Lady Griz host Lumberjacks, Bears

The Montana women's basketball team will play its first Big Sky Conference home games this week when it hosts Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado at Dahlberg Arena.

The Lady Griz (5-8, 1-1 BSC) will face the Lumberjacks (7-8, 1-1 BSC) on Thursday at 7 p.m., the Bears (8-5, 1-1 BSC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

All three teams opened league last week with a split, as did preseason favorite Montana State, which will host Northern Colorado on Thursday, Northern Arizona on Saturday.

Thursday's game will be the first for Montana at home since Dec. 18, its first home game against a Division I opponent since hosting Grand Canyon on Dec. 8.

The Lady Griz will play six of their next eight games at home.

After playing at Weber State and Idaho State next week, Montana will host Eastern Washington, Montana State, Sacramento State and Portland State in a span of 13 days.

Coverage: This week's games will be available on ESPN+ and KMPT 930 AM/99.7 FM and 930kmpt.com, with Ace Sauerwein calling the action. The game will also be broadcast on SWX.

At a glance (Montana): The Lady Griz opened their Big Sky schedule on Thursday with an impressive 81-70 road win at Eastern Washington in Cheney, where Montana had lost seven of nine to the Eagles.

Five players scored in double figures, six scored nine or more, as Montana shot 62.1 percent in the first half, 47.5 percent for the game, its fourth-best shooting performance of the season.

The Lady Griz led 25-17 after the first period and built an 18-point second-quarter lead. The Eagles, who never led, would get no closer than eight in the second half.

Carmen Gfeller led both teams with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Libby Stump scored 15 off the bench, Keeli Burton-Oliver had 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting and nine rebounds.

Two days later, at Idaho, Montana fell behind 25-16 after the opening 10 minutes and could never bridge the gap with the Vandals, falling 79-71.

The game's decisive stretch came late in the second quarter.

After a Dani Bartsch 3-pointer pulled Montana within two, 33-31, Idaho outscored the Lady Griz 12-1 to close out the half, with Beyonce Bea scoring all 12 points.

Bea would finish with 32. It was the second time a Montana opponent has scored more than 30 points this season (Kacie Borowicz, North Dakota, 35 points), the fifth time an opposing player has scored 23 or more.

Montana trailed 45-32 at the half and didn't get within 10 points in the second half until a 3-pointer in the closing seconds accounted for the game's final points.

It was Montana's seventh consecutive loss to Idaho in Moscow.

The Lady Griz made more field goals than the Vandals and were +12 on the boards, but Idaho hit 12 3-pointers and shot 47.5 percent overall.

Sammy Fatkin led Montana with 20 points, her fourth game this season with 20 or more. She also added six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Carmen Gfeller and Keeli Burton-Oliver combined to score 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, but they were limited to 40 minutes between them because of foul trouble.

Burton-Oliver finished the road trip going 10 for 11 (.909) to up her season shooting percentage to .557.

The loss was Montana's first this season (5-1) when scoring more than 70 points.

Five things with coach Brian Holsinger:

1. Holsinger joins the 700 club – The second-year Montana coach, who began his coaching career as an almost unpaid assistant at The Master's College in 1999-2000, will be coaching in his 700th game on Thursday, as an assistant coach, associate head coach or head coach.

Holsinger went from Master's to Montana Tech to Washington State to Oregon State before landing at Montana.

"More than anything, the game over time humbles you," he said. "At a young age, you think you're better than you are, then as you get older, you constantly think that you're not very good even though you know more.

"For me it's amazing to think of all the players I've gotten to coach, all the kids who now have families and kids of their own. That part's been the most fun in the time I've been able to coach.

"When I started, it was kind of a trial thing. To think that 700 games later I'm still doing it, I'm probably not changing (professions) at this point."

2. Montana opens league with a split – The Lady Griz opened their Big Sky schedule with an 81-70 road win at Eastern Washington on Thursday, then followed that up with a 79-71 loss at Idaho on Saturday.

Last season Montana came out of the Christmas break and had two of its more disappointing performances of the season, losing at both Idaho State and Weber State.

"I'm proud of our kids and how we responded to our first game in conference. It's a good sign, because we struggled on the road in general last season," Holsinger said. "For us to go there and really take it to them and be the aggressors and be in control for most of the game, it was important for our team."

On Saturday, Montana, with its starters on the floor, held Bea to three first-quarter points. With Gfeller and Burton-Oliver on the bench for almost all of the second quarter, Bea put up 20 points to give her 23 at the break.

She went 6 for 8 in the second quarter, hitting both of her 3-point attempts and all six of her free throws.

"The biggest factor at Idaho was we got in massive foul trouble. That really, really hurt us. That was when they made their big run," said Holsinger.

"It really impacted us a lot. I thought in the second half, when we didn't have to worry about it as much, we played much better. We're continuing to make defensive errors and against a team like Idaho, they'll make you pay, and they made us pay on a lot of mistakes.

"We didn't do enough to win that game, but it was a successful road trip overall."

