WBB vs. Northern Colorado

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BobcatDel
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WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by BobcatDel » Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:41 pm

Well regular BIg Sky WBB season is on us with our first conference game on Thursday with UNC and another on Saturday with Sac State. Let’s fill the gym folks! It’s been a long time since we were able to cheer them on.

Might as well “wade-in to the muck and drivel” with my comments on UNC. Several interesting twists to this years UNC Bears but they look to be a team in transition.

I had thought this might be a team to contend against MSU and ISU this year. Now I don’t know what to think. They finished the year at 14-12 last season and had a good cadre of young players coming back. All 5 of their leading scorers were returning.

Do you remember Alisha Davis? A SOPHOMORE and the BIG SKY MVP last year averaging 17 PPG! Nobody could stop her or get around her when she was into the game. Gone…toast…vamoosed….left to play at CSU Pueblo! Ouch! Go figure that one out. She had to have offers from other big time schools. She had big time talent.

How about Jasmine Gayles, quick little sophomore guard that averaged 12 PPG….gone….toast…vamoosed….left to play at University of San Francisco Dons! Or Alicia Whyte, averaged 6 PPG….gone…toast…vamoosed to play at Northwestern State.

The only thing I can figure is that this must have all been a result of the coaching change??!

A lot of MSU connection with the coaching changes. Kristin Mattio is the new Head Coach at UNC. She was an assistant coach at MSU for a year (I think only a year). She comes from Head Coach position at DII West Texas A&M where she had a record of 154-35 in six years. Fastest Coach ever to reach 150 wins. 4 conference titles in regular season and 2 tourney titles. Made the DII NCAA tourney 5 times and made the Elite 8 three times. She does return 4 ladies from last year that averaged close to 20 min per game playing time and she has brought in two 6’3” junior transfers from Tarleton and UNLV.

Geoff Golden, our Bobcat assistant coach from last year is now on her staff. Sydney Stensgaard one of the Bobcat freshmen players from last year moved to UNC with Coach Mattio. So if nothing else I think they will pretty much have the scouting report on us….ya think?!

Just a lot of change with that program so I don’t know what to expect…but if Mattio does what she did at the DII level she will turn that program around in a year or two. She had prior experience at other schools in Colorado and with Golden on staff (from Colorado) they know how to recruit that state!

One piece of good news is that it doesn’t appear that Max McCaffrey will be sitting on the sideline with any weapons in hand to throw at the crowd… should be safe.



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by thefrank1 » Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:46 pm

:goodpost: Thanks for the great info.


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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by Bobcat4Ever » Mon Nov 29, 2021 6:02 pm

Wow, that coaching change really stirred things up. I remember Davis and Gayles well. Davis was athletic and strong and just “out-physicalled” people. Gayles was the most annoying small guard in the league. Mattio was here and gone so fast I didn’t recall the name. I think we will miss Geoff Golden and I wish he had left the Big Sky. Thanks for the great update. We’ll be tuning in from NV. 💙💛😺

p.s. Not happy about Nate Harris being at um women’s basketball either.
Last edited by Bobcat4Ever on Fri Dec 03, 2021 4:53 am, edited 1 time in total.



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by BobcatDel » Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:30 pm

Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 6:02 pm
Wow, that coaching change really stirred things up. I remember Davis and Gayles well. Davis was athletic and strong and just “out-physicalled” people. Gayles was the most annoying small guard in the league. Mattio was here and gone so fast I didn’t recall the name. I think we will miss Geoff Golden and I wish he had left the Big Sky. Thanks for the great update. We’ll be tuning in from NV. 💙💛😺

p.s. Not happy about Nate Stewart being at um women’s basketball either.
I think you meant Nate Harris. One thing Holsinger at UM has quickly done is line up three quality assistants with Montana connections that all have desire to build UM program and capability.

Harris from Ronan that was respected at MSU. Retaining Jordan Sullivan from Sidney whose uncle is Selvig and who played for Griz. And hiring Joslyn Tinkle who certainly has the family ties and played in 3 Final Fours while at Stanford playing for Tara VanDerveer, the winningest women’s coach of all time.
Last edited by BobcatDel on Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:18 am, edited 1 time in total.



