Thursday, February 1
Cheney, WA
7 p.m. (MT)
Montana State University
at
Eastern Washington
Malea Egan
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
Cats Travel to Big Sky-Leading Eastern Washington
1/31/2024 2:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Bobcats face league-leading Eastern Washington, Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. (MT) in Cheney, before closing out the weekend at the University of Idaho, Saturday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. (MT) in Moscow.
NEXT UP: Montana State opens February away from Worthington Arena. The Bobcats face league-leading Eastern Washington, Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. (MT) in Cheney, before closing out the weekend at the University of Idaho, Saturday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. (MT) in Moscow. MSU plays EWU on Reese Court and the Vandals at ICCU Arena.
A LITTLE ABOUT MONTANA STATE: Montana State is coming off a home sweep over Sacramento State and Portland State in Worthington Arena. For the weekend, the Bobcats were paced by Marah Dykstra, who averaged 14.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
A LITTLE ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON: Eastern Washington saw its 10-game winning streak snapped with its first loss in Big Sky Conference play at Northern Arizona (89-81 OT) on Saturday afternoon. Aaliyah Alexander led the Eagles with 31 points.
THE SCOUTING REPORT: Eastern Washington 16-4 overall and 6-1 in Big Sky Conference play after splitting a pair of road games. The Eagles defeated Northern Colorado on Thursday (68-62) behind a big third quarter outburst (19-10). EWU was led in the win by Jaleesa Lawrence and Jamie Loera, who tossed in 17 and 16 points, respectively. Last Saturday, Eastern Washington saw its 10-game winning streak snapped as it suffered its first Big Sky loss dropping an 89-81 overtime decision at Northern Arizona. The Eagles outscored the Lumberjacks 27-16 in the fourth quarter to force the extra period. Aaliyah Alexander poured in 31 points for EWU, while Loera registered 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. On the season, Alexander and Loera lead EWU in scoring averaging 16.1 and 12.6 points per game, respectively. In its last ten meetings with the Bobcats, MSU owns a 7-3 advantage in the series, which includes two overtime games. The Eagles have won two of the last three contests. Last winter, the Bobcats defeated EWU (92-84) in Cheney, before the Eagles returned the favor with a 78-65 win in Bozeman on Feb. 27, 2023.
ALL JACKED UP: Madison Hall has started all 21 games and is averaging 10.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Last week, she averaged 12 points and 3.5 rebounds, while shooting 47.1% from the field and 77.8% at the line against Sacramento State and Portland State. Hall is on a current streak of 11 consecutive games in double digits. She is averaging 13.8 points per game in Big Sky Conference play, while shooting 50% from the field and 83.3% from the line. Hall posted a season-best 18 points in MSU's win over rival Montana on Jan. 20. Against the Lady Griz she went six-of-14 from the field and five-of-six at the line. 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. As a sophomore, Hall had a career-high 20 points against Idaho State.
OUT ON A LIMB: Katelynn 'KJ' Limardo has started 17 games for the Bobcats. She made her 106th career start against Montana on Jan. 20. Limardo suffered a late-game injury against UM and has missed the last three games. She is averaging a team-best 12.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest. Limardo has been in double digits on 14 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 with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She's notched four double doubles this season, the last on Saturday against Montana with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Limardo's been in double figures in 14 of 17 games this winter. 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 36.7% from the field and 77.8% from the line. Limardo is first on the team with 30 3-pointers. She is currently sixth on MSU's all-time career three-point makes chart with 159 triples.
OH CANADA: Marah (MARE-ah) Dykstra has started 29-of-48 games as a Bobcat and is currently averaging 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per outing, while dishing out a team-best 2.8 assists per game. Dykstra, who sat out games at Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado, returned to the line up on Jan. 20 against Montana. She finished the contest playing 33 minutes and registering 12 points and five rebounds. Against Portland State last Saturday, Dykstra matched a season-best 17 points. For the game, she went 5-of-10 from the field and 7-of-9 at the line. In addition, she pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds for her first career double-double. 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. This summer she played for Team Canada at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup in Madrid, Spain, July 15-23. During the last offseason Dykstra 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 averaged 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in MSU's wins over Sacramento State and Portland State last week. Against PSU, she tallied 14 points on 7-of-13 from the field. The product of Rosemount, Minn., has started the last 15 games for the Bobcats following the season-ending injury to Lexi Deden. Janssen notched a season-best 16 points at Portland on Dec. 2. On the season, she's averaging 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 40.1% 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. Janssen came up short of the all-time Bobcat record of 25 set by Rebecca Mercer during the 2007-08 season.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman Natalie Picton, a 5-5 guard from Welland, Ontario, Canada has started all 21 games following the injury to sophomore point guard Dylan Philip. The freshman has filled the role admirably, averaging 7.2 points and 2.2 assists per game. Picton has reached double figures in eight games, including a season-high 13 points at Northern Arizona. Last week in wins over Sacramento State and Portland State, she averaged 9.0 points, 3.5 steals and 3.0 rebounds per game.