3. Marxen finding her groove – Montana point guard Gina Marxen spent three seasons at Idaho showing she was one of the best players in the league. Freshman of the Year, then first-team All-Big Sky, then second-team All-Big Sky.

She took last year off, didn't even touch a basketball for more than a year, then joined the Lady Griz in June.

While her shooting numbers haven't yet matched what she did at Idaho, the rest of her game is returning to form. She has grabbed 19 rebounds the last three games and has had 10 assists with only four turnovers.

"I thought her play against Idaho was her best overall game, just her decision-making," said Holsinger. "She was efficient. She's just getting more comfortable and you can see signs of that. It all stems from getting back into the flow of things and understanding what we're trying to do.

"There is the mental side to this too. She came in with high expectations for herself. When you don't play to those expectations, you start to question yourself and that creates doubt. Then you try harder and that never works. But she's getting more comfortable every time we play."

4. Montana ups its rebounding presence – The Lady Griz got outrebounded in four of six games against Division I opponents leading into the Christmas break. Last week Montana was +12 against both Eastern Washington and Idaho.

Remarkably, Montana gave up just five second-chance points in the two games, limiting Eastern Washington to six offensive rebounds, Idaho to only one.

"We've worked hard to create a sense of urgency on the glass, because in my opinion, that's how you win games, with defense and rebounding," said Holsinger.

"Whatever you practice at, you get better at. We've concentrated on that and worked hard at it, and now we're seeing the results of working on it. It's something we take pride in and something we'll need to do well this weekend in order to win because both teams will come in and be feisty and tough."

5. Montana returns home – The Lady Griz will play their first home game since Dec. 18 this week, their first home game against a Division I opponent in nearly a month and only their third home game since defeating North Dakota on Nov. 20.

"We haven't played much at home, so obviously we're happy to be at home. When we're at home, the expectation is to play well, but against both of these teams, ultimately you have to execute. We're in a good spot. I like where we're at. My expectation is to win both," said Holsinger.

"Both teams are very good with very different styles. NAU is very offensively oriented. (Coach Loree Payne) does a good job of getting her team out in transition. For us, it will be a defensive battle to make sure we can stop them.

"On the other side, Northern Colorado wants to hold you to 50. They're going to battle. They'll play some zone, which is different than we've seen in a while."

Montana notes:

* The Lady Griz are 3-2 at home this season, 1-2 against Division I opponents. Montana lost tight games to North Dakota State and Grand Canyon and won a close game over North Dakota.

* Montana's 79-71 loss at Idaho on Saturday dropped the Lady Griz to 1-4 in games this season decided by 10 points or fewer.

* Montana is 5-0 this season when shooting a better percentage than its opponent, 0-8 when shooting worse. The Lady Griz have shot 46.9 percent in their wins, 36.9 percent in their losses.

* Dani Bartsch grabbed 11 rebounds at Eastern Washington on Thursday. It was a career high for Bartsch and a season high for Montana this season.

* Over Montana's last three games, Carmen Gfeller is averaging 17.3 points on 52.6 percent shooting. Her first five games of the season: 8.6 points on 42.9 percent shooting.

* Libby Stump had her streak of five straight games with 14 or more points snapped at Idaho. She scored nine against the Vandals.

* Montana has shot 42 percent or better in four of its last five games to up its season percentage to .408.

* Montana's four made 3-pointers on Saturday at Idaho were its fewest of the season.

* Montana's bench has scored 111 points the last four games. Its opponents' benches during that time: 47.

At a glance (Northern Arizona): The Lumberjacks went 17-14 last season and tied for fourth in the Big Sky with Montana with a 12-8 league record.

NAU, with wins over Montana and Northern Colorado, made a run to the Big Sky championship game in March and led Montana State in fourth quarter in the title game but ended up losing 75-64.

With two starters back – senior guard Regan Schenck and junior forward Emily Rodabaugh – and impact transfer Montana Oltrogge (Idaho State) joining the mix, the Lumberjacks were picked third in this year's preseason media poll, fourth in the coaches' poll.

Northern Arizona's five starters average between 9.9 and 11.9 points per game, with Oltrogge leading the team in both scoring (11.9/g) and rebounding (8.3/g).

Schenck, one of the Big Sky's top point guards, averages 11.7 points and leads the Big Sky in assists (6.4/g). She is tied for 10th nationally.

Rodabaugh, among the Big Sky leaders in 3-pointers made with 34, averages 10.4 points.

Northern Arizona, which faced Arkansas, Kansas State and Clemson at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands over Thanksgiving, entered league averaging 78.5 points.

The Lumberjacks were held to 39 through three quarters on Thursday at home against Idaho State on their way to a 69-64 loss.

Oltrogge, Schenck and Rodabaugh combined for 30 points on 11-of-34 shooting. NAU went 3 for 24 from the 3-point line.

The Lumberjacks bounced two days later with an 82-68 home win over Weber State, a game that had 54 fouls called and 71 free throws attempted.

