Montana falls, takes opening-week split

Saturday, December 31

Moscow, Idaho

3 PM (MT)

Montana

5-8, 1-1BSC

Idaho

6-7, 2-0BSC

Montana

Idaho

Photos: Idaho Athletics

12/31/2022 6:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

It was a big first quarter, a critical second-period stretch and a lot of Beyonce Bea as Idaho knocked off Montana 79-71 at ICCU Arena in Moscow on Saturday afternoon.

Bea scored 32 points and the Vandals (6-7, 2-0 BSC), which swept Montana State and Montana to open Big Sky play, the teams picked first and second in the preseason poll, hit 12 3-pointers to hand the Lady Griz (5-8, 1-1 BSC) their seventh straight loss in Moscow.

The difference in the game was the first period, when Idaho raced out to a 25-16 lead, and the end of the second.

After a Dani Bartsch 3-pointer from the corner brought Montana within two, 33-31, the Vandals closed the half on a 12-1 run, with all 12 points coming from Bea, to build a 45-32 halftime lead.

Idaho opened the second half on a 7-2 run and built a third-quarter lead of 20 points. The eight-point final margin was as close as the game had been since late in the second quarter.

"When you're on the road, you have to be the aggressor from the very beginning. It was really a back-and-forth game after the first quarter, but we didn't come out ready," said coach Brian Holsinger.

"We fought like crazy, but we made too many mistakes, especially on defense. We had our chances to cut into it. It's tough to come back on the road if you're not getting stops."

Montana had to be at its strongest on the defensive end to slow down Bea, who reached 1,500 career points in Thursday's win over Montana State.

That didn't happen as Carmen Gfeller picked up her second foul 90 seconds into the second quarter. Keeli Burton-Oliver followed her to bench with two fouls of her own a minute later. Both sat the final eight minutes of the first half.

Facing everyone Montana had available off the bench, Bea scored 20 of her 32 points in the second quarter. She went 6 for 8, hit both of her 3-point attempts and shot a perfect 6 for 6 from the line.

"She took it to us in the first half, especially when we got in foul trouble. We have to live and learn," said Holsinger.

"This should tell you that you have to be ready all the time, ready to play and contribute. You never know who is going to get in foul trouble."

Bea had 23 points at the half and Montana couldn't keep up offensively, shooting 38.9 percent through the first 20 minutes.

Sammy Fatkin, who led Montana with 20 points, had 12 at the break. Gfeller was held scoreless.

"They are good offensively. I told our kids, you have to come in and be gritty and tough, and we're just not there yet," said Holsinger.

"We just make too many mistakes. Tonight our offense didn't save us. We didn't shoot the ball particularly well."

It was Idaho that got the second-half start that Montana needed, scoring seven of the second half's first nine points. That gave the Vandals all the cushion they would need to win for the fourth time in five games.

The Idaho lead was 62-47 after three quarters and hovered between 13 and 17 points most of the fourth before Montana scored the game's final five points to bring the final margin to eight.

Fatkin reached 20 points for the fourth time this season. She added six rebounds, four assists and three steals while logging 33 minutes.

Gfeller scored 12 points, all in the second half, while Gina Marxen, in her return to Idaho, where she played for three years, had 10 points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists.

"I thought Gina was excellent. I'm really proud of her. She ran the show. I thought she was one of our better players today," said Holsinger.

Burton-Oliver added nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. She shot 10 for 11 on the road trip, which opened with an 81-70 win at Eastern Washington on Thursday night.

Sydney Gandy hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points, eight assists and four rebounds for Idaho. Rosa Smith added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Idaho shot 47.5 percent and went 12 for 31 (.387) from the 3-point line.

Montana will host Northern Arizona (7-8, 1-1 BSC) and Northern Colorado (8-5, 1-1 BSC) on Thursday and Saturday.