That basket, and the win it clinched, put an exclamation point on the greatest season in Bobcat women’s basketball history.
Marah Dykstra tipped in her own miss as the buzzer sounded, boosting Montana State to a Big Sky Championship with a 58-57 win over the University of Montana in Boise on Wednesday.
“Pretty unscripted but pretty crazy,” is how Dykstra described the frenzied finishing sequence that began with Dykstra receiving the inbound pass after a time out with 7.9 seconds to play and the Cats down 57-56. She brushed off of a screen by Esmeralda Morales, drove into the lane, missed a layup, gathered the offensive rebound and in one motion hit the putback that will live in Bobcat history.
That basket, and the win it clinched, put an exclamation point on the greatest season in Bobcat women’s basketball history. Montana State won the league regular season title in wire-to-wire fashion, then became the first team in Big Sky Tournament history to post two wins by margins of more than 30 points. The Cats advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history, and the third in the last eight seasons.
“We were a little bit tight, didn’t have some of our shots fall, but fortunately we got some extra possessions there, the most important one on the final shot,” said Bobcat coach Tricia Binford. “Luckily there was enough time on the clock. I love how our kids responded. This was a gritty one. The first two (Big Sky Tournament games) were not, but this one really tested us, and I’m just really proud of this team.”
The stunning game-winner, which exited the net as time expired, was made necessary by a game-changing shot by UM’s Dani Bartsch. Mack Koenig found the Lady Griz senior on the wing for a three-pointer, which Bartsch calmly drilled to put UM ahead 57-56.
Binford praised UM coach Nate Harris, a former Bobcat assistant coach, for his team’s performance. “Nate did a heck of a job this entire tournament having his team playing really well. They were hard to guard today, and they were confident.”
UM began the game on a 12-3 run, but the Bobcats chipped away at the lead. Natalie Picton’s three-pointer triggered an 11-3 Bobcat run. A quarter-ending three-pointer by UM’s Tyler McCliment-Call sent the teams to the second quarter with UM leading 18-14.
“We’ve been in some holes during conference play and even preseason play that we had to battle back from,” Binford said. “Just not in the tournament. In the tournament, the first two we really hit everything early, we defended very well early, and we were able to jump on them and build off of that. This was the opposite. To have them respond and chip away was really, really resilient.”
The second quarter proved to be takeover time for Big Sky Player of the Year Esmeralda Morales, on her way to winning Tournament MVP honors. The senior guard poured in 17 points on 7-9 shooting, including 2-4 from the arc, to boost the Bobcats to a 35-27 lead at the intermission.
“In the second quarter I knew we needed to get something going,” Morales said. “I knew I needed to step up and just be who I am out there. Coach and the girls always tell me, ‘You got it, go take over.’”
The third quarter’s first basket, a three-pointer by UM’s MJ Bruno, came two-and-a-half minutes in. That lid-lifter paved the way to a 16-10 UM advantage, with Bruno scoring five points in the period. The Cats held a narrow 45-43 lead as the fourth quarter dawned.
After a short jumper by Dykstra on MSU’s first possession of the final period, the Lady Griz netted a pair of field goals to tie the score at 47-47. Buckets by Morales and Dykstra gave the Bobcats a 56-52 lead with 2:27 to play. UM’s Avery Waddington hit a layup with 30.8 seconds to play, and when Morales’ pocket was picked with about 20 seconds left UM had its shot. Bartsch took it, and made it, giving the Lady Griz a lead.
For the moment.
That’s when Binford surprised the MSU huddle by calling Dykstra’s number for the final play. “I thought it would be Esme,” Dykstra said of Morales, “but Coach was like, it’s going to you. And I was like, ‘OK, let’s do it!'”
Go she did, to the basket, putting up the initial shot after a step-through move, then quickly gathering the rebound and banking it in. “The execution wasn’t perfect,” Binford said, “but the effort was.”
And the effort advances the Bobcats to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history, the third under Binford. The team learns its post-season fate on Sunday at 6 p.m. in Worthington Arena. Bobcat fans are invited to attend.