Oltrogge had 19 points and 12 rebounds, her fifth double-double of the season. Schenck had 15 points and seven assists.

Series history: Montana leads the all-time series with Northern Arizona 61-16 and has gone 34-3 against the Lumberjacks in Missoula, with 13 straight wins on its home floor.

NAU's last win over Montana in Missoula was a shocker, when the Lumberjacks knocked off the then 27-2 Lady Griz 64-59 in the 2007 Big Sky semifinals.

The teams split their series last season, with Montana winning 66-60 in Missoula, Northern Arizona winning 60-59 in Flagstaff.

The teams met last season in the 4-5 quarterfinal game at the Big Sky tournament in Boise.

A 9-0 run midway through the second quarter gave the Lumberjacks a lead they would hold the rest of the game on their way to a 75-57 victory as Montana shot 32.7 percent.

At a glance (Northern Colorado): The Bears went 15-16 last season under then first-year coach Kristen Mattio and finished eighth in the Big Sky at 9-11.

UNC defeated Eastern Washington in the first round of the Big Sky tournament, 64-45, then knocked off No. 1 seed Idaho State 72-54 in the quarterfinals before losing 72-67 to Northern Arizona in the semifinals.

That led to a massive offseason turnover of the roster. Just one starter returned this season (junior guard Hannah Simental) and one other letter-winner (junior guard Sydney Stensgard).

This year's 14-player roster has nine freshmen, two transfers and a second-year freshman who redshirted last year.

With that much turnover, Northern Colorado was picked seventh out of 10 teams in the preseason media poll, ninth in the coaches' poll.

That made the Bears, who knocked off Colorado State 102-91 in three overtimes in November, the same team that defeated Montana earlier that month 82-58, the surprise of the nonconference.

UNC went into the Christmas break with a 7-4 record and opened league last week by blitzing Weber State on Thursday, 67-39.

The Bears led 25-5 after the opening quarter, 37-12 at the break. Weber State made just 10 baskets in 40 minutes while turning the ball over 22 times.

That set up a key early-season matchup against Idaho State on Saturday, and it turned into a surprisingly one-sided game, with the Bengals winning in Greeley 63-42.

Idaho State led 22-19 after the first quarter, then locked down defensively, holding to UNC to 8-of-35 shooting (.229) over the final three quarters, 1 for 17 from the arc.

Northern Colorado made one basket the final 8:13 of the second quarter and didn't make its first basket of the third quarter until the 4:37 mark. During that time, the ISU lead went from 25-22 to 45-24.

Simental was the lone Bear to reach double digits. She finished with 10 points but on 3-of-11 shooting.

Simental, second-team All-Big Sky last season, enters the week averaging 16.1 points. She is deadly both from the arc, where she is 37 for 80 (.463), and the free throw line, where she is 54 for 58 (.931).

She ranks 11th nationally in free throw percentage.

Junior forward Delaynie Byrne, who has played at Minnesota and UNLV, is averaging 13.3 points and 7.4 rebounds.

Five-foot-five freshman guard Gabi Fields averages 9.8 points. She scored 36 points in her team's home win over Colorado State to earn Big Sky Player of the Week honors.

Series history: Montana leads the all-time series with Northern Colorado 20-15 and has gone 10-6 against the Bears in Missoula.

UNC has won nine of the teams' last 12 matchups.

The teams split their series last season. Montana won 57-44 in Missoula, holding the Bears to 29.8 percent shooting. UNC shot 4 for 25 (.160) in the second half as Montana rallied from a 29-27 halftime deficit.

Northern Colorado won 72-64 in Greeley in overtime, a game Montana led by 12 in the third quarter and by seven with a minute left in regulation.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* The Idaho schools both had notable weeks. Idaho State swept the Northern Arizona-Northern Colorado road trip, holding its opponents to 32.5 percent shooting. Idaho knocked off the teams picked 1-2 in the preseason polls, defeating Montana State 72-53 and Montana 79-71.

* Sacramento State improved to 10-2 overall with a 65-56 win at Portland State on Saturday in its Big Sky opener. The Hornets' lone losses: by two to now 9-3 UC Irvine and by 11 on the road at now 11-3 San Diego State.

* Portland State's home loss to Sacramento State on Saturday was the Vikings' 23rd straight against a Big Sky opponent.

* Eastern Washington was 5-1 at home going into last week. Both Montana and Montana State won in Cheney.

Thursday in the Big Sky: NAU at UM, UNC at MSU, EWU at PSU, UI at SAC … Idaho's Beyonce Bea (22.8 ppg/9.2 rpg) goes up against Sacramento State's Isnelle Natabou (17.1 ppg/10.4 rpg).

Saturday in the Big Sky: UNC at UM, NAU at MSU, WSU at ISU, UI at PSU, EWU at SAC … Northern Arizona faces Montana State in a rematch of last year's Big Sky championship game.

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Players Mentioned

Dani Bartsch

Keeli Burton-Oliver

Sammy Fatkin

Carmen Gfeller

Gina Marxen

Libby Stump

University of Montana Athletics