Lady Griz seeking win No. 2 on Monday

The Montana women's basketball team, which picked up its first win of the season on Monday at Grand Canyon, will try to make it two in a row on Monday night when it hosts Dickinson State.

The Lady Griz (1-2) and Blue Hawks (2-5) will tip off at 7 p.m. inside Dahlberg Arena.

It will be the first of three consecutive home games for Montana, which plays five of its first six games of the season at home.

The Lady Griz will host Loyola Marymount (1-3) on Wednesday, Dec. 6, the program's School Day Game, then Colorado State (4-0) on Saturday, Dec. 9.

Montana will close out its pre-Christmas schedule with a long road trip to California to face Cal Poly, San Diego and UC San Diego, three games over six days.

Coverage: Monday's game will stream on ESPN+ and be available on KGRZ (92.7 FM/1450 AM), KGRZMissoula.com and on the Varsity Network app, with Ace Sauerwein calling the action.

Summary:

Montana collected its first win of the season on Monday night, defeating Grand Canyon 76-71 in Phoenix against the team picked to win the Western Athletic Conference title.

The game was tied at the end of the first quarter, 19-19, tied at the half, 38-38, and tied late in the third quarter, 54-54, before the Lady Griz went on a 7-0 run. Montana never relinquished the lead.

The Lady Griz lost five times last season in games that were decided by five points or fewer, including four times in league.

It wasn't a clean finish for Montana, despite leading for the entirety of the fourth quarter. The Lady Griz missed four free throws and had five turnovers in the final period but still came away with the win.

"It's a new year and a new team with quite a few new players. We have people who are confident they'll make the right plays down the stretch and the type of plays that win," said coach Brian Holsinger.

"As we found out last year, it's not always easy to close things out. It was a good step forward on the road against a team that's picked to win quite a few games this year."

Montana had five players, four starters, one off the bench, score in double figures, the first time that's happened this year. That happened just four times last season against Division I opponents.

Mack Konig scored 15, Dani Bartsch had 12 points and seven rebounds, Carmen Gfeller and Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw both had 11 and Macey Huard came off the bench to add 10.

Bartsch and Espenmiller-McGraw both hit three 3-pointers, Huard's 10 points were a season high for the freshman. Gina Marxen had eight points and a team-high three assists off the bench.

Montana was tied at the half despite turning the ball over 10 times through the opening 20 minutes and allowing Grand Canyon to shoot 60 percent, going 18 for 30. Thirty of the Lopes' first-half points came in the paint.

"Turnovers and post defense were the things that really hurt us in the first half," said Holsinger. "At halftime we said, this is a time we have to make a decision. Are we going to defend the right way or are we going to continue to give up easy baskets?

"I think our kids responded really well." Grand Canyon shot 38.5 percent in the second half, scoring six points in the paint. "Just making them miss in the second half was probably the biggest factor in the game. Big difference between 60 and 38 percent."

Konig and Huard scored the final four points of the third quarter, then Bartsch hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth to make it 61-54, giving Montana not just its largest lead of the game but of the season.

The lead grew to 10 points, 71-61, on a Gfeller basket with just over four minutes remaining.

Grand Canyon missed a 3-pointer in the final minute with the Lopes trailing by five. It was a one-possession game in the closing seconds before a pair of Marxen free throws iced it.

Montana will next face Dickinson State on Monday night, a team that takes a five-game losing streak into its home game against Rocky Mountain on Friday evening.

It will be the first-ever regular-season matchup between the Lady Griz and Blue Hawks.

"We're just looking to keep improving, especially defensively. We have to defend the right way and be consistent with it and take care of the ball," said Holsinger. "We gave Grand Canyon the ball a number of times unforced, especially in the first quarter."

Montana will then take another lengthy break between games before hosting Loyola Marymount on Dec. 6. Colorado State could be 7-0 by the time the Rams arrive in Missoula a few days later.

"We'd probably be further along right now if we had played a few more games," said Holsinger. "We've had a lot of practice but there is nothing like game time."

Montana notes:

* The Lady Griz will play at Cal Poly on Saturday, Dec. 16, then face San Diego and UC San Diego on Dec. 20 and 21 at the USD Winter Classic.

* Montana will open league by hosting Weber State and Idaho State on Dec. 29 and 31, then break from conference play with matchups against South Dakota and Nebraska-Omaha the first week of January in the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge. It's all league after that.

* Gonzaga, which picked up recent home wins over Toledo, North Florida and Wyoming, is 4-1 and plays Liberty, Alabama and Louisville this weekend at the Betty Chancellor Classic in Katy, Texas. The Bulldogs' Kayleigh and Kaylynne Truong are from nearby Houston.

* Washington State, which defeated Montana 61-49, is now 7-0 after opening the Cancun Challenge with lopsided wins over Maryland, 87-67, and Massachusetts, 90-48. The Cougars have a seven-game scoring margin of +21.6.

* Through three games, Montana's top seven scorers have totaled between 21 and 30 points. … Montana has 50 turnovers through three games, 15 more than its opponents. … Montana's first three opponents have combined to shoot 44.9 percent.

* Through three games, Montana has used 12 players. Ten Lady Griz have played in all three games.

Upcoming: Montana will host Loyola Marymount on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 11 a.m. in the Lady Griz School Day Game. It will be the fifth School Day Game in program history. The first four had an average attendance of more than 6,530.

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Players Mentioned

Dani Bartsch

Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw

Carmen Gfeller

Macey Huard

Mack Konig

Gina Marxen

University of Montana Athletics