Fatkin sparks Lady Griz to big win

Sunday, December 18

Missoula, Mont.

6 PM

Montana

4-6

Montana Tech

Montana

12/18/2022 9:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

Sammy Fatkin's early Christmas present to her teammates was an inspired second-quarter performance that saw a 21-20 deficit turn into an 87-56 victory for the Montana women's basketball team on Sunday evening at Dahlberg Arena over Montana Tech.

A team that was coming off a week of finals and a week between contests was off its game until Fatkin put her stamp on the evening. She had six points and a pair of steals in the second period, and that sparked the Lady Griz to their second consecutive win.

Trailing by one after the opening quarter, Montana outscored Montana Tech 50-16 over the second and third periods to pull away from the Orediggers.

"She was the big difference as far as energy in the second quarter," said coach Brian Holsinger, who was going up against the team he coached for two seasons earlier in his career. "She turned it up and said, I've had enough of this. We're going to be aggressive and I'm going to be the aggressor.

"That sparked our whole team. I said at halftime, thank you to Sammy. She provided the energy that we should have started the game with. She provided it in the second quarter and really turned it around for us."

Fatkin finished with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, matched a career high with eight rebounds and added two assists and two steals.

Libby Stump, instant offense off the bench, matched Fatkin with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Haley Huard stayed dialed in from the 3-point line, scoring 11 points, while Alex Pirog and Mack Konig both finished with 10.

Huard went 3 for 5 from the arc, making her 9 for 16 the last three games. Pirog, in her best game as a Lady Griz, hit all five of her shots and grabbed a season-high nine rebounds. Konig added five assists, giving her 14 the last three games.

Montana outscored Montana Tech 60-20 in the paint. The Lady Griz, who struggled from the 3-point line, shot 31 for 46 (.674) inside the arc.

"Our post players are improving and we're starting to get easy baskets inside. It was fun for everybody to get involved," said Holsinger in a relaxed and upbeat postgame interview that wasn't looking that way early.

Montana Tech, playing with the intensity of its leader, former Belt High coach Jeff Graham, jumped on Montana early. The Orediggers shot 50 percent in the opening period, hitting three 3-pointers, and led 21-20 after 10 minutes.

"That was mostly on us," said Holsinger. "Some of it was energy. Finals. You haven't played in a while. We were a little rusty. We tried to get some pressure going so we could increase the energy, and then Sammy gave us that spark in the second quarter."

Huard hit a pair of 3-pointers midway through the second quarter to give Montana the lead for good, and Fatkin sent the Lady Griz into the locker room on a period-ending 7-0 run.

Her steal and fast-break layup with 1:34 left made it 36-29. Her offensive rebound and put-back with 1:16 left made it 38-29 and her steal with 50 seconds left led to a Stump 3-pointer that made it 41-29 at the break.

Montana took full control of the game in the third quarter, going 12 for 16 and outscoring Montana Tech 29-8. Fatkin, Stump and Keeli Burton-Oliver all went 3 for 3 in the period as the Lady Griz went 10 for 11 inside the arc.

Stump is averaging 12.7 points the last six games on 54.5 percent shooting, her mid-range pull-up jumper becoming deadlier by the game.

"It's always interesting after a week of finals when you haven't played for a little while. It was good for us to play this game," said Holsinger.

Montana turned the ball over a season-low five times, outrebounded Montana Tech 44-35 and held the Orediggers to 36.7 percent shooting.

The Lady Griz shot 50 percent, which matched a season high, though the Lady Griz went 6 for 28 from the 3-point line, which was a surprise. Montana had gone 30 for 63 the last three games, including 9 for 14 at Washington State and 10 for 22 last Sunday at South Dakota.

Earlier this season Montana went 6 for 21 at home against North Dakota State and 6 for 33 against Providence.

"For whatever reason, we shoot way better on the road than we do at home," said Holsinger. "I don't know why. We've been lighting it up on the road, then we come here and can't make a 3-point shot. So weird."

The win allowed Holsinger to play all 13 of his available players. Willa Albrecht played 10 minutes in her second appearance. Freshman Lauren Dick, from Missoula, played the final three-plus minutes in her season debut.

Montana will play its final pre-Christmas game on Wednesday night at Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are 10-2, with wins over Louisville and Tennessee, and ranked No. 23 nationally.

Montana hasn't defeated Gonzaga since the 2006-07 season.