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by BelgradeBobcat » Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:41 pm

BobcatDel wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:30 pm
I think you meant Nate Harris. One thing Holsinger at UM has quickly done is line up three quality assistants with Montana connections that all have desire to build UM program and capability.

Harris from Ronan that was respected at MSU. Retaining Jordan Sullivan from Sidney whose uncle is Selvig and who played for Griz. And hiring Joslyn Tinkle who certainly has the family ties and played in 3 Final Fours while at Stanford playing for Tara VanDeever, the winningest women’s coach of all time.
I'm thinking the attraction to that staff for Harris and Tinkle is Holsinger has ambitions higher than montana. If he turns things around there fairly quickly he'll be in line for a Mountain West or Pac-12 job. Binford on the other hand isn't likely going anywhere ...which might not be where you want to be for a long time if you're young and ambitious. Just a theory.



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by BobcatDel » Tue Nov 30, 2021 12:59 am

BelgradeBobcat wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:41 pm
BobcatDel wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:30 pm
I think you meant Nate Harris. One thing Holsinger at UM has quickly done is line up three quality assistants with Montana connections that all have desire to build UM program and capability.

Harris from Ronan that was respected at MSU. Retaining Jordan Sullivan from Sidney whose uncle is Selvig and who played for Griz. And hiring Joslyn Tinkle who certainly has the family ties and played in 3 Final Fours while at Stanford playing for Tara VanDeever, the winningest women’s coach of all time.
I'm thinking the attraction to that staff for Harris and Tinkle is Holsinger has ambitions higher than montana. If he turns things around there fairly quickly he'll be in line for a Mountain West or Pac-12 job. Binford on the other hand isn't likely going anywhere ...which might not be where you want to be for a long time if you're young and ambitious. Just a theory.
Very well could be. From his time here I know Nate would like to be a D1 HC someday and he can probably get there. I don’t know enough about Tinkle motivation to conjecture.



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by MSU01 » Thu Dec 02, 2021 9:51 pm

Cats win, 63-57! They led pretty much the entire way, but UNC hung in the entire second half and answered back every time MSU looked like they might extend the lead a little. Binford shrunk the rotation way down from what she was using in non-conference play, as only 8 players saw the court for MSU.



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by BelgradeBobcat » Thu Dec 02, 2021 10:48 pm

A win is a win. Got off to a great start in the first quarter, blew all of that lead and went into the second half up 2 I think. Then it was get a lead, blow the lead, get the lead back, blow the lead. We'd get some separation and then UNCU would hit a three and we'd turn it over or something. Limardo hit a massive three right at the end to hold them off. UNCU played a lot of zone which flustered us on offense sometimes.

As mentioned, Binford shortened the bench. Hughes and Ranson didn't play. Linsday Hein had her foot in a boot, and Madison Jackson had a wrist brace on-both were in street clothes. Leia Beattie had a real nice game offensively. I think she hit three or four threes. She's a good player. We rely a lot of sophomores which I think is one reason we're so inconsistent. We should get better.



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by aucat » Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:49 pm

It was great to actually be back in the Brick to see a game in person. As noted above Coach Binford played only about eight players, which I thought was a positive. All of these players were solid two years ago when I was watching them play. The ladies certainly played hard the entire game. The only difference that I could discern from those ladies two years ago to tonight and this season in general, is for some reason, the shots just aren't falling. I think we ended up in the high 30 percent range and less than that from 3 point.

Also, UNC had a player, number 23, who was deadly from 3 point. Yet she was left unguarded time after time after time. I think she ended up with 6 or 7 made. I can never understand why when a player clearly demonstrates that they are deadly from behind the arc, an adjustment is not made to closely guard that player on the perimeter.

A win is always nice but this team, in my opinion, is just not playing up to their potential. I have no idea why not. They played hard tonight. It was the first time I had seen them in person and I could not detect any problems with chemistry. I think if their shooting percentage goes up to what these players are capable of, say closer to 50 percent, we can have a decent season. If we continue to play like we did tonight, I think this team will have a tough time going .500 in league play.

I watched the highlights of the UM game with Sac State and it will be extremely difficult for our Lady Cats to continue their winning streak against them. I fear that we are doomed to lose the Town Pump "Brawl of the WIld" competition this year.



