Lady Griz roll, win by 21 on the road

Thursday, November 18

Grand Forks, N.D.

11 AM (MT)

Montana

2-1

North Dakota

0-3

Montana

North Dakota

11/18/2021 3:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's basketball team used a career-high 25 points from Sammy Fatkin and a boost from its bench to roll to a 72-51 victory over North Dakota on Thursday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks.

In their first road game of the season, the Lady Griz (2-1) built a 33-29 halftime lead, then shot 47.2 percent in the second half to outscore the Fighting Hawks (0-3) 39-22 over the final 20 minutes.

The win came four days after an emotional home loss to Gonzaga.

"I was curious how we'd do after a big game at home against a good team," said first-year coach Brian Holsinger. "It went pretty much how I expected in the first half."

Montana was good in the first half, great in the second.

"You tell them what works, about being tougher, about executing better," said Holsinger. "We regrouped at halftime and came out and executed how I'd hoped."

Fatkin was fantastic in the first half, when she scored 16 of her 25 points. Montana led 18-12 after the first quarter, by four at the break.

The second half belonged to a pair of freshmen. Dani Bartsch and Haley Huard, both playing off the bench, combined for 19 points for the game on 8-of-10 shooting.

Huard connected on both of her 3-point attempts, Bartsch neared a double-double with nine points, nine rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal, all in just 12 minutes of court time.

Five of Bartsch's nine rebounds came on the offense end, where she was in constant motion and a constant irritant to the home team, which stood and watched while Bartsch hustled.

"I was proud to see them grow up. They are working and working and working. When you're a freshman, it's hard," said Holsinger.

Montana would out-rebound North Dakota by 12 and give up just five second-chance points.

All 13 players on Montana's roster got to play in the game.

"It was fun to see our bench come in. I told them, you go on the road, you need to have good bench production," said Holsinger. "They did a good job executing on both ends and running our system.

"Anytime you come off the bench, it's an opportunity to earn trust, and those guys earned my trust by coming in and doing the right things. I'm proud of them."

But it was Fatkin who was the headliner. Playing her first road game since November 2019, she shot 9 for 17, hit three 3-pointers, was perfect at the line and added six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Sophia Stiles had 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks, Abby Anderson scored 10 points, and Carmen Gfeller totaled eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

Stiles was responsible for the play that sent Montana to the locker room on a high, the opposite of Sunday, when the team's execution allowed Gonzaga to steal the momentum right before the break.

With the clock ticking down and Montana clinging to a two-point lead, Holsinger walked to half court to give his point guard a pointed directive.

The Lady Griz ran the play, a ball screen on the right wing, to perfection. Stiles split both defenders and got to the rim without being challenged. It may have been the biggest basket of the game.

Montana would then charge out to open the third quarter, scoring eight of the second half's first 10 points.

"They were switching and anytime you switch, you tend to relax. I wanted her to keep it and it worked," Holsinger said.

Montana led 47-36 after three, then blew it open in the fourth, putting up 25 points on 11-of-20 shooting.

It was the team's largest margin of victory on the road since winning 78-46 at Weber State in February 2020.

North Dakota was led by 6-foot-6 center Melissa Leet, who scored 19 points by time and time again getting a Montana defender pinned behind her near the hoop.

"She was tough as heck. I thought we could keep her away from the basket a little bit better," said Holsinger. "That kind of surprised me a little bit. She's good. She's really skilled and has a great touch.

"I told them at halftime, the big kid in the middle, that's on me. I'll take that as a coach."

North Dakota didn't get much else going, particularly on the perimeter. The Fighting Hawks went 3 for 18 from the arc and were credited with just two assists while turning the ball over 18 times.

Montana had 15 assists on its 30 made field goals.

"You always take it," said Holsinger. "You celebrate every victory. We fight for everything we get. That's what this program is going to be known for."

The challenge will be raised a bit on Saturday, when Montana plays at North Dakota State, the team picked third in a strong Summit League.

"We didn't come here to get one," Holsinger said, "we came to get two."