BOISE, Idaho — In a championship matchup between rivals, Montana couldn’t have asked for a better start.
In a tense and pressure-filled game, Montana State couldn’t have asked for a better finish.
Marah Dykstra put back her own miss at the buzzer to lift the Bobcats to a 58-57 victory over Montana to win the Big Sky Conference women’s basketball championship Tuesday at Idaho Central Arena.
MONTANA STATE AT THE BUZZER FOR A TICKET TO THE DANCE 😲
— ESPN (@espn) March 12, 2025
This. Is. March. pic.twitter.com/oG4at3MAuo
With time running down, Dykstra drove to the hoop and misfired off the glass on her first attempt. But in the same motion she corralled the ball and laid it in before the horn, and the basket held up under official review as the game-winner.
That set off an on-court celebration for the Bobcats, who are headed back to the NCAA tournament with their first Big Sky title since 2022.
Photos: Montana State wins thrilling Big Sky Conference championship game over rival Montana
"Not exactly how we drew it up, but luckily I was able to follow my shot and there was enough time to just throw it back up there with a little bit of a prayer," said Dykstra, a 6-foot-1 junior forward from Vancouver, B.C.
"I kind of blacked out in that moment. I can't really remember it right now, but it's something I'm going to definitely remember for the rest of my life."
The Bobcats led 56-52 in the final minutes, but the Lady Griz pounced when MSU's Esmeralda Morales dribbled the ball off her foot out of bounds to set up a layup by Montana's Avery Waddington with 30 seconds left.
On the next possession, Montana's M.J. Bruno stole the ball from Morales, and Helena's Dani Bartsch hit an immensely clutch 3 from the right wing with nine seconds left to give the Lady Griz a 57-56 advantage.
After a timeout, MSU inbounded the ball at half court and the play went not through Morales — the league's most valuable player who was also named tourney MVP — but through Dykstra, who drove right against Bartsch, maneuvered left and scored off her own miss inside to win the game and mark the Bobcats' 30th victory of the year, a continuation of the program's single-season record.
"The play was not executed to perfection, but the effort was," Bobcats coach Tricia Binford said. "We knew they were really, really denying Esme well, really hounding her all night. And so really it was a little bit of a decoy there because it was going to open up a lane for Marah to attack. We were really fortunate that Marah followed her (own) shot."
Montana came out guns hot and took a 12-point first-quarter lead. The Bobcats eventually built a 10-point advantage early in the third quarter at 40-30 after a 3 by Morales.
The Lady Griz countered with a 15-3 run, highlighted by a driving layup from Mack Konig and a basket inside by Bruno to pull within two points entering the fourth.
That set up a fantastic final 10-minute stretch, one in which the Lady Griz went from elation to anguish in the final seconds.
"It's pure joy and straight heartbreak," said Bartsch. "Unfortunately we all stopped when (Dykstra) missed that first shot. That's a remarkable team. We may have gotten too high on that 3 and thought, 'Oh we have it.' But they made a great play.
"It's a great team, great player. Credit to them."
Morales finished with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting despite tough defense from the likes of Bruno and others. Dyktra had 10 points and six rebounds. Addison Harris came off the bench to chip in nine key points for the Bobcats.
Konig continued her solid tournament play with 13 points and eight assists for Montana. Waddington led with 15 points and eight rebounds while Bruno added 11 points. Bartsch had nine points and six rebounds.
This marked the sixth time the Bobcats and Lady Griz had tangled for the Big Sky tournament title and the first since 2008. MSU is now headed to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in its history.
It was a surprising Cinderella run at the tournament for the Lady Griz, who experienced midseason upheaval when head coach Brian Holsinger took personal time away from the program in January and eventually resigned in February.
Lead assistant Nate Harris took over as as acting head coach and later interim head coach, ultimately rallying the team to the doorstep of what would have been an unlikely and unexpected championship.
"What a great college basketball game. I'm in a little bit of shock," said an emotional Harris, a Sidney native who is a surefire candidate to assume full head-coaching duties in the coming weeks. "Super disappointed for our kids, what they've been through, what they've done this week.
"My heart's broken for our kids and for myself just that I don't get to hang out with them the way I've been hanging out with them the last little bit, watching them come together and fight and stick together and do what they've been doing for the last week.
"So congratulations to Montana State. Obviously wish them the best moving forward. But this one stings."
