Bobcats rally, top Lady Griz

Saturday, February 1

Missoula, Mont.

2 PM

Montana

11-9, 6-5BSC

Montana State

13-6, 9-1BSC

OT 1

Montana State

Montana

2/1/2020 6:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

Sparked by the late-game scoring of Big Sky Conference preseason MVP Fallyn Freije, Montana State overcame a 14-point, third-quarter deficit and rallied for a 66-61 overtime victory over Montana on Saturday afternoon at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.

Freije scored 10 of her game-high 27 points in overtime as the first-place Bobcats (13-6, 9-1 BSC) remained atop the Big Sky standings.

Montana (11-9, 6-5 BSC) built a 46-32 lead late in the third quarter, then went cold. The Lady Griz missed their final two shots of the third quarter and went 0 for 15 in the fourth.

The Bobcats sent the game into overtime when Freije tied it at 51-51 with 13 seconds left in regulation.

Madi Schoening scored six points in overtime but it wasn't enough to slow the momentum that Montana State had built with its strong finish to regulation.

Freije put her team up for good with 32 seconds left in extra time, 62-61, then hit two free throws with 23 seconds left after a Montana miss.

With a final chance to tie the game, the Lady Griz turned the ball over.

"It's tough being on this side of it," said coach Shannon Schweyen. "It was a heck of an effort by these ladies. They played their hearts out. I can't express how proud I am of them."

Montana led 19-11 after the first quarter and held a 33-27 lead at the half, thanks to an inspired defensive effort against a team averaging nearly 80 points per game through its first nine Big Sky contests.

"The first half especially I thought we did a really nice job defensively," said Schweyen, whose team led by six at the break and not by more because of MSU's 12 offensive rebounds and 10 second-chance points.

"Had we done a little better on the boards, we could have had a better lead at the half. Overall I'm pleased with what we did defensively. It was a great effort by our girls."

Montana led 37-32 early in the third quarter before going on a 9-0 run, with five points coming from McKenzie Johnston, to build its lead to 46-32.

It wouldn't have taken much for the Lady Griz to hold on for the victory, but the one big shot or two never came.

As Montana State began its comeback, more and more of Montana's possessions ended with rushed shots late in the shot clock.

"We had a stretch when I felt like we got bad shots. Our shot selection was not ideal. We were taking tough ones and had no chance to board them," said Schweyen.

"We showed a lack of discipline in some things. We could have had better offensive execution in the second half."

Montana State went just 4 for 13 in the fourth quarter, 8 for 28 (.286) in the second half, but it was enough to send the game to extra time with Montana going 5 for 33 (.152).

"You're not going to hold them down forever. They didn't shoot well in the first half, then came alive in the second half," said Schweyen.

"It was going to come down to players making plays, and we had plays not being made at the end. It was just tragic that we went that long without making a field goal."

After Montana State tied the score at 49-49 with 1:47 remaining in regulation, the game's first deadlock since it was 7-7, Jamie Pickens put Montana up 51-49 with a pair of free throws.

That set Freije up to send the game into overtime, where she exerted herself and proved herself worthy of her preseason MVP recognition.

"She hit some big shots for them. She buried a couple right in our face," said Schweyen.

"This is one of those that will stick with you for a long time, but I know we're going to use that in a good way. This is a team that can play with anybody. We believe that."

Johnston led Montana with 20 points, with Schoening adding 11 and Sophia Stiles a career-high 10 rebounds.

Montana State won despite going 2 for 21 from the 3-point line and shooting 30.9 percent overall. Montana finished at 31.7 percent after shooting 47.8 percent in the first half.

The Lady Griz dropped into a three-way tie for fourth in the Big Sky standings with Portland State and Idaho State with the loss, with Northern Colorado a half game behind at 5-5.

Montana State went one up on second-place Idaho in the loss column after the Vandals lost 71-70 at home on Saturday to Northern Arizona.

Montana will play at Eastern Washington (2-16, 1-8 BSC) on Thursday before hosting Idaho (12-6, 7-2 BSC) next Saturday.