Thursday, January 9
Greeley, CO
6 p.m.
Montana State University
at
Northern Colorado
Esme Morales goes up for two of her 16 points against Eastern Washington last Saturday.
Photo by: Noah Syverson
Bobcats Face Northern Colorado, Northern Arizona in First League Road Contests
1/8/2025 6:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Montana State makes its first appearance on the Big Sky Conference road when it faces Northern Colorado, Thursday night at 6 p.m. in Greeley.
NEXT UP: Montana State makes its first appearance on the Big Sky Conference road when it faces Northern Colorado, Thursday night at 6 p.m. in Greeley. The Bobcats conclude its weekend on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Flagstaff against Northern Arizona at Findlay Toyota Court.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS: Montana State is 102-2 overall and 2-0 in Big Sky play after defeating Idaho (59-56) and Eastern Washington (66-54) last weekend in Worthington Arena
ABOUT THE BEARS: Northern Colorado is 7-6 overall and 0-2 in Big Sky play. The Bears dropped a 65-52 decision at Weber State and suffered a 58-50 loss at Idaho State last week.
ABOUT THE LUMBERJACKS: Northern Arizona is 11-4 overall and 2-0 in league action. The Lumberjacks won two on the road- defeating Idaho State 79-71, and Weber State 92-78.
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID MAJOR TOP 25: For the third consecutive week, Montana State is ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major top 25 coaches' poll. The week the Bobcats moved up one spot to No. 14 with 350 points. Saturday's opponent, Northern Arizona, is ranked No. 19 with 214 points. Harvard held on to the No. 1 spot. The Crimson received 28 first-place votes and 770 total points. Montana State made its debut in the 2024-25 CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 poll on Dec. 18, after defeating No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast 58-49 in Fort Myers, Fla. Oral Roberts, who defeated the Bobcats 82-80 in overtime as part of the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge on Dec. 7 in Tulsa, is currently ranked No. 20.
SO MUCH WINNING: In the last five seasons, no Big Sky Conference team has won more league games than the Bobcats. Montana State has racked up 71 Big Sky wins since the 2019-20 campaign. They are followed in the top five by Northern Arizona (62), Idaho (58), Idaho State (57), and Montana (57).
WE'RE BACK: Seniors Lexi Deden and Taylor Janssen made their first appearances of the season at the Puerto Rico, Clasio, Dec. 19-20, in San Juan. Deden, a forward from Missoula, was lost to a knee injury last season in the fourth quarter of MSU's contest against James Madison at the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving. She had been averaging a team-best 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Last week, Deden averaged 10.2 minutes of action and recorded ten points and eight rebounds. She had 10 points and six rebounds in MSU's win over Eastern Washington. Taylor Janssen, a 6-3 forward from Rosemount, Minn., also missed the first 12 games coming back from a leg injury. Janssen averaged 10.7 minutes last week and registered two steals, a blocked shot and an assist.
BOBCAT NOTEBOOK:
ABOUT THE BOBCATS: Montana State is 102-2 overall and 2-0 in Big Sky play after defeating Idaho (59-56) and Eastern Washington (66-54) last weekend in Worthington Arena
ABOUT THE BEARS: Northern Colorado is 7-6 overall and 0-2 in Big Sky play. The Bears dropped a 65-52 decision at Weber State and suffered a 58-50 loss at Idaho State last week.
ABOUT THE LUMBERJACKS: Northern Arizona is 11-4 overall and 2-0 in league action. The Lumberjacks won two on the road- defeating Idaho State 79-71, and Weber State 92-78.
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID MAJOR TOP 25: For the third consecutive week, Montana State is ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major top 25 coaches' poll. The week the Bobcats moved up one spot to No. 14 with 350 points. Saturday's opponent, Northern Arizona, is ranked No. 19 with 214 points. Harvard held on to the No. 1 spot. The Crimson received 28 first-place votes and 770 total points. Montana State made its debut in the 2024-25 CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 poll on Dec. 18, after defeating No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast 58-49 in Fort Myers, Fla. Oral Roberts, who defeated the Bobcats 82-80 in overtime as part of the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge on Dec. 7 in Tulsa, is currently ranked No. 20.
SO MUCH WINNING: In the last five seasons, no Big Sky Conference team has won more league games than the Bobcats. Montana State has racked up 71 Big Sky wins since the 2019-20 campaign. They are followed in the top five by Northern Arizona (62), Idaho (58), Idaho State (57), and Montana (57).
WE'RE BACK: Seniors Lexi Deden and Taylor Janssen made their first appearances of the season at the Puerto Rico, Clasio, Dec. 19-20, in San Juan. Deden, a forward from Missoula, was lost to a knee injury last season in the fourth quarter of MSU's contest against James Madison at the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving. She had been averaging a team-best 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Last week, Deden averaged 10.2 minutes of action and recorded ten points and eight rebounds. She had 10 points and six rebounds in MSU's win over Eastern Washington. Taylor Janssen, a 6-3 forward from Rosemount, Minn., also missed the first 12 games coming back from a leg injury. Janssen averaged 10.7 minutes last week and registered two steals, a blocked shot and an assist.
BOBCAT NOTEBOOK:
- Montana State ranks 13th in the nation in turnover margin at 8.36. The Bobcats forced 48 turnovers against Chadron State and have caused 20 or more miscues in games against Troy (22), Cal Poly (26), UC Davis (21), East Carolina (29), Florida Gulf Coast (21), P.R.-Mayaguez (25) and Idaho (23). The 8.36 stat is also tops in the Big Sky Conference.
- Montana State ranks 9th in the nation averaging 13.4 steals per game. The Bobcats posted a season-high 26 steals in its season opening win over Chadron State on Nov. 4. The mark was two shy of the all-time MSU mark of 28 steals against Montana Tech on Dec. 16, 2000. Currently, Longwood leads the nation averaging 15.6 per game.
- Marah Dykstra leads the Big Sky shooting 51.7% (74-143) from the field.
- Taylee Chirrick leads the Big Sky averaging 2.57 steals per game, which ranks No. 51 in the country. Her 36 total steals rank No. 47 overall. Chirrick's total is also third best in the nation by a freshman behind Mikala Banks, Vanderbilt, 44 and Sira Thienou, Ole Miss, 38.
- Katelynn (Limardo) Martin scored her 1,000th career point on a three-pointer at the 1:22 mark of the first quarter in MSU's win over UCF (76-68) at the UNLV Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 29. Martin became just the 27th Bobcat in history to reach the milestone.
- Katelynn (Limardo) Martin played in her 133rd career game against Eastern Washington on Saturday (Jan. 4), becoming the all-time MSU iron woman for games played.
- Sophomore Ella Johnson is second in the Big Sky averaging 1.31 blocks per game. That average also ranks 103rd in the nation. Johnson's 17 total blocks is second best in the league and ranks 125th at the NCAA Division I level.
- Esmeralda Morales has recorded 14 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer. Her longest consecutive streak - 30 games - stretched from Feb. 18, 2023 to Feb. 8, 2024.
- Esmeralda Morales' career point total is 1,556 after scoring 33 points last weekend.
Players Mentioned
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