BOZEMAN — One thing the Montana State women's basketball team prided itself on this season was the culture within the locker room.
When you add four new faces to the roster this upcoming season, how do you continue that culture with old and new faces?
Bobcat head coach Tricia Binford had the answer to that question.
Hear from Coach Binford here:
"We knew that we had tremendous chemistry coming back with a very selfless team," Binford said. "Which is why we were extremely intentional about the four kids coming in."
One of those players is Madison O'Connor, who will enter this fall as a true freshman out of Baker.
"We've known Madi O'Connor probably since before she even entered high school," Binford said. "Knowing that family, knowing what kind of kid this is, her work ethic, her competitiveness. ... She does a lot of things on the court. I think she's going to complement what we have."
"(With) her ability to score with the ball in her hands," Binford continued. "(There's) a lot of excitement ahead for a Montana kid."
Another player from Montana that Bobcat fans can look forward to seeing play in the Treasure State again is BYU transfer Braeden Gunlock, a Bigfork native.
"She's been at MSU camps," Binford said. "When we saw her go into the portal, we just thought that was a natural fit."
Binford describes Gunlock as a player with a lot of length that can guard any position on the floor.
"(She's) really versatile," Binford said. "She's able to score facing up. It made so much sense to add that kid into our program. She knows everybody on this team, and that was a nice transition bringing her in on the visit."
One more transfer for the Bobcats is familiar with Montana as well after spending her first season at Miles Community College.
"Ebele (Mbagwu) is somebody that is very dynamic and can guard 94 feet and give us some depth at the guard position," Binford said. "So we've got depth everywhere right now. My job is to find a way to maximize all of it because we do have an incredible core coming back."
Emma Dongelmans, an incoming freshman from Oakville, Ontario, Canada, rounds out the newest Bobcats.
Binford has a message for Bobcat fans regarding this upcoming season.
"We had 4,000 people in the Brick as we finished the season," Binford said. "We want to build off that 4,000, see if we can fill the Brick because it's going to be a really exciting season. This team is going to have a lot of pieces and we're going to get even faster. That's hard to believe. Let's fill the Brick and be ready for season ticket sales, we want to sell those out."
Montana State women's basketball fans have a lot to look forward to when the team returns to the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in October.
