Lady Griz drill 14 3s, beat Bobcats
MISSOULA — This time there would be no comeback.
Just as the Lady Griz did in Bozeman last month Montana raced out to a lead over Montana State — and this time they kept it, rolling to a 72-50 victory Saturday afternoon at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.
Three Montana starters struck for 14 points and the Lady Griz did their usual damage from the 3-point line, going 14 for 27 (.519). Their work on the defensive end turned the game into a rout, with the Bobcats held to 21 second-half points.
“It’s their defense,” Lady Griz coach Brian Holsinger said. “And they are getting better and better. It’s literally just toughening it out on the defensive end. That’s the difference in the game. We’re playing tougher and you saw that.
“It was really neat in the second half to see the defense come alive and make it really hard on them.”
Montana raced out to a 19-5 lead in Bozeman last month, then lost 64-55. The Lady Griz went up 11-2 on Saturday, forcing an early Bobcat timeout, and never let up. They led 19-13 after the first quarter, 38-29 at the half, then built its advantage to 56-38 by the end of the third quarter.
“We knew we needed everybody to get the win and play as a team,” said Gina Marxen, who had 14 points and four assists, and who hit back-to-back 3-pointers 32 seconds apart early in the game to get Montana rolling.
“I’m really proud of the energy and the effort we came out with and playing all 40 minutes and being able to finish it.”
Montana held Katelynn Limardo and Madison Hall, Montana State’s leading scorers, to 11 combined points on 4-of-16 shooting. The Bobcats to just seven baskets over the final 20 minutes of the game.
Carmen Gfeller, the team’s leading scorer, took just five shots, but Dani Bartsch and Mack Konig matched Marxen with 14 points, Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw added 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the 3-point line.
Montana shot 54 percent in the first half, and cooled off to 43 percent for the second. but still went 8 for 18 from the 3-point line.
Bartsch didn’t reach her usual double-double but to her 14 points she added eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal. Her chase-down block of Natalie Picton in the game’s opening minute set the early tone.
“She’s unbelievable,” said freshman Macey Huard. “I’ve never played with someone who’s so efficient. Rebounds, blocks, she’s everywhere at once. Even if she’s not scoring, she’s affecting the game in a lot of other ways.”
The win kept Montana (17-7, 9-4 BSC) within two games of Big Sky leaders Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington, who share 11-2 league records and face each other on Thursday in Cheney.
Montana State (14-12, 8-5 in league) was led by Marah Dyukstra’s 13 points and nine rebounds. Taylor Janssen had 10 points and Isobel Bunya nine.
"We were not our disruptive selves for the complete game,” MSU coach Tricia Binford said. “We need to be that against this kind of team. I thought we prepared well and played hard and this was Montana’s night.”