MISSOULA — Faced with a hyper-motivated foe coming off a heartbreaking loss, the Montana Lady Griz needed to be ready from the start Sunday.
They played exceptional basketball in the first quarter and stayed in front for the duration.
Montana used hot shooting and hustling defense to post a 66-55 win over the slumping Bengals at Robin Selvig Court. The Lady Griz improved to 2-0 in Big Sky Conference play and 8-3 overall with their fifth straight win.
“Really proud of our kids — defensively we were better today,” Montana coach Brian Holsinger said. “That’s a huge positive.
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“Really proud of the effort and energy. We beat them by 12 on the glass.”
The win sent a message to the rest of the Big Sky that the Lady Griz have elevated their game. Defensive-oriented Idaho State had won five games in a row in Missoula, holding the Lady Griz to an average of 54 points per game.
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Montana simply had too many weapons to contain Sunday, especially at the the 3-point line. Six Lady Griz hit from behind the arc and the team totaled 10 makes from deep.
Gina Marxen and Carmen Gfeller shared the team lead in scoring with 12 points apiece. Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw added 11 and Dani Bartsch totaled eight points and seven rebounds.
Idaho State, who lost on a buzzer beater at Montana State Thursday, jumped to a 7-2 lead in the first 2 minutes before the Lady Griz ignited on the offensive end. Montana went on a 19-5 run fueled by 3-point buckets by MJ Bruno, Mack Konig and Espenmiller-McGraw.
“They came out and actually scored better against our zone than man, but I thought let’s just stick with it a little,” Holsinger noted. “I think it wore them down. We’re still making interesting mistakes (on defense) but I was proud of our kids.”
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This story will be updated
Bill Speltz is Missoulian Sports Editor. Email Bill at bill.speltz@missoulian.com.
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The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
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Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing
03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 2 drawing
06-12-19-29, Bonus: 11
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing
21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25
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Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing
28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.
Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:
The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….
There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:
While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.
The Missoulan article includes this response:
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In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”
As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”Mayhisexampleprofitothers,” in the Falen translation.
