Lady Griz storm into the break

Monday, December 20

Missoula, Mont.

6 PM

Montana

9-2

103

Utah State

5-5

Utah State

Montana

103

Photo by: Derek Johnson

12/20/2021 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

There are fun, exciting ways to go into the short Christmas break that college basketball players get, then there was what happened inside Dahlberg Arena in Missoula on Monday night.

Montana reached 100 points for just the fifth time in program history and for the first time since the 2007-08 season, and closed its nonconference schedule with a 103-80 victory over Utah State.

"The sky is the limit for this team but we have to keep getting better," said first-year coach Brian Holsinger. "If we shoot like we did tonight, we'll be alright."

About that shooting, which started hot and stayed that way for 40 minutes. The Lady Griz put up quarters of 23, 25, 26 and 29 points and shot at least 50 percent all four periods. There was no letup.

For as good as Utah State was offensively – no team has scored more against Montana this season – the Aggies just couldn't keep up.

Montana shot 58.5 percent for the game, the 15th-best percentage in program history and had 26 assists, four off the single-game record.

"We've been working on our offense a lot. Coaching is not rocket science. Whatever you work on, you usually get better at. Tonight we shot the ball really well. It was fun," said Holsinger.

"I'm really excited about how we're sharing it. That makes the game fun. You get easy shots when you share the ball like that."

Sammy Fatkin broke out of a mini-slump and was either hitting from the 3-point line, where she went 3 for 3, or at the basket to finish with 20 points.

Abby Anderson did her one better, totaling 21 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, all of which came in the first half.

And then there was Sophia Stiles, who had to sit out a chunk of the first half after picking up two fouls in the opening four and a half minutes.

The 27 minutes she was on the court she was almost flawless. She went 7 for 8, hit all four of her 3-point shots and added nine assists, her fifth time in the last six games totaling seven or more.

She had a turnover on the very first possession of the game, just a few seconds in and just one more the final 39 minutes.

Carmen Gfeller added 11 points, Haley Huard nine on 3-of-4 shooting from the arc, where Montana was 14 for 22 for the second time this season.

Combined with the 11 triples the Lady Griz hit on Thursday in their win over Seattle, they've hit 10 or more in back-to-back games for the first time since 2014-15.

"We're doing a good job moving the ball. People are scared of our post play, and I would be too," said Holsinger. "If we can knock down those shots, we're going to be hard to guard.

"I'm proud of them offensively. We moved the ball. We were seeing things quicker. We knew exactly what we were going to get, but the kids have to see it."

And then they have to make it, which the Lady Griz did at a high rate, from start to finish.

"You see it go in a few times, we start talking confidently and we stop thinking about why you missed and how the next one's going in," said Holsinger.

"When you do that, you tend to shoot better. That's what we've done."

For all the offensive fireworks, for all the usual suspects doing things they usually do, Holsinger says it was Kyndall Keller who was the MVP of the game, and it's hard to knock his logic.

Because Montana was in all sorts of disarray in the first half, despite its shooting.

Stiles was on the bench with two fouls. Her replacement, Katerina Tsineke, picked up her second and third fouls in the opening two minutes of the second quarter on offensive fouls.

And Montana couldn't shake loose of Utah State. The game needed a difference-maker, maybe someone unexpected. Enter: Keller.

She didn't just bridge the gap, she made her team better. She finished with seven points, four rebounds and an assist. Montana was a remarkable +18 in the 17:35 she was on the court.

It was probably fitting that she hit the 3-pointer from the right corner, in front of the Lady Griz bench, to give Montana 100 points.

"She was gigantic and that can't be overstated," said Holsinger. "We had massive foul trouble being undisciplined, and she came in and did an awesome job."

Montana led for more than 36 minutes and forced an early Utah State timeout after going up 12-5 early.

The Aggies did their best to keep up, but the Lady Griz were just too potent.

Montana went 10 for 13 in the second quarter alone and was 18 for 26 (.692) at the half, when it led 48-33.

The only areas of concern, outside of the fouls, which have a way of losing their edge once the second half starts, were nine offensive rebounds allowed and 10 turnovers.

Both areas got cleaned up over the final 20 minutes and Montana erupted for 55 second half points, one game after laying 54 second-half points on Seattle.

After allowing Utah State to climb back within seven, 53-46, early in the third, it was all Lady Griz. And the party was on, and it's just more festive when Fatkin is part of it.

"We've watched a lot of film this week trying to figure out exactly what's her best look," said Holsinger. "When her rhythm is good and she plants her foot and she dips it, she's really good.

"Tonight she was really good. You coach all these things and you hope you see it on game day. Today we saw it on game day with her."

Fatkin, Anderson and Stiles combined for 60 points on 23-of- 32 shooting.

"Tonight was Abby's best offensive game by far," said Holsinger. "She's been inconsistent offensively for what I expect of her. Tonight she looked confident.

"And Soph was so efficient. She's shooting the ball with confidence."

The win moves Montana to 9-2, it's best 11-game start since the 2006-07 season. The Lady Griz will return to Big Sky play after the break, playing at Idaho State and Weber State on Dec. 30 and Jan. 1.