Lady Griz grind out overtime win, improve to 4-1

Friday, November 26

Phoenix, Ariz.

Noon

Montana

4-1

Houston Baptist

3-3

OT 1

Houston Baptist

Montana

Photo by: Derek Johnson

11/26/2021 3:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana women's basketball coach Brian Holsinger has been around the sport long enough to know almost immediately when his team doesn't have its A game.

Such was the case on Friday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 78 in the opening game of the Grand Canyon Women's Basketball Classic in Phoenix.

"You could sense it from the very start," he said. "This team is learning how to play right, and we didn't play right for most of the game today.

"When you don't play right, you give a team that probably shouldn't be close to us confidence and a different level of fight than they usually have."

That Montana (4-1) rallied back from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 59-56 in overtime over Houston Baptist (3-3) just makes it easier to learn from it and move on.

"We allowed it to happen, so it's a good growth area for our team," Holsinger said. "I'm proud of the kids. We fought like crazy and made some plays down the stretch to figure out a way to win.

"That part I'm proud of. A lot of teams would have found a way to lose. We found ways to win, that's the bottom line. The team was resilient once again."

Facing a team that trailed 23-2 after the first quarter at New Mexico on Tuesday night and with just one win against a Division I opponent, Montana could never shake free of Houston Baptist on Friday.

The Lady Griz shot well enough in the first half, going 12 for 27 (.444), but hurt themselves in the area of ball security.

Montana turned the ball over 10 times, or once every two minutes, in the first half. Despite holding the Huskies to 9-of-36 shooting (.250), the Lady Griz led just 28-23 at the break.

"Our passing has got to improve," Holsinger said. "It's really discouraging right now. We turned it over way too many times.

"They had 23 points in the first half and 10 of those off turnovers, so almost half their points came off our turnovers. We've got to learn to take care of the ball better and execute better."

The third quarter has been good for Montana this season, but Houston Baptist pulled within one by the end of the period, 38-37, then scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to go up 44-38.

That a flip switched for Montana – the Lady Griz scored six points in less than a minute to tie it and extended it to a 12-3 run to go up 50-47 – was both a good thing and a point of postgame concern.

"Not to mince words, but one of the things I'm really upset about is the fact that when the game was a little bit in question, we started playing harder, we started hustling more," said Holsinger.

"That has to happen for 40 minutes. If that happens for 40 minutes, you're not in those situations. I want to play better throughout the game so we don't have to be so resilient."

After Houston Baptist tied it at 50-50 with 1:28 to go, Montana took a 52-50 lead on an Abby Anderson basket with just over a minute remaining in regulation.

Montana forced a turnover with 49 seconds left, putting itself in position to close it out, but the Lady Griz gave it back without attempting a shot or forcing Houston Baptist to send them to the line.

It was one of a season-high 19 turnovers for Montana, which also missed eight free throws and went 1 for 9 from the arc.

"Every opponent is capable, especially if you come out and you're not really locked in and focused. We weren't at our best today," said Holsinger.

"But we're learning. We're growing, and there's lots of growing to do."

Houston Baptist took advantage of Montana's turnover and scored with 6.6 seconds left to tie it at 52-52. The Lady Griz missed a runner in the closing seconds that could have won it.

Montana trailed 56-54 midway through the five-minute overtime, but Houston Baptist would not score again. The Huskies missed their final five shots.

The Lady Griz closed within 56-55 on a Sammy Fatkin free throw with 1:11 left and took the lead on a Katerina Tsineke basket with 35.5 seconds to go.

After forcing two more misses at the other end, Montana went up 59-56 on two free throws by Carmen Gfeller with 13 seconds remaining.

Houston Baptist turned the ball over before the Huskies could get off a shot that might have tied it.

"I'm proud of the kids for making the plays to win and keeping their heads," said Holsinger. "I work really hard with them to be mentally tough. I'm proud of them for that.

"I expect us to come out with a much better effort tomorrow."

Gfeller finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Fatkin matched it with 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, part of Montana's 57-42 advantage on the boards.

Sophia Stiles, who logged more than 42 minutes, had eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists. It was Stiles' fifth career game with 10 or more rebounds.

Dani Bartsch grabbed nine rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.

Montana will play Nicholls State at noon on Saturday. The Colonels played Grand Canyon on Friday afternoon.