjacks, she went 3-of-6 from the field, hit one 3-pointer and was 4-of-4 at the line. 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 eight games for the Bobcats and is averaging 12.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest. She has been in double-digits on six occasions, including a season-best 18 points as MSU fell to Arizona State on Nov. 10. Against the Sun Devils, Limardo went 9-9 from the line, while also adding four rebounds and two assists. At Portland on Saturday, she notched her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Against Washington, Limardo registered nine points. At the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving, she averaged 12 points and eight 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, Limardo registered a career-high 21 points, all coming from beyond the three-point line. Her seven triples 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 30.1% from the field and 83.3% (35-42) from the line. Limardo is first on the team with 14 3-pointers. She is shooting 30.4% (14-46) from long distance.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman Natalie Picton, a 5-5 guard from Welland, Ontario, Canada has played and started in all eight games as MSU's point-guard following the injury to returning letterwinner Dylan Philip. The freshman has filled the role admirably, averaging 7.8 points and 2.1 assists per game. Picton has reached double-figures in four games, including 12 points against both San Jose State and North Dakota. At the Cancun Challenge, she averaged 9.5 points and 4.5 assists per contest. On Tuesday, she led Montana State with 10 points.
LOSING LEXI: Senior standout Lexi Deden has been lost for the season following a knee injury sustained in the fourth quarter of MSU's contest against James Madison at the Hard Rock Hotel Riveria Maya (Mexico) Convention Center, over the Thanksgiving holiday. Deden led Montana State in scoring averaging 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and had just recorded a career-high 23 points and hauled down a career-best 14 rebounds in MSU's 75-57 win over New Mexico. In three quarters against James Madison, she had already put up 14 points and six rebounds. For her efforts she was named Big Sky Player of the Week. Deden indicated she will return to MSU next year.
Players Mentioned
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