Feb. 25, 2023 – PORTALND, Ore. – Montana State saved its most dominant defensive effort when it needed it the most limiting Portland State to 18.2% from the field, including 23.1% from beyond the three-point arc en route to a 63-34 win over the Vikings on Saturday afternoon to clinch a share of the Big Sky Conference regular season title.
Montana State (20-9, 13-4) used a 13-3 run over the final six minutes of the third quarter to put breathing room between itself and Portland State (13-14, 8-9). The run was sparked by Darian White and Katelynn Limardo with four points, apiece.
“We went back to the simplicity of the game,” said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. “And we maintained that for 40 minutes. We played basic shell defense and did a great job of communicating. I’m really proud of how we responded to Thursday night’s loss.”
The Bobcats opened the fourth quarter with six consecutive points to stretch the lead to 48-23 on a Lexi Deden fastbreak layup. MSU took its largest lead at 63-33 as freshman Dylan Philip came off the bench for her sixth triple of the season.
The Bobcats defense held PSU’s leading scorer Esmeralda Morales to six points. Morales entered the contest averaging 16.3 points per game. MSU also dominated the boards, outrebounding the Vikings 48-30. Montana State was led under the glass by Kola Bad Bear and Limardo with nine and eight rebounds, respectively.
Aside from holding Portland State to single digits in three of four quarters, MSU held a 34-4 advantage in the paint, a 17-4 margin on second chance points and its bench outscored the Vikings 24-1.
Offensively, all ten MSU players that saw the court scored led White with a team-best 12 points. She was the only Bobcat player to reach double-figures. Senior Madison Jackson finished with nine points on three-of-four from the field and a two-of-two effort from three-point range.
As a team, the Bobcats shot 43.9% from the field, including 48.3% in the second half.
With the victory MSU recorded its first back-to-back 20 win seasons since 2015-16, 2016-17. The Bobcats’ share of the regular season title marks the program’s seventh and the fourth under Binford.
MSU hosts Eastern Washington on Monday night at 7 p.m. in Worthington Arena. A win by the Bobcats over the Eagles will give Montana State the outright Big Sky regular season championship and the No. 1 seed at the league tournament March 4-8 in Boise Idaho.
Monday also serves as Senior Night as the Bobcats will celebrate White, Bad Bear, Jackson, and Grace Beasley as well as student assistant Kenzie Stumne.
