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 July 8, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from July 8 drawing
12-29-37-43-55, Powerball: 18, Power Play: 4
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
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Winning Lotto America numbers from July 8 drawing
17-26-31-32-37, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 8 drawing
03-13-16-17, Bonus: 10
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from July 8 drawing
06-27-33-44-69, Powerball: 23
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Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from July 8 drawing
08-16-17-22-27
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 8 drawing
16-18-43-48-50, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
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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.
HELENA, Mont — Gov. Greg Gianforte is backing a new effort to keep data centers from driving up Montanans’ power bills.
This week, Gianforte announced Montana is signing on to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge — an initiative endorsed by President Trump.
Several major technology companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and XAI first signed the pledge back in March.
The pledge comes as data center development continues to grow — raising questions about how much new energy will be needed and who will pay for it.
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NBC Montana spoke with Julia Haggerty, professor of geography and department head of earth sciences at Montana State University, about whether Montana’s power grid is ready for that growth.
“Not without resolution of significant transmission bottlenecks and massive amounts of new generation. So, while our grid is adequately, relatively adequately equipped to serve the needs of our current load base, it’s definitely not equipped to accommodate the new demands without a lot of expansion,” she said.
According to the pledge, data center developers will pay for new power generation, and infrastructure needed to support their operations.
“It does align with ongoing regulatory efforts to ensure that the cost of new generation associated with data centers is borne by the developers of those data centers and not customers,” Haggerty said.
The governor’s office says Gianforte’s support of the pledge is designed to encourage responsible data center investments while protecting Montana ratepayers from long-term costs.
