Lady Griz head to Cheney to face Eagles

The Montana women's basketball team, which had Thursday's game at Idaho postponed until next week, will resume its schedule when it plays at Eastern Washington on Saturday.

The Lady Griz (12-5, 5-3 BSC) and Eagles (4-14, 2-7 BSC) will tip off at 3 p.m. (MT) at Reese Court in Cheney.

When the teams played in Missoula on Jan. 6, Montana raced out to a 22-4 lead after one quarter and went on to post a 68-50 victory.

This week's road trip was scheduled to start with a game at Idaho on Thursday night, but that game was postponed on Monday due to COVID protocols in the Vandal program.

That game will now be played next Tuesday and open a demanding stretch for the Lady Griz, who will play four games in seven days, the first and last on the road.

After playing at Idaho on Tuesday, Montana will host Weber State and Idaho State next Thursday and Saturday. That will be followed by a game at Southern Utah on Monday, Feb. 7.

That game will be the first of a long road trip that will have the Lady Griz playing at Northern Arizona on Thursday, Feb. 10, and at Portland State on Saturday, Feb. 12.

Should all go according to plan, Montana would then be home for three games spread over two weeks: Idaho on Feb. 17, Southern Utah on Feb. 24 and, the home finale, Montana State on Feb. 26.

Most recently (Montana): After picking up home wins last week over Portland State, 93-57, and Northern Arizona, 66-60, the Lady Griz traveled to Bozeman for Monday's game at Montana State.

In a game originally scheduled for Jan. 8, then Jan. 9, Montana gave up 21 first-quarter points and trailed the final 35 minutes in a 73-59 defeat. The lead grew to as much as 21 points in the fourth quarter.

It was Montana's seventh consecutive loss to Montana State, the Lady Griz' eighth straight loss to the Bobcats at MSU's Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.

Montana State went 9 for 17 from the 3-point line, had just eight turnovers and became just the second team this season to outrebound Montana.

Sammy Fatkin had 24 points to lead the Lady Griz, Abby Anderson added 10, and Sophia Stiles had 10 rebounds, the ninth time in her career she's had 10 or more boards.

Montana State became just the second team this season to reach 70 points against Montana. The Lady Griz still rank seventh nationally in field goal percentage defense (.344).

Most recently (Eastern Washington): The Eagles, who host Montana State on Thursday night, are currently on a three-game losing streak, which followed the team's first winning streak of the season.

After picking up home wins over Weber State and Portland State, Eastern Washington has since lost games at Sacramento State and Northern Colorado and Monday at home to Northern Arizona.

The Eagles' four wins this season have all come at Reese Court. EWU is 0-8 away from Cheney.

In Monday's loss to Northern Arizona, NAU's third road game in five days after previously playing at Montana State and Montana, Eastern Washington trailed just 16-15 after one quarter.

The Lumberjacks outscored the Eagles 36-23 over the next two quarters to pull away.

Jacinta Buckley scored 17 points for Eastern Washington. Jaydia Martin, the Big Sky's third-leading scorer, was held to eight points on 3-of-20 shooting.

Martin is 9 for 52 (.173) during the Eagles' current losing streak.

The first meeting: When Montana and Eastern Washington played in Missoula on Jan. 6, the victory helped the Lady Griz snap a two-game losing streak.

Montana led 6-4 midway through the first quarter when the Lady Griz exploded for 16 points over the final 4:06 of the period to build a 22-4 lead.

The teams matched scoring, 46-46, the rest of the way, with the Eagles going from 12 points at the half to putting up 38 in the second half on 42.9 percent shooting.

Martin didn't make a basket in the first half but would finish with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. Carmen Gfeller led Montana with 15 points, Sammy Fatkin added 12.

Series history:

* Montana leads the series with Eastern Washington 76-24 and has won the last five matchups between the teams.

* The Lady Griz have gone 28-15 against the Eagles in Cheney with two straight wins at Reese Court. Those wins snapped a six-game losing streak for Montana in Cheney.

* In last year's game at Eastern Washington, the Eagles led by two entering the fourth quarter before Sophia Stiles took over.

* Stiles converted an and-one to give Montana the lead for good, then hit a 3-pointer that put Montana up six on its way to a 65-62 win.

Game notes:

* With Monday's loss at Montana State, Montana dropped to 2-3 in road games this season with three straight losses, all in league.

* Eastern Washington's four wins this season have all come at home. The Eagles won non-league games over Evergreen and Multnomah, Big Sky games over Weber State and Portland State.

* Sophia Stiles had an uncharacteristic four-turnover game on Monday. In the bigger picture she still has 79 assists and 30 turnovers for the season and ranks 13th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.63).

* Montana has now been outrebounded this season by two teams: Gonzaga and Montana State. The Lady Griz rank 35th nationally in rebound margin (+7.3).

* Montana has lost consecutive games just once this season, at Idaho State and Weber State.

* Montana State was just the fourth team this season to shoot a better percentage than Montana. The Bobcats shot 39.3 percent on Monday night, the Lady Griz 38.5 percent.

* Abby Anderson had two blocks at Montana State, giving her multiple blocks in three straight games.

* Sammy Fatkin has scored in double figures in seven straight games. Her 24 points at Montana State were one off her season high of 25, which she scored at North Dakota.

* Montana State held Montana's leading scorer, Carmen Gfeller, to five points on four shots. It was a season low for Gfeller, who has reached double figures in all but three games this season.

* Montana, which still ranks third in the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.429), has shot below 40 percent in five of six games since the Christmas break.

* Montana, one of the nation's least-penalized teams, was whistled for a season-high 19 fouls on Monday. The Lady Griz rank 13th nationally in that category (13.0/g).

* Montana (4.7/g) and Abby Anderson (2.0/g) lead the Big Sky in blocked shots.

* Carmen Gfeller (13.9/g) and Sammy Fatkin (13.2/g) rank fourth and seventh in the Big Sky in scoring.

* Montana allowed just four second-chance points to Montana State on Monday. … Montana's 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter on Monday was its largest of the season.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* Idaho State (12-6, 8-1 BSC) is on a 10-game winning streak, Sacramento State (8-9, 4-4 BSC) is on a four-game winning streak. Those teams meet Thursday night in Pocatello.

* Montana State will put its four-game winning streak on the line at Eastern Washington on Thursday night.

* Weber State will try to end a five-game skid when it hosts Northern Colorado on Thursday night. Southern Utah (10-6, 6-1 BSC) will host last-place Portland State, which is still seeking its first league win.

Saturday games: UM at EWU, UNC at ISU, SAC at WSU, NAU at PSU

Upcoming: Montana will open a stretch of four games in seven days when the Lady Griz play at Idaho on Tuesday. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. (MT).

University of Montana Athletics

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Abby Anderson

Sammy Fatkin

Carmen Gfeller

Sophia Stiles

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