BOISE, Idaho -- Marah Dykstra put back her own miss just before the final buzzer to give top-seeded Montana State a 58-57 victory over No. 6 seed Montana on Wednesday to claim the Big Sky women's basketball tournament championship.
Montana State (30-3) earned the automatic berth to the NCAA tournament by winning its second conference tournament championship in four years and the fourth in program history. Montana (14-18) was in the title game for the first time since 2015.
Dykstra gave Montana State a 56-52 lead with 2:34 remaining, and neither team scored until freshman Avery Waddington made a bucket on a driving layup with 30.8 seconds left to get Montana within two points.
MJ Bruno made a steal with 23 seconds left, and Mack Konig dribbled down the clock for Montana before finding Dani Bartsch for a wide open 3-pointer to give the Lady Griz a one-point lead with 7.9 seconds left.
Dykstra came off a high screen for a contested left-handed layup that did not hit the rim, but it bounced right back to her off the backboard and she narrowly beat the buzzer to win it.
Esmeralda Morales finished with 25 points to lead Montana State.
Waddington had 15 points and eight rebounds, Konig added 13 points and eight assists and Bruno scored 11 for Montana.
Tyler McCliment-Call sank a 3-pointer from the corner with 6:53 remaining to give Montana its first lead, 50-49, since it was 21-19.
Montana State and Montana have met six times in Big Sky tournament championship game, with Montana winning in 1991, 1995, 1997 and 2008. The Bobcats' only other win over the Lady Griz was in 1993.