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 5.8 points per game. She has been in double figures scoring on five occasions, including a season-best 15 against BYU in the season opener.
MADE IN MONTANA: Redshirt freshman Brooke Berry (Billings) came off the bench to make a big contribution in MSU's win over Wyoming on Dec. 17 registering 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting. At ISU on Jan. 22, she had seven points and three rebounds. Berry is the daughter of former MSU men's player Gale Berry, who was a Bobcat from 1988-90. She made one start against NAU.
LOSING LEXI: Senior 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 Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving. Deden led MSU averaging 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and recorded a career-high 23 points and 14 rebounds in MSU's 75-57 win over New Mexico. For her efforts she was named Big Sky Player of the Week. Deden plans to return to Montana State next year.
LOSING LINDSEY: Sophomore Lindsey Hein came off the bench to make big contribution in Montana State's win over Wyoming on Dec. 17 in Worthington Arena. The 6-6 center from Forsyth, Mont., finished with 11 points which included a five-of-six performance at the free throw line. Hein also pulled down three rebounds and had a blocked shot. Unfortunately, Hein has been lost for the season due to a foot injury. She finishes the season averaging 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Hein also recorded five blocks and four steals.
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 123-33 (78.9%) overall and 85-23 (78.7%) 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 171-73 (70.1%) overall and 114-48 (70.4%) in Big Sky play in Worthington Arena.
A FEW MORE NOTES: Over the past seven seasons, the Bobcats have claimed three Big Sky regular season titles 2016, 2017, 2020; two Big Sky Conference Tournament titles 2017, 2022; made two NCAA appearances 2017, 2022; and one WNIT appearance 2016…In the last six seasons, no Big Sky Conference team has won more league games than the Bobcats. Montana State has racked up 75 victories in Big Sky play since the 2019-20 season. The Bobcats are followed by Idaho State (70) and Idaho (67)…The Cats shot a season-best 51.8% (29-56) from the field in its win over New Mexico at the Cancun Challenge, Thanksgiving weekend. MSU's best Big Sky shooting performance (50.8%) came against Portland State on Saturday afternoon.
A LITTLE ABOUT MONTANA STATE: Montana State is coming off a home sweep over Sacramento State and Portland State in Worthington Arena. For the weekend, the Bobcats were paced by Marah Dykstra, who averaged 14.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
A LITTLE ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON: Eastern Washington saw its 10-game winning streak snapped with its first loss in Big Sky Conference play at Northern Arizona (89-81 OT) on Saturday afternoon. Aaliyah Alexander led the Eagles with 31 points.
THE SCOUTING REPORT: Eastern Washington 16-4 overall and 6-1 in Big Sky Conference play after splitting a pair of road games. The Eagles defeated Northern Colorado on Thursday (68-62) behind a big third quarter outburst (19-10). EWU was led in the win by Jaleesa Lawrence and Jamie Loera, who tossed in 17 and 16 points, respectively. Last Saturday, Eastern Washington saw its 10-game winning streak snapped as it suffered its first Big Sky loss dropping an 89-81 overtime decision at Northern Arizona. The Eagles outscored the Lumberjacks 27-16 in the fourth quarter to force the extra period. Aaliyah Alexander poured in 31 points for EWU, while Loera registered 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. On the season, Alexander and Loera lead EWU in scoring averaging 16.1 and 12.6 points per game, respectively. In its last ten meetings with the Bobcats, MSU owns a 7-3 advantage in the series, which includes two overtime games. The Eagles have won two of the last three contests. Last winter, the Bobcats defeated EWU (92-84) in Cheney, before the Eagles returned the favor with a 78-65 win in Bozeman on Feb. 27, 2023.
ALL JACKED UP: Madison Hall has started all 21 games and is averaging 10.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Last week, she averaged 12 points and 3.5 rebounds, while shooting 47.1% from the field and 77.8% at the line against Sacramento State and Portland State. Hall is on a current streak of 11 consecutive games in double digits. She is averaging 13.8 points per game in Big Sky Conference play, while shooting 50% from the field and 83.3% from the line. Hall posted a season-best 18 points in MSU's win over rival Montana on Jan. 20. Against the Lady Griz she went six-of-14 from the field and five-of-six at the line. 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. As a sophomore, Hall had a career-high 20 points against Idaho State.
