Lady Griz drop home opener in thriller

Monday, November 7

Missoula, Mont.

6 PM

Montana

0-1

North Dakota State

1-0

North Dakota St.

Montana

11/7/2022 9:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's basketball team lost 65-63 to North Dakota State on Monday night in Missoula as the Lady Griz dropped their season opener to the Bison in Dahlberg Arena.

It was the same score as the teams' matchup last November in Fargo, a game won at the buzzer on a short jumper by Carmen Gfeller.

Playing without its preseason All-Big Sky Conference selection, Montana had another chance to win in dramatic fashion, but a final 3-point attempt from 25 feet out came up short.

Gina Marxen, in her Lady Griz debut, scored a game-high 21 points, going 4 for 6 from 3-point range. Sammy Fatkin added 19 points on 26 shots.

Her basket with 58 seconds left gave Montana a 63-61 advantage, the team's first lead since early in the third quarter.

Elle Evans finished a three-point play with 30 seconds left to make it 64-63. Montana missed at the other end, and one more Bison free throw with eight second left made the final score 65-63.

Heaven Hamling, NDSU's preseason All-Summit League guard, led the Bison with 19 points. She added six assists and five steals, and was responsible for turning the game's momentum.

Montana had an opportunity to take control of the game in the first half, but 9-of-28 shooting and a 9-for-16 effort from the free throw line allowed North Dakota State to keep in touch.

The Lady Griz scored the game's first five points and led 9-3 early.

After freshman Mack Konig hit a free throw to make it 23-16 early in the second quarter, Montana scored just two points over the next five minutes, a time when it could have buried the Bison.

"That was huge. You have to take advantage," said coach Brian Holsinger. "They did a good job on defense, but I think we let them off the hook. We had a chance to do something really good there."

A Marxen jumper made it 27-20 with 1:39 to go in the first half.

North Dakota State, sparked by Hamling, would score 27 points over the next seven minutes spanning the second and third quarters to build a 47-37 lead midway through the third.

NDSU outscored Montana 8-2 over the final 80 seconds of the first half to make it 29-28 at the break, then Hamling hit three 3-pointers in less than two minutes early in the third.

The Bison would hold the lead until the Lady Griz finally tied the score late in the fourth quarter.

"Just not paying attention, and that's on me," said Holsinger, whose team limited Hamling to two points in the first half.

"In the first half our urgency was much better. She can shoot and we knew that. The second half we had a few times when we relaxed, and when you relax a good player like that will make you pay.

"She was the biggest difference in the game, just getting hot there for a stretch."

Montana pulled within 49-46 after three quarters and 49-48 when Fatkin opened the final period with a basket, but North Dakota State answered with four straight points, all from Hamling.

Marxen hit a 3-pointer with 4:50 to go to make it 57-56, then hit another less than two minutes later to tie the score at 59-59.

She got the ball on the left wing, faked a pass to the top of the key, which sent a defender scrambling to recover. Marxen calmly took advantage of the opening and hit her fourth 3-pointer of the night.

After the teams traded baskets, Fatkin put Montana up 63-61 with just under a minute left.

Those would be Montana's last points as the Bison scored the game's final four points to sneak out a victory in their first time facing the Lady Griz in Missoula.

"I'm proud of our kids," said Holsinger. "These early games are always interesting, especially when you have a really, really young group.

"Just mistakes, a lot of little mistakes, which is not uncommon this time of year. That's a tough one to swallow, but we'll get better."

Despite getting to the free throw line 25 times, 17 more than North Dakota State, the Lady Griz only outscored the Bison by seven from the line, going 13 for 25.

"It's frustrating when you get to the free throw line and you go 13 for 25. That's the difference in the game. You make a few more of those and you get to win," said Holsinger.

Haley Huard, who hit a pair of 3-pointers, scored nine points, and Konig scored five off the bench. Nobody else scored more than two.

"This is a young team and we don't have our best player right now," said Holsinger.

"We were hoping to find a way to win and we couldn't quite do it. Until we get Carmen back, we have to get more scoring from other people."

Montana will play at Colorado State on Friday at 5 p.m. The Rams, picked third in the Mountain West Conference, open their season at BYU on Tuesday.