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WHO: # 19 Brigham Young, Montana
IF: Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Bozemann, Mont .– Worthington Arena
RECORDS: State of Montana 7-5, 2-0; BYU 9-1, 0-0 (WCC)
SERIES: BYU leads the entire 12-5 series (1978)
LAST MTG: Dec 10, 2020 – @ BYU 72, Montana State 58
RADIO: The Montana State game against BYU will be broadcast live 15 minutes before the tip on 1450 KMMS AM – Mark Martello (PBP).
VIDEO: The Montana State v Brigham Young game will be streamed live on ESPN + (subscription required).
NEXT UP: The state of Montana will welcome No. 19-placed Brigham Young at Worthington Arena on Tuesday, December 21st at 7:00 p.m. to finalize its non-conference schedule before the Big Sky Conference game in the state on December 30th Weber in Ogden, Utah, starts again. MSU is in a six-game winning streak after dispatching Seattle U 74-49 at Worthington Arena Saturday afternoon. BYU, ranked 16th this season, is 9-1 overall after beating Washington State 71:53 in Provo, Utah on Saturday. The Cougars’ only defeat was a 99-91 setback in Oklahoma. BYU are the top-ranked team to play at Worthington Arena since the Bobcats faced # 18 Gonzaga on December 5, 2019 – a 70-55 Zags win.
Bobcat bites: Darian White was named Montana State Player of the Week for her efforts to lead the Bobcats to a 76-49 win over Seattle U. The reigning Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week scored 21 points in the game and scored three rebounds, dealt four assists and adds six steals. White left the field 8 of 17 and was 4 of 5 from the free throw line … Leia Beattie and Kola Bad Bear were each named Big Sky Conference Player of the Week this season … MSU’s two league POWs are the most since the 2016-17 season, when Peyton Ferris and Riley Nordgaard were honored three times … Ellen Kreighbaum women’s basketball coach Tricia Binford has 277 wins in her 17 seasons in Montana State. The score is the highest for an active coach in the Big Sky game and is third all-time behind Robin Selvig of Montana (865), Carla Taylor (308) of Weber State and Wendy Schuller (277) of East Washington.
ABOUT BYU: Brigham Young is 9-1 after beating Washington State (71:53) on Saturday in Provo. BYU’s only loss was a 99:91 loss in Oklahoma. The Cougars have notched up notable victories over Florida State and West Virginia. BYU was the preseason picks to win the West Coast Conference that season, led by the all-WCC preseason picks Shaylee Gonzales and Lauren Gustin. Gonzales, a 5-10-year-old security guard from Gilbert, Arizona, was WCC co-player of the year 2020-21. This season she has averaged a team high of 18.9 points per game. Also double-digit averages for the Cougars are Paisley Harding (16.5 ppg), Tegan Graham (12.1 ppg) and Gustin (10.6 ppg). Gustin, a 6-1 sophomore striker from Salem, Utah, leads BYU under the glass, pulling down 12.1 rebounds per competition. Jeff Judkins is in his 21st season at BYU, where he set an overall record of 439-201.
I DARE YA: Darian White, a selection from the All-Big Sky Conference last season, leads the Bobcats in scoring (15.4 ppg), assists (55), steals (33) and free throws (48). She scored double-digit points in all 12 games, including the best 22 points of the season against MSU Billings on December 9th. Against Seattle U, the Boise, Idaho product scored 21 points, three rebounds, four assists and six steals, while 8 of 17 shot from the field and 4 of 5 from the free throw line. On November 20 in North Dakota, White posted a career high of seven steals. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year for the Big Sky Conference hit 12 career rebounds against Montana State Billings on December 9th at Worthington Arena. White is currently five steals away from entering the top 10 of all MSU steals charts. She currently averages 2.8 steals per game, which takes second place in the Big Sky, while her 4.6 assists per game ranks fourth in the league.
KUDOS TO KOLA: Junior Kola Bad Bear has played in all 12 games, including ten starts. During the season, the 6-2 striker averages 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per competition. Bad Bear had a breakout weekend for the Bobcats at the Holiday Beach Classic in San Luis Obispo over Thanksgiving averaging 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 61.1% off the field. Against Seattle U, she delivered her fourth straight double-digit game on Saturday with 11 points while pulling down seven rebounds. Bad Bear was named Big Sky Player of the Week for her efforts against MSU Billings and Utah Valley. For the two games, she averaged 19 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 61.9% off the field and 84.6% off the line. Bad Bear scored the top 17 rebounds of their career when MSU beat MSU Billings. Their 13 offensive boards against the Yellowjackets are unofficially the highest total in NCAA Division 1 hoops this season. Bad Bear also scored the best 21 points of their career when MSU beat MSUB.
