BOZEMAN — What ought to’ve been a celebratory day for the Montana State girls’s basketball group turned heart-wrenching Saturday at Worthington Arena.
With the Bobcats within the strategy of placing the ending touches on a 64-55 comeback win over rival Montana, Montana State senior Katelynn “Ok.J.” Limardo took a tough foul and fell to the court docket, hitting her neck and the again of her head on the hardwood. Medical personnel tended to her for almost 20 minutes, in the end taking Limardo out on a backboard and stretcher as an emotional Bobcat group surrounded her and wished her effectively.
“It’s actually robust seeing one in all our key gamers go down in the course of a sport after which seeing the stretcher come out, that’s actually robust for the entire group to see, particularly it being Ok.J., as a result of we’re all united as one, all of us look after each other quite a bit,” mentioned Montana State fifth-year participant Madison Hall. “This is only a factor that we will have to wish about for her, for our group and simply preserve transferring on to the subsequent sport and mentally keep collectively and simply be composed as potential.”
Montana State coach Tricia Binford didn’t have an update on Limardo’s standing after the sport. (Update: A Montana State spokesperson mentioned Binford visited Limardo within the hospital and Limardo goes to be OK. Limardo’s mother and father, Kristina and Peter, expressed gratitude to “one of the best followers on the planet” for his or her prayers.) Limardo completed with 10 factors, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocked pictures, in the end serving to Montana State to its tenth consecutive home win over the Lady Griz.
PHOTOS: MONTANA STATE BOBCATS TOP MONTANA LADY GRIZ IN BRAWL OF THE WILD
Montana State’s win did not come with out suspense, although. Montana constructed an early double-digit lead and regarded poised to provide coach Brian Holsinger his first win in Bozeman. The Lady Griz constructed their largest lead of the sport — 14 factors late within the first quarter — behind 5 made 3-pointers, nevertheless it was Carmen Gfeller who sparked Montana within the opening 10 minutes. The 6-foot-1 all-conference ahead gave Montana State matches, grabbing three offensive rebounds and blocking three pictures within the first quarter. She anchored a Montana protection that held the Bobcats to simply two made area objectives within the first seven minutes of the sport.
Meanwhile, the Lady Griz offense was flowing freely, sinking the 5 3-pointers and tallying six assists and 7 made area objectives.
“They have been hitting a variety of 3s on us. And that was one thing in our sport plan, we mentioned we needed to restrict the 3s as a result of it confirmed within the video games earlier to us, they have been an incredible 3-point capturing group,” mentioned Montana State sophomore ahead Marah Dykstra. “We’ll give them credit score, they have been hitting a variety of pictures and so they have been transferring the ball effectively at first, so we mentioned we have got to be extra disruptive, we have got to remove their major actions and first appears to be like and make them play us for the entire shot clock.”
Montana State began to seek out its reply late within the first quarter, closing the interval with six consecutive factors to tug inside 19-11. The Cats’ run finally reached 14 unanswered factors when an Ella Johnson 3-pointer tied the sport at 19 halfway by way of the second quarter.
Despite the first-half rally, Montana State by no means was capable of take the lead earlier than intermission, and the Lady Griz went into the break up 29-25 after a Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw 3.
Montana pushed the lead again to 36-28 within the third quarter, however the Bobcats had one other rally in them, placing collectively what would develop into a 13-3 run that stretched into the fourth quarter. During the spurt, Hall gave Montana State its first lead of the sport with a bucket on the 2:50 mark of the third quarter. Dykstra capped the run along with her personal basket early within the fourth quarter that gave the Bobcats a 46-41 lead.
The fourth quarter noticed the groups commerce 3-pointers within the early going earlier than the Bobcats began to realize separation within the remaining minutes. With the sport tied at 53 with 3:45 to play, Natalie Picton drilled a giant 3-pointer for MSU. After two Gina Marxen free throws for the Lady Griz, Hall scored within the paint after which knocked down two clutch free throws after Limardo’s horrifying damage. Hall and Picton every added two extra free throws within the remaining seconds to ice away the win.
“(Hall) is the form of participant the place — you already know, 9 out of 10 instances, there’s typically a sport slippage or no matter — (Hall) goes to be there,” Dykstra mentioned. “She’s probably the most accountable person on the group. She’s but to not present up for a sport for us. I’m actually pleased with how she performed (Saturday). It was unbelievable.”
Hall completed with a game-high 18 factors, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for the Bobcats, who additionally acquired 12 factors from Dykstra and 10 from Picton.
“We do not have one person on our group that is going to surrender,” Hall mentioned. “We maintain one another accountable. If you are going to step up and compete for me, I’m going to step up and compete for you, as a result of that is simply the way it needs to be.”
Dani Bartsch scored 11 factors and grabbed 11 rebounds to steer Montana. Gfeller and Marxen every added 10 factors.
“Hats off to Montana State. They performed aggressive, so that you wish to give them credit score. I do not wish to not give them credit score, for positive, however one thing modified (after Montana’s 19-5 begin to the sport),” Holsinger mentioned. “They performed actually good protection, and so they made it arduous on us. I feel we common 70-some factors a sport and we get 55, in order that’s the largest distinction.”
The win is the 2 hundredth Big Sky Conference victory in Binford’s 19-year profession because the Bobcats’ coach.
Both groups have fast turnarounds on their schedules. Montana State (9-9 total, 3-2 Big Sky Conference) performs at Idaho State on Monday, whereas Montana (11-5, 3-2) is at Weber State the identical day.
