Grand Canyon pulls out 71-63 win

Thursday, December 8

Missoula, Mont.

7 PM

Montana

2-6

Grand Canyon

7-1

Grand Canyon

Montana

12/8/2022 10:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

Grand Canyon, which had lost just one game this season, to Arizona State, was held to 25 points in the first half on Thursday night, when Montana showed how good it can be when it's locked in.

The Lady Griz then showed they are still a work in progress in the second half as the Antelopes put up 21 points in the third, 25 in the fourth to rally and leave Dahlberg Arena with a 71-63 victory.

Montana led by four early in the fourth quarter and had a pair of 3-pointers that could have made it a seven-point game.

Grand Canyon (7-1) survived those and went on a game-deciding 8-0 run, and Montana never led again.

After missing their first shot of the final period, the Lopes closed the game making eight of their final 11 to hand the Lady Griz their fourth consecutive loss.

"When it gets time to win, we're not very tough. We don't handle things very well, so those are the results you get," said coach Brian Holsinger.

"We defend for a half, then we come out and we're soft. I can't get this team to understand how important it is to play for 40 minutes on the defensive end."

The end result of eight points masked what had been an incredibly tense game.

Neither team led by more than five points until the final three minutes, and there were nine ties and a dozen lead changes as minor swings of momentum went back and forth.

Montana knew what it was in for against Grand Canyon, a team that ranks in the top five in the nation in both turnovers forced and steals.

It's not a gambling, reckless, out-of-control pressure. Instead it's constant, from minute 1 to 40, with traps in the backcourt and as the ball crosses half court and persistent pressure on the ball-handler.

Montana handled it relatively well, turning it over 18 times, eight fewer than Grand Canyon typically forces. But it takes its toll.

A team doesn't have to be perfect to beat it, but it does have to be intentional and purposeful in its actions when it has the ball.

And Montana was in the first half, finding open shooters across the court and going 7 for 16 from the 3-point line, with all but 11 of its shots taken from the arc over the opening 20 minutes.

Those makes came from six players as Montana spread the wealth, finishing with eight assists on its nine first-half baskets.

Montana's eight first-half turnovers only led to five Grand Canyon points. "I don't think (Grand Canyon's pressure) hurt us that much. I thought we were okay," said Holsinger.

Montana was dialed in defensively in the first half, holding a team that averages 79 points per game to just 25 on 9-of-28 shooting.

Montana led 27-25 at the half, and the tight game continued through the third, which ended with Carmen Gfeller hitting a late basket to make it 48-46.

Sammy Fatkin opened the fourth with a driving layup to make it 50-46, which led to Montana's two good looks from the arc from two of its top 3-point shooters.

Build a seven-point lead and who knows what happens.

Instead, Sydney Palma, who hit two critical threes at the end of the third quarter, hit another to make it 52-51, and Aaliyah Collings scored inside to give Grand Canyon the lead.

Montana shot 5 for 12 (.417) in the fourth quarter and had just three turnovers, which could have been good enough, but Grand Canyon got rolling just enough and Montana couldn't slow the Lopes down.

"We scored enough points to win. We're going to continue to get the results we're getting because we're not tough enough and we don't take the defensive end seriously enough," said Holsinger.

"Those one-on-one battles, you have to be tougher. We're just not very tough right now, and that's the game. This one is disappointing because of our effort in the second half."

Libby Stump came off the bench to lead Montana with 14 points, one off her season high. Gfeller, Fatkin and Gina Marxen all scored 10. Mack Konig had six assists off the bench.

Palma, who had made just eight through her team's first seven games, hit five 3-pointers and led both teams with 22 points.

The difference-maker was Olivia Lane, who was not only playing in her first game of the season, she was playing her first game in a Grand Canyon uniform after transferring in the offseason from North Dakota.

She was a game-time decision and proved her coaches correct in giving her the green light.

She scored 19 points in just 13 minutes off the bench, going 6 for 8 from the floor and 6 for 7 from the free throw line. She scored 11 of her points in the decisive fourth quarter.

Grand Canyon shot 43.6 percent. Six of Montana's seven Division I opponents this season have shot better than 40 percent.

Last season the Lady Griz only allowed seven opponents over the course of 30 games to shoot better than 40 percent.

That missing edge has Montana sitting 2-6 and on a four-game losing streak as the Lady Griz prepare to face South Dakota on the road on Sunday and later Gonzaga in Spokane.

Montana and South Dakota will tip off at 11 a.m. (MT) on Sunday in Vermillion.