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by Bobcat4Ever » Fri Dec 03, 2021 4:57 am

BobcatDel wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:30 pm
Bobcat4Ever wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 6:02 pm
Wow, that coaching change really stirred things up. I remember Davis and Gayles well. Davis was athletic and strong and just “out-physicalled” people. Gayles was the most annoying small guard in the league. Mattio was here and gone so fast I didn’t recall the name. I think we will miss Geoff Golden and I wish he had left the Big Sky. Thanks for the great update. We’ll be tuning in from NV. 💙💛😺

p.s. Not happy about Nate Stewart being at um women’s basketball either.
I think you meant Nate Harris. One thing Holsinger at UM has quickly done is line up three quality assistants with Montana connections that all have desire to build UM program and capability.

Harris from Ronan that was respected at MSU. Retaining Jordan Sullivan from Sidney whose uncle is Selvig and who played for Griz. And hiring Joslyn Tinkle who certainly has the family ties and played in 3 Final Fours while at Stanford playing for Tara VanDerveer, the winningest women’s coach of all time.
I did mean Nate Harris. My brain thought Harris and my fingers typed Stewart. Good grief. Yes, you are correct, that’s a good staff for recruiting — you never know if the young’uns can coach. I did see Joslyn play in high school.



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by nevadacat » Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:53 am

BelgradeBobcat wrote:
Thu Dec 02, 2021 10:48 pm
A win is a win. Got off to a great start in the first quarter, blew all of that lead and went into the second half up 2 I think. Then it was get a lead, blow the lead, get the lead back, blow the lead. We'd get some separation and then UNCU would hit a three and we'd turn it over or something. Limardo hit a massive three right at the end to hold them off. UNCU played a lot of zone which flustered us on offense sometimes.

As mentioned, Binford shortened the bench. Hughes and Ranson didn't play. Linsday Hein had her foot in a boot, and Madison Jackson had a wrist brace on-both were in street clothes. Leia Beattie had a real nice game offensively. I think she hit three or four threes. She's a good player. We rely a lot of sophomores which I think is one reason we're so inconsistent. We should get better.
Even last season, I liked the trio of Deden, Limardo, and Beattie. I see them as the future core of this team.


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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by HelenaCat » Fri Dec 03, 2021 10:22 am

aucat wrote:
Thu Dec 02, 2021 11:49 pm
It was great to actually be back in the Brick to see a game in person. As noted above Coach Binford played only about eight players, which I thought was a positive. All of these players were solid two years ago when I was watching them play. The ladies certainly played hard the entire game. The only difference that I could discern from those ladies two years ago to tonight and this season in general, is for some reason, the shots just aren't falling. I think we ended up in the high 30 percent range and less than that from 3 point.

Also, UNC had a player, number 23, who was deadly from 3 point. Yet she was left unguarded time after time after time. I think she ended up with 6 or 7 made. I can never understand why when a player clearly demonstrates that they are deadly from behind the arc, an adjustment is not made to closely guard that player on the perimeter.

A win is always nice but this team, in my opinion, is just not playing up to their potential. I have no idea why not. They played hard tonight. It was the first time I had seen them in person and I could not detect any problems with chemistry. I think if their shooting percentage goes up to what these players are capable of, say closer to 50 percent, we can have a decent season. If we continue to play like we did tonight, I think this team will have a tough time going .500 in league play.

I watched the highlights of the UM game with Sac State and it will be extremely difficult for our Lady Cats to continue their winning streak against them. I fear that we are doomed to lose the Town Pump "Brawl of the WIld" competition this year.
Darian is a very streaky shooter. When she is on, I think we can compete with anyone if others are shooting decently. But when she is off like last night, we struggle. I think we miss Tori more than I thought we would. Tori was pretty darn consistent every game last year and really provided a consistent deep threat that opened up other things.



