Lady ‘Cats Lose Top Performer
By Danny Waldo
In what has already been an up and down season for head coach Tricia Binford and her staff, things just got even more difficult after it was announced that Claire Lundberg has been lost for the year due to injury.
The 6’1 senior from senior from Andover, MN suffered a torn ACL injury in the Bobcats loss to Northern Colorado back on February 4th and will require season-ending surgery, effectively ending her career as a Bobcat after just 21 games.
Lundberg transferred to MSU after playing three seasons for Seton Hall University out of the Big East Conference. She sat out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer policies, but was having a stellar year in his first season wearing the Blue and Gold. Lundberg was averaging 17.0 points per game to go along with 3.6 rebounds while shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from 3-point range and 86.8 percent from the free-throw line.
The senior was in conversations for Big Sky Conference Newcomer of the Year as she was ranked second in the Big Sky in free-throw percentage, fourth in 3-pointers per game, sixth in scoring, seventh in 3-point percentage and 13th in field goal percentage.
“For any basketball player, it’s the news you never want to hear,” Bobcats coach Tricia Binford said in the release. “You don’t want to see any kid have to go through this, but it’s even more difficult being her senior year.
“Claire is such a fantastic kid, and I know she will come back stronger than ever. As a team we will step-up for each other, step-up for her and bounce back from this setback.”
MSU will look to replace Lundberg’s production by committee as they battle to hang in the race for the Big Sky Conference regular-season championship. The Lady ‘Cats currently sit alone in 5th place in the league standings at 7-6, 3.5 games back of league-leader, Idaho, with seven games remaining before the Big Sky Conference tournament in Boise in March.
“We’re grateful we got to have her for the 21 games she played as a Bobcat,” Binford said. “We’re even more grateful that she has been a part of our women’s basketball family. Claire is a selfless kid who gave us great leadership and a tremendous presence on the floor. She is an extremely committed athlete, and I know she has a bright future ahead.”
“We’ll start helping her with rehab,” Binford added. “It’s a long process, but we have people in the department and in the community that will support her through the summer and make sure she’s on the right course for recovery. She has goals to play professionally, and we’ll help her in any way to make that happen.”