TO TAKE A RISK: Sophomore Katelynn Limardo has started the last eleven games for the Bobcats after opening the season with 16 points, seven rebounds against Carroll College, which came off the bench. The product of Silver City, NM (a town where lawman Harvey Whitehall was the first to arrest Billy the Kid, then known under the pen name Henry Antrim in 1875) averages 9.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per excursion. In addition, Limardo shoots 41.2% off the field and a team best of 94.1% (16-17) off the line. On Saturday against Seattle U, Limardo scored her seventh double-digit goal of the season with 12 points – all coming from beyond the arch. In addition, she scored five assists and four steals against the Redhawks. Over Thanksgiving, Limardos took three 3-pointers to victory against Cal Poly MSU in the fourth quarter. Last winter she started in all 24 games and averaged 6.6 points and 4.5 rebounds. Limardo had her best game of the 2020/21 season in Eastern Washington on February 13, scoring 17 points with a team high. Against EMU, they scored 6: 6 from the field and 5: 5 from a distance.
Don’t mess with Texas: Leia Beattie has played for the Bobcats in all 12 games, including ten starts. She currently averages 9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest. Beattie took a career break in the MSU victory over the state of Sacramento on December 4th with 18 points and eight rebounds. In connection with her game against Northern Colorado to open the Big Sky, she received the ROAR Organic #BigSkyWBB award as Player of the Week with an average of 14.5 points. 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Beattie comes to Montana State with a familiar Treasure State pedigree. Her mother Kelly (Pilcher) was two-time All-Big Sky selection in Montana and is the sixth all-time in assists. Additionally, her 15 assists against Boise State and Northern Arizona still rank first in single game history. Beattie’s aunt / trainer at Midland Christian Academy, Carla (Beattie) Cunneen, is also a former Lady Griz and was Big Sky Sixth Player of the Year in 1996. Last season, Beattie played 23 out of 24 games, averaging 3.7 points per game. Against Seattle U on Saturday, she scored 13 points on 5 of 13 off the field, including three 3-point points.
THE CONVERSATION: Senior Gabby Mocchi has played in nine games, including starts in the last two games. The 6-1 senior from Champlin, Minnesota, recorded a season high of nine points and the best nine rebounds of the season in the MSU win against Seattle U on Saturday afternoon. Mocchi averages 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Against the Redhawks, Mocchi went 5 out of 5 from the free throw line. During the season she shoots 90.9% of the time on the strip. Mocchi scored the top 18 points of his career at Portland State last winter.
KEEP FEEDIN ‘WORKS: Lexi Deden, a 6-1 sophomore striker from Missoula, is third with the Bobcats when she bounces back an average of 3.8 boards per game. In addition, she is fifth in the squad with an average of 5.9 points per competition. Deden had her best outing of the season on November 20th in North Dakota. Against the Fighting Hawks, she scored her first college double with 17 points and the best ten rebounds of her career. For the game, she walked four out of nine off the field and was nine out of ten on the charity streak. Last Saturday against Seattle U, she saw five minutes of action and ended with two rebounds. The name Deden is also known in Montana basketball circles. Deden’s mother Dawn (Silliker) played in Montana from 1984-88. At UM, Silliker was a 1,000 point scorer and an All Mountain West pick. Additionally, Lexi’s aunt and former Sentinel High head coach, Karen Deden, was a standout in Washington and is in the Husky Hall of Fame. Last season, Deden posted a career high of 22 points in MSU’s win against No. Arizona on January 23, when she hit 10 of 14 from the field.
ASHLEYS AWARDS: Senior Ashley Van Sickle has played all 12 games this season and averages 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. The product from Arvada, Colorado scored the top eight points of the season in MSU’s season-opening win over Carroll College. She also recorded three rebounds, an assist and a steal against the Saints. On Saturday Van Sickle played against Seattle U for 18 minutes and scored three assists and three rebounds.
EVERYTHING SAVED: Junior Madison Jackson has played in five games, including starting the two competitions in the Dakotas. Jackson had her best performance against North Dakota with six points. She also had two steals and an offensive board. Last season, the Parma, Idaho native had her best game when the Bobcats defeated Idaho State at Worthington Arena. Against the Bengals, Jackson reached a career high of 20 points, 13 of which in the first half. For the game, she hit 6-of-9 off the field, including three 3-pointers.
MENTION MIA: Freshman Mia Hughes has played in eight games, including three starts. The Woodinville, Washington product averaged 2.8 points and 2.93 rebounds per contest. She had her best outing of the season in North Dakota with seven points and six rebounds – all points came at the free throw line, where she reached seven out of eight. Hughes currently hits a 92.3% (12-13) clip off the line.
NOTE FROM RANSON: The sophomore Ava Ranson has played ten games and averages 2.4 points per competition. The Boise, Idaho 5-10 product had its best game in South Dakota State. Against the Jackrabbits, Ranson got eight points to three against nine from the field, including a pair of threes.
RARE AIR: Freshman Lindsey Hein is the tallest (6-6) player to ever wear blue and gold. The Forsyth, Mont. Native has played in all seven games, including two starts. In the season opener against Carroll College she came off the bench and scored 16 points of high play value while pulling down seven rebounds. Hein is first in the team and shoots 57.1% out of the field. She averaged 4.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
THE PRIDE OF ROSEMOUNT: Sophomore Taylor Janssen has played in all 12 games, averaging 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Against Seattle U, the 6-3 product from Rosemount, Minn., Recorded seven points and got the best seven rebounds of his career. Janssen scored the best 8 points of the season on November 20th in North Dakota.
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