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by Ilikecats » Fri Dec 03, 2021 11:39 am

I’m not sure Darian is the answer to their problems. The team treats the ball like a hot potato. They go down to the last second of the clock and then dump it to Darian to take an errant shot. Bringing the ball up court, they quickly pass it back and forth to Darian versus just dribbling the damn ball up court. They make Darian beat the press. I don’t see fight and grit. I see rebounds at their feet that they don’t even try to secure. We don’t win on hustle balls. I see shots being taken in the paint without the shooter taking a second to get in the right position to take a shot. Bad Bear takes shots behind her back/ over her head that are infuriating. The air balls OMG! At least 9-10 a game! I’m glad that Binford shortened the bench, but I don’t see the fight and grit that I’ve seen in previous seasons. Three point shots are great, but make some lay ups before focusing on the three! I don’t see Deden, Limardo and Beattie as the future of the team. I see them as part of the problem as they’re not fighting for rebounds, diving on the floor for loose balls and playing help defense! I want to see how many points Deden would score if she actually followed her own shot for rebounds. You can’t shy away from contact in D1 ball! Tori’s contribution wasn’t just her shooting it’s the tenacious defense and willingness to not just shoot the three, but drive through contact to the basket. I still don’t understand how our defense can allow one player to hit 6 or 7 three’s and still not cover her!!! We got a win last night, but unless we get tougher, it’s going to be a long season. I guarantee you, things aren’t going to get easier. We need to recruit TOUGH BASKETBALL PLAYERS! I miss the 2019-2020 team. Not just for their skills, but because they were always willing to fight for each other and make the personal sacrifices needed to win games. We don’t win 50/50 balls anymore! I guess what I’m trying to say is that this team lacks toughness!



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by Catlady » Fri Dec 03, 2021 11:50 am

Ilikecats wrote:
Fri Dec 03, 2021 11:39 am
I’m not sure Darian is the answer to their problems. The team treats the ball like a hot potato. They go down to the last second of the clock and then dump it to Darian to take an errant shot. Bringing the ball up court, they quickly pass it back and forth to Darian versus just dribbling the damn ball up court. They make Darian beat the press. I don’t see fight and grit. I see rebounds at their feet that they don’t even try to secure. We don’t win on hustle balls. I see shots being taken in the paint without the shooter taking a second to get in the right position to take a shot. Bad Bear takes shots behind her back/ over her head that are infuriating. The air balls OMG! At least 9-10 a game! I’m glad that Binford shortened the bench, but I don’t see the fight and grit that I’ve seen in previous seasons. Three point shots are great, but make some lay ups before focusing on the three! I don’t see Deden, Limardo and Beattie as the future of the team. I see them as part of the problem as they’re not fighting for rebounds, diving on the floor for loose balls and playing help defense! I want to see how many points Deden would score if she actually followed her own shot for rebounds. You can’t shy away from contact in D1 ball! Tori’s contribution wasn’t just her shooting it’s the tenacious defense and willingness to not just shoot the three, but drive through contact to the basket. I still don’t understand how our defense can allow one player to hit 6 or 7 three’s and still not cover her!!! We got a win last night, but unless we get tougher, it’s going to be a long season. I guarantee you, things aren’t going to get easier. We need to recruit TOUGH BASKETBALL PLAYERS! I miss the 2019-2020 team. Not just for their skills, but because they were always willing to fight for each other and make the personal sacrifices needed to win games. We don’t win 50/50 balls anymore! I guess what I’m trying to say is that this team lacks toughness!
I don’t know what you mean by toughness, but the last 4 or 5 years we were winning the rebound battle. This season we’re being out rebounded by -8 rebounds a game.



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by aucat » Fri Dec 03, 2021 1:09 pm

I'm not sure I agree with a lot Catlady said, but I will agree that it would not hurt for Coach Binford to try to recruit a few more "blue collar" players that may not be polished but are really physical players. But it's still early and I think this team can get it going, we'll see. One thing is for sure, protect the home court. If we can get a win over Sac State at home Saturday night, I will be feeling pretty good. What a great Saturday. "Skyhawk Chile" for the tailgate special, on to the football game, and then over to the Brick. GO CATS GO



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Re: WBB vs. Northern Colorado

Post by bobcat2651 » Sat Dec 04, 2021 11:02 am

sophomores are showing a lot of improvement and if continued teams will not be able to concentrate as much on Darian and should open up the offense, still relying too much on the three. the last few years the non conference games did not seem to have an effect on league play so hoping and cheering on a great group of young women



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