OUT ON A LIMB: Katelynn 'KJ' Limardo has started 17 games for the Bobcats. She made her 106th career start against Montana on Jan. 20. Limardo suffered a late-game injury against UM and has missed the last three games. She is averaging a team-best 12.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest. Limardo has been in double digits on 14 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 with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She's notched four double doubles this season, the last on Saturday against Montana with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Limardo's been in double figures in 14 of 17 games this winter. 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 36.7% from the field and 77.8% from the line. Limardo is first on the team with 30 3-pointers. She is currently sixth on MSU's all-time career three-point makes chart with 159 triples.
OH CANADA: Marah (MARE-ah) Dykstra has started 29-of-48 games as a Bobcat and is currently averaging 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per outing, while dishing out a team-best 2.8 assists per game. Dykstra, who sat out games at Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado, returned to the line up on Jan. 20 against Montana. She finished the contest playing 33 minutes and registering 12 points and five rebounds. Against Portland State last Saturday, Dykstra matched a season-best 17 points. For the game, she went 5-of-10 from the field and 7-of-9 at the line. In addition, she pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds for her first career double-double. 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. This summer she played for Team Canada at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup in Madrid, Spain, July 15-23. During the last offseason Dykstra 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 averaged 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in MSU's wins over Sacramento State and Portland State last week. Against PSU, she tallied 14 points on 7-of-13 from the field. The product of Rosemount, Minn., has started the last 15 games for the Bobcats following the season-ending injury to Lexi Deden. Janssen notched a season-best 16 points at Portland on Dec. 2. On the season, she's averaging 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 40.1% 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. Janssen came up short of the all-time Bobcat record of 25 set by Rebecca Mercer during the 2007-08 season.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman Natalie Picton, a 5-5 guard from Welland, Ontario, Canada has started all 21 games following the injury to sophomore point guard Dylan Philip. The freshman has filled the role admirably, averaging 7.2 points and 2.2 assists per game. Picton has reached double figures in eight games, including a season-high 13 points at Northern Arizona. Last week in wins over Sacramento State and Portland State, she averaged 9.0 points, 3.5 steals and 3.0 rebounds per game.
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 5.8 points per game. She has been in double figures scoring on five occasions, including a season-best 15 against BYU in the season opener.
MADE IN MONTANA: Redshirt freshman Brooke Berry (Billings) came off the bench to make a big contribution in MSU's win over Wyoming on Dec. 17 registering 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting. At ISU on Jan. 22, she had seven points and three rebounds. Berry is the daughter of former MSU men's player Gale Berry, who was a Bobcat from 1988-90. She made one start against NAU.
LOSING LEXI: Senior 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 Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving. Deden led MSU averaging 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and recorded a career-high 23 points and 14 rebounds in MSU's 75-57 win over New Mexico. For her efforts she was named Big Sky Player of the Week. Deden plans to return to Montana State next year.
LOSING LINDSEY: Sophomore Lindsey Hein came off the bench to make big contribution in Montana State's win over Wyoming on Dec. 17 in Worthington Arena. The 6-6 center from Forsyth, Mont., finished with 11 points which included a five-of-six performance at the free throw line. Hein also pulled down three rebounds and had a blocked shot. Unfortunately, Hein has been lost for the season due to a foot injury. She finishes the season averaging 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Hein also recorded five blocks and four steals.
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 123-33 (78.9%) overall and 85-23 (78.7%) 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 171-73 (70.1%) overall and 114-48 (70.4%) in Big Sky play in Worthington Arena.
A FEW MORE NOTES: Over the past seven seasons, the Bobcats have claimed three Big Sky regular season titles 2016, 2017, 2020; two Big Sky Conference Tournament titles 2017, 2022; made two NCAA appearances 2017, 2022; and one WNIT appearance 2016…In the last six seasons, no Big Sky Conference team has won more league games than the Bobcats. Montana State has racked up 75 victories in Big Sky play since the 2019-20 season. The Bobcats are followed by Idaho State (70) and Idaho (67)…The Cats shot a season-best 51.8% (29-56) from the field in its win over New Mexico at the Cancun Challenge, Thanksgiving weekend. MSU's best Big Sky shooting performance (50.8%) came against Portland State on Saturday afternoon.
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