Bench comes up big, Lady Griz win

Thursday, February 11

Ogden, Utah

6 PM

Montana

9-7, 6-5BSC

Weber State

0-14, 0-11BSC

Montana

Weber State

Photos: WSU Athletics

2/11/2021 9:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

On a night Montana needed something more, something to get it untracked in a struggle on the road, it was the Lady Griz' reserves who stepped up and sparked the team to victory.

Kylie Frohlich scored 14 points and Kyndall Keller, Jordyn Schweyen and Nyah Morris-Nelson combined for 14 more as Montana pulled away in the second half for a 61-46 victory over winless Weber State in Ogden on Thursday.

"Big minutes and big production. A shout-out to our bench. I thought they did really well," said coach Mike Petrino, whose starters were 12 for 37.

With Carmen Gfeller, the Big Sky's third-leading scorer and top shooter, struggling with both fouls and to find good looks, it was Frohlich to the rescue once again.

She hit six of her nine shots and added five rebounds and four assists while playing a career-high 29 minutes. The last three games she has 44 points on 19-of-26 shooting.

That helped offset a rare quiet night from Gfeller, who had a season-low two points on 1-of-7 shooting.

"Kylie played fantastic again. Her energy and what she does out there was really positive for us," said Petrino. "She's shooting the ball really well right now."

The win earned zero style points but it was a road victory, and there is something to be said for that, no matter the record of the home team.

Montana led just 24-23 at the half but went 14 for 27 (.519) in the second to pull away.

The key was an 11-0 run in the third quarter that turned a 27-26 Weber State lead into a 37-27 Montana advantage. The margin would remain mostly comfortable the rest of the way.

"First of all, learn and grow. We learn a lot about ourselves every game," said Petrino. "We didn't play our best, but we found a way to survive and get through this."

With Montana trailing 27-26, Frohlich scored the game's next eight points. She scored inside, hit her first career 3-pointer, then grabbed an Abby Anderson miss and finished the and-one put-back.

That put Montana up seven. Morris-Nelson's 3-pointer from the left corner made it 37-27 and made her 4 for 8 from the arc the last five games after hitting just one prior to Jan. 28.

Sophia Stiles has been struggling from the arc as well but looked deadly late in the third quarter, when she played a Weber State defender off a high ball screen and hit a triple to make it 40-29.

Montana went just 4 for 15 from 3-point range but was 3 of 5 in a third quarter that proved to be decisive.

"Nyah's three in the corner was big. Sophie's three was big too," said Petrino. "We didn't shoot a great percentage but we hit some that were timely."

With Gfeller and Anderson, Montana had both the height and quickness advantage inside, but Weber State employed a physical style that gave the Lady Griz fits.

Montana was 4 for 17 with seven turnovers two minutes into the second quarter and trailed 14-11. Trouble was brewing.

"We played kind of sluggish and got outhustled at the beginning. Credit to them. They played really hard. They have good size but I didn't think we were very aggressive or finished strong," said Petrino.

Offensive rebounds were an issue as well. They weren't terribly costly but only because the Wildcats shot 28.8 percent. They had just 11 second-chance points after grabbing 15 offensive rebounds.

Despite turning the ball over 21 times, Weber State had more shot attempts than Montana because of its work on the offensive glass.

"Defensively we did some good things. It was not finishing the defense. We gave up way too many offensive rebounds. Way too many. We're better than that," said Petrino.

Keller had four points in the first half, on a short baseline jumper and a pair of free throws that have her 24 of 26 for the season, and Schweyen hit a quick-release 3-pointer from the right wing.

"Even in the first half, Jordyn, Kylie, Kyndall and Nyah gave us the energy we needed," said Petrino. "They really did a good job for us."

Stiles scored 11 points in the second half to match Frohlich with a game-high 14. Stiles, Frohlich and Keller all had four assists.

Anderson had her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. She also added five blocks, giving her 22 the last seven games.

"We faced some adversity tonight, but we made some adjustments as the game went on that really worked," said Petrino. "We learned and grew tonight. We just want to keep getting better."

For the good work Petrino's four reserves did, they were the only players who saw action off the bench, a significant tightening up of the rotation for a team that typically goes deeper.

"We played a shorter roster tonight, so we've got to get rested up and get ready for another scrappy one on Saturday," Petrino said.

The teams will tip off at noon on Saturday.