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.
“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.”
This story will be updated
Bill Speltz is Missoulian Sports Editor. Email Bill at bill.speltz@missoulian.com.