Lady Griz get win No. 1 of the season

Monday, November 20

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 PM

Montana

1-2

Grand Canyon

2-2

Montana

Grand Canyon

Photo: Grand Canyon Athletics

11/20/2023 9:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

In a game that was tight throughout, a surge by Montana late in the third quarter and early in the fourth sparked the Lady Griz to a 76-71 road win at Grand Canyon on Monday night in Phoenix.

It was Montana's first victory of the season after opening with home losses to Gonzaga and Washington State.

The game was tied at 19 after 10 minutes, deadlocked at 38 at the half and even at 54 with a minute left in the third quarter.

A driving layup by Mack Konig, who scored a team-high 15 points, and two free throws by Macey Huard, who scored a season-high 10, gave Montana a 58-54 lead going into the final period.

Dani Bartsch hit a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter, making it a 7-0 run and a 61-54 lead, and Carmen Gfeller scored inside with four minutes left to make it 71-61.

From there, Montana held off Grand Canyon, which made it a one-possession game in the closing seconds before the Lady Griz finished it out at the free throw line.

"Wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. I'm proud of our kids. It's a good win. To come down here and compete against a team with a pair of wins, our kids battled and were really tough," said coach Brian Holsinger.

Montana, which shot 43.4 percent, had five players in double figures for the first time this season.

Konig finished with 15, Bartsch, who matched a career high with three 3-pointers, had 12 points, a team-high seven rebounds and a team-high three steals in 35 high-energy minutes.

"Dani was a big player for us," added Holsinger.

Gfeller and Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw, who matched Bartsch with three 3-pointers, both scored 11, while Huard's 10 points came off the bench.

Montana won despite turning the ball over 17 times. The key for the Lady Griz was holding Grand Canyon to just eight points off those turnovers. The miscues were damaging but not necessarily costly.

"We're still making too many mistakes. We're learning. Early in the season, to make a bunch of mistakes and still find a way to win on the road, I'm proud of our team," said Holsinger.

"We made some really poor passing decisions. We had some self-inflicted wounds that we have to clean up, but they are a tough, scrappy team. For us to get a win on the road, I'm pretty happy about it."

Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first half, with Montana offsetting 10 turnovers with five 3-pointers and a 7-for-9 effort at the free throw line.

The teams went back and forth through the third quarter until the final minute, when Montana started its game-winning push.

After allowing Grand Canyon to shoot 60 percent in the first half, Montana held the Lopes to 4-of-12 shooting in the third quarter. That allowed the Lady Griz to get the winning separation.

"The difference was the third quarter, when we defended really well and were a little bit gritty," said Holsinger.

After Montana built its fourth-quarter lead to 10, the Lady Griz had to hold on through four turnovers and three missed free throws over the final three and a half minutes.

Trailing 73-68, Grand Canyon got a look at a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left that would have made it a two-point game. It missed and Montana was on its way.

"We got enough stops. They made the onslaught of threes at the end to make it close but for the most part we were pretty composed," said Holsinger.

Grand Canyon shot 50 percent but Montana was more productive from the arc and the Lady Griz outscored the Lopes 21-9 at the free throw line and were +10 in bench scoring.

Montana won't play again until hosting Dickinson State next Monday night at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.