Montana
Denver
Shooting woes costly to Lady Griz in 53-52 loss
12/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2011
Box score
Montana limited Denver to nine points below its season scoring average and forced 25 turnovers, but another off-shooting night cost the Lady Griz a chance at completing a road sweep. Montana shot 33.3 percent, its sixth time in eight games this season under 37 percent, and lost to the Pioneers 53-52 at DU's Magness Arena Monday night.
The loss came two days after shooting a season-high 52.8 percent in a 69-59 win at Wyoming Saturday.
The tight game, which neither team led by more than six points, had nine ties and 13 lead changes.
Kaetlyn Murdoch put Denver up 43-41 with two free throws with 6:59 to play, and the Pioneers would lead the rest of the way, though the Lady Griz did not lack opportunities to steal its second road win of the season.
Kenzie De Boer's steal and coast-to-coast layup with just over a minute remaining cut the lead to 51-49, and Denver missed on its next possession. Montana worked the ball to Carly Selvig in the post with just over 30 seconds to play, but she was stripped by a double-teaming Murdoch.
Montana fouled Morgan Shell, and she missed the front end of a one-and-one with 17 seconds to play. That gave the Lady Griz an opportunity to tie or go for the win with a three.
Kenzie De Boer missed a potential game-tying shot with 11 seconds remaining -- described on KENR 107.5 by Tom Stage as "ill-advised" -- and Emiko Smith, who would lead both teams with 15 points, knocked down a pair of pressure free throws with 10 seconds to play to push the lead to four.
Torry Hill hit a three with three seconds to play -- her only make in 10 attempts after going 6 for 10 overall at Wyoming, 4 for 7 from 3-point range -- to make it 53-52.
Montana immediately fouled, and Denver missed another front end with two seconds remaining, but the Lady Griz could not get a final shot off.
"How easy did the game feel when we were making shots at Wyoming?" UM coach Robin Selvig asked rhetorically after the game. "But we're back to the same old tune one day later: shooting poorly.
"We need to get more than 52 points."
The loss and the reemergence of the team's season-long offensive struggles overshadowed a tremendous defensive effort. Denver entered the game averaging 62 points and only 16 turnovers per game.
Montana swiped a season-high 18 steals, with the junior class -- De Boer, Alyssa Smith and Katie Baker (junior Ali Hurley did not play) -- accounting for 13 of them. De Boer had a career-high six steals, Smith a career-high four and Baker a season-high three.
"There were a ton of good things tonight," Selvig continued. "Defensively we did a heck of a job. We really had active hands. We forced 25 turnovers, and this is a team that does not turn it over.
"We almost beat a really good team at their place while shooting the ball poorly, so that's encouraging. It would have been a great, great road trip if we could have swept, but I still think we can gain confidence from this."
De Boer and Carly Selvig combined to hit 10 of their 20 shots. The rest of the team was 8 for 34. Hill was 1 for 10, and Baker, who went 11 for 13 at Wyoming, was 2 for 9.
De Boer finished with 13 points, her third time reaching double figures in four games, and Selvig came off the bench to add 10. Selvig also had five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in 20 minutes of work.
Smith and Baker led Montana with six rebounds.
Montana hit its first eight shot attempts Saturday at Wyoming. Monday the Lady Griz would open 0 for 5 but still took a 6-2 lead on a Baker jumper less than four minutes in.
That would be the largest lead for either team in a first half that had nine lead changes and six ties.
De Boer scored eight first-half points and Selvig added six off the bench on 3-of-5 shooting to keep Montana in it. UM's starting post players -- Baker and Jordan Sullivan -- went 2 for 10 in the first half.
"Carly was a tremendous bright spot," Selvig said of his niece. "She came in and made shots when we were looking for someone, because our other posts couldn't make a shot."
The Lady Griz shot 9 for 32 (.281) in the first half but went to the locker room tied 24-24 because they turned the ball over just four times and forced 12 Denver turnovers.
The Pioneers went up by five midway through the second half, but a jumper by Sullivan, a free throw by Baker and a layup by Tianna Ware tied the score at 41 with 8:45 to play.
Murdoch's free throws with 6:59 remaining broke the tie and gave Denver a lead it would not give back.
Smith went 3 for 7 from 3-point range to lead both teams with 15 points. Murdoch, a two-time first-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection, went 6 for 9 and scored 14 points. She also added three steals and two blocks.
The win was the first for Denver over Montana in four tries. The teams have played annually since the 2008-09 season.
The Lady Griz will host CSU Bakersfield (2-7) Thursday at 7 p.m. in what will be Selvig's 1,000th game at Montana. The Lady Griz will close the week with a game at Gonzaga (5-2) Sunday at 3 p.m. (MT).
