The Bobcat Nation

First chance to see the 2023-24 version of lady Bobcats tonight.


Bobcat Women Hold Blue-Gold Scrimmage

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Oct. 16, 2023 – Montana State head coach Tricia Binford will get her first look at the 2023-24 Bobcats at game speed when the program hosts its annual Blue-Gold Scrimmage, Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in Worthington Arena.

The scrimmage is free and open to the public.

‘The Blue-Gold scrimmage will give us a good look at rotations,” said Binford, who is entering her 19th season at MSU. “We will also see how well we can box out our scout team guys. Scout is very fast and big and will challenge us in transition and on the glass.

“We’ll also be focusing on our chemistry and making sure we’re working for a great shot regardless of rotations,” she added.

Montana State returns eight letterwinners, including three starters from last year’s squad that went 20-11 overall and 13-5 in Big Sky play, en route to a regular-season Big Sky Conference title.

Leading the Bobcats will be returning starters Lexi Deden, Katelynn Limardo and Madison Jackson. Deden, a senior from Missoula, returns as MSU leading scorer and rebounder after averaging 8.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, respectively.

Binford also welcomes back letterwinners Taylor Jannsen, Marah Dykstra, and Dylan Philip. Lindsey Hein and Mattie Olson, who also saw time last winter, are currently sidelined from the hardwood.

Seven newcomers, including two NCAA Division I transfers, dot this season’s roster, as well. Brooke Berry, a product of Billings Skyview transferred to the Bobcats prior to the spring semester, while Drea Brumfield, a native of Chehalis, Wash., comes to Bozeman via Pepperdine.

Isobel Bunyan, Lea Boulanger, Malea Egan, Natalie Picton, and Ella Johnson make up this season’s freshmen class.


Tom Schulz
Athletics Communications Director
Montana State University

Not sure Hein will ever consistently see the floor. And like always hurt.

Wanted to drive down to check out the scrimmage, but I was too busy. I was hoping to get info on how the new players were fitting in but this is all we got.

https://msubobcats.com/news/2023/10/17/ ... ctory.aspx

For being the current premier team in the Big Sky it is so disappointing how the local media and even our own Athletic Department cares to cover this team! Even browsing Twitter I know more about the Lady Griz's scrimmage, also last night, let alone me doing a deep dive this morning to dig up any information on the game!

mslacat wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 18, 2023 10:09 am

Wanted to drive down to check out the scrimmage, but I was too busy. I was hoping to get info on how the new players were fitting in but this is all we got.

https://msubobcats.com/news/2023/10/17/ ... ctory.aspx

For being the current premier team in the Big Sky it is so disappointing how the local media and even our own Athletic Department cares to cover this team! Even browsing Twitter I know more about the Lady Griz's scrimmage, also last night, let alone me doing a deep dive this morning to dig up any information on the game!

I concur with your comment on coverage for the Cats. I’ve made the same observation to several people multiple times…we just aren’t competitive with the school to the West in media coverage.

As to the scrimmage, it’s always hard to make a firm judgement with all the rotation and mixing in the lineups and the mistakes made during these type games….there were a plethora of turnovers as mentioned by Coach Bin. I was primarily looking to see if we had a point guard and a couple 3pt shooters on the team this year……the jury is still out on both….only shooting 25% from the arc is not good enough for the Big Sky, and Dylan played well at the point but she has a lot of growth opportunity.

I came in thinking we were likely strong underneath and we do have good potential there but still relatively young….in a year or two, I think our inside game could dominate the conference….we have 10 of the girls at 6ft or better…. 7 ladies are 6’2” or taller….this is the tallest group I have seen for the lady Cats! Lexi and Marah played well inside..nice inside moves by Lexi.

My first impression was that this team can play some good defense. Good hustle, good board work, disruptive passing lanes. I liked what I saw. As to the new folks I certainly think they all looked like they belonged and can compete…they represented themselves well. If you made me pick which of the newcomers did the best I would say Malia Egan, Ella Johnson, and Issa Bunyan. Malia is quick, came in and knocked down a couple treys but then cooled off, wasn’t afraid to take it to the hoop in traffic…but she sometimes got bottled up and her shots in traffic were out of control…she wasn’t a Darian White…or she missed opportunities to pass off….but still she showed speed and quickness with opportunity to grow. I think Ella Johnson represented herself well and to me shows that she could be a real factor underneath in a couple years…at 6’2” and strong in appearance for her age, she was in the mix on rebounds and made some good offensive moves around the basket…I want to see how she develops but I like her based on my first impressions. Issy Bunyan hustled, played good D and made two or three nice floaters while moving at speed…I told her when I met her that maybe she can be the first person from Wales to make an all-conference team designation. Lea Boulanger (pronounced Boulanjay..…think French Canadian pronunciation….French is her first language) surprised me….for as lean as she is she wasn’t afraid to be underneath getting knocked about or knocking about..….kinda reminds me of that young Blair Braxton in her first game as a freshman….and Lea was having fun doing it..smiling all the time. Natalie Picton is quick also and made several good plays….I just thought Malea was a bit better.

Again this was a “raw first impression” of what I saw. But I always like to see someone several times.

Exhibition games October 28th against Lewis and Clark and November 4 against Caroll College in Helena. Unfortunately Nov 4 is also a home FB game against NAU (because I would like to attend the Carroll College game also). Carroll ladies have three drop downs from the Griz and should be a good contest for the Bobcat WBB team against a good opponent.

I think the 23-24 version of the Bobcat women's basketball is going to be very very talented and deep at the three front-court positions. We have 6-7 players who could start on most of the top-tier Big Sky teams. The big question for me is, of course, the front court. There seems to be plenty of talent there on paper but not a lot of proven D-1 talent. In my opinion, to be a top team in the Big Sky women's basketball you need a talented dynamic point guard. I do not know who that is - yet- on this team, but Binford knows her point guards. I had one former Binford assistant tell me that the point guard spot was the toughest position to recruit for Binford because she was so picky about what she wanted in a point guard and they could never find a guard talented enough for Binford. I have faith that 1 or 2 point guards will emerge, but who will it be? How far will the point guards be able to take this team? I also think we are going to need a little bit more scoring this year from the shooting/wing guard than we have had the last 4 years.