Lady Griz pick up first road win

Sunday, December 11

Vermillion, S.D.

11 AM (MT)

Montana

3-6

South Dakota

4-6

Montana

South Dakota

12/11/2022 2:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

This is the team Lady Griz coach Brian Holsinger knew he had, even through a 2-6 start.

One that could shoot 48.3 percent on the road, that could hold its opponent to 33.9 percent. That could outscore a team 30-6 in a quarter, that could overcome a missing starter and foul trouble to three post players.

That could be in a three-point game in the third quarter inside a facility where the home team was 80-7 since the building opened in 2016 and never blink.

That Montana team, the one that couldn't finish off Grand Canyon in Missoula on Thursday night, went to Vermillion, S.D., on Sunday and won 76-60 over a South Dakota program that played in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament in March.

"As upset as I was the other night, I'm so proud today," Holsinger said. "This is what we expect of our program.

"We have high-character kids in our locker room. When you have high-character kids, they want to do it. There is no quit in them. I'm really proud to see them respond to what's been going on."

It could have gone the other way. The Lady Griz played without dynamo point guard Gina Marxen and fell behind 20-12 after the first quarter. Everything was in place for the Coyotes to roll.

Except that never happened.

Montana caught fire and outscored South Dakota 30-6 in the second quarter, allowing the home team to make just two field goals over 10 minutes.

Over the final three quarters, the Coyotes shot 13 for 43 (.302) as Montana outscored South Dakota 64-40 for its first-ever win over USD.

"It doesn't happen by accident. They had an attitude that we're not going to let this team score like we've let other teams score," said Holsinger, whose team had allowed its Division I opponents to shoot 43.4 percent this season.

"That's the bottom line. That effort is what gets it done. The effort on the defensive end, that's what this is about. We're slowly getting there."

Sunday's game had just a single lead change. After South Dakota took an eight-point lead into the second quarter, Montana scored the game's next 19 points over the next six minutes.

What had been a 20-12 deficit became a 31-20 lead. Montana would go 11 for 16 (.688) in the period, with freshman Libby Stump leading the charge with 10 points. She went 4 for 5 and hit both of her 3-point attempts in the quarter.

Montana led 42-26 at the half, and had South Dakota gone away quietly, the win wouldn't have been nearly as important to Holsinger's team's growth.

The Lady Griz needed to face some stress, some pressure. And they needed to respond. There is just no other way to earn that kind of experience.

They got it when South Dakota chipped away throughout the third quarter and pulled within three, 46-43, with three minutes still to go.

Montana's answer: a 9-2 run that pushed the lead back to 10, 55-45.

Three-pointers by freshman Mack Konig and Sammy Fatkin made it 61-47 early in the fourth quarter, and Montana would lead by nine or more the rest of the way.

"We come out in the third quarter flat, and instead of it being déjà vu, we grind it out," said Holsinger. "We grind out shots on one end, grind out defensive stops on the other end.

"That made me really proud. To face adversity on the road and handle that in a tough place to play is really cool.

"We've had some really, really tough losses. Through those you learn, and you either quit or you become more resilient and figure out ways. Good teams find ways."

Stump finished with a season-high 16 points off the bench, going 7 for 12 and hitting two of her three 3-point attempts. She is averaging 12.4 points on 52.2 percent shooting the last five games.

Keeli Burton-Oliver, Carmen Gfeller and Alex Pirog all were saddled with foul trouble, though they were effective in the minutes they got, combining for 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, with 19 rebounds and four blocks.

Up stepped Montana's perimeter players. Sammy Fatkin had 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals. Haley Huard and Konig both had nine points. They combined to go 6 for 10 from the arc.

"Mack starts (in place of Marxen) and does a great job. Libby comes in and gives us a huge spark off the bench. Sammy starts to become herself," said Holsinger.

"We have a long ways to go. We can get a lot better, which is exciting. We can be really good. We just have to keep getting better."

Montana had 15 turnovers, its fewest in December, and went 10 for 22 (.455) from the arc. Over the last three games, the Lady Griz are 30 for 63 (.476) from the 3-point line.

Montana was +9 on the boards, its best rebounding margin this season against a Division I opponent.

Grace Larkins, South Dakota's leading scorer this season, scored a game-high 18 points, but she went 6 for 21, a stat line Montana was more than happy to give up. The rest of USD's starters went 8 for 26.

Montana will take its win into finals week, then play Montana Tech next Sunday evening at 6 p.m. before closing out its pre-Christmas schedule with a game at Gonzaga on Wednesday, Dec. 21.