Lady Griz open league at home

The Montana women's basketball team will open its Big Sky Conference schedule this weekend with home games against Weber State and Idaho State.

The Lady Griz (6-3), who have won three straight and six of their last seven, will face the Wildcats (3-9) on Friday at 7 p.m., the Bengals (4-5) at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Both games will be played on Robin Selvig Court inside Dahlberg Arena.

Montana went into the short Christmas break with three straight wins, all coming on a trip to California. The Lady Griz won at Cal Poly, then picked up two wins at the USD Winter Classic, over host San Diego and UC San Diego.

Montana will put its league schedule on pause next week for the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge. The Lady Griz will host South Dakota on Wednesday, Jan. 3, and play at Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday, Jan. 6.

Montana will return to league play with games at Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona on Jan. 11 and 13.

Coverage: Both games this week will stream on ESPN+ and be available on KGRZ 92.7 FM/1450 AM, KGRZMissoula.com and the Varsity Network, with Ace Sauerwein on the call.

At a glance (Montana): The Lady Griz ran their winning streak to three and won for the sixth time in seven games with a sweep on a three-game road trip to California.

Montana opened with a 67-65 win at Cal Poly, then defeated San Diego, 72-52, and UC San Diego, 68-67, at the USD Winter Classic.

The Lady Griz trailed by six at Cal Poly with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter and by 10 against UC San Diego with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter and won both games, going 12 for 15 in the final five minutes of the two games.

The three wins gave Montana, which also won at Grand Canyon in November, a 4-0 record away from home this season.

The Lady Griz turned the ball over 53 times in the three games, which limited their shot attempts, but when Montana was shooting, the team was mostly lights out.

The Lady Griz shot 48.7 percent in the three games while averaging 69.0 points. Montana went 34 for 74 (.459) from the 3-point line. The Lady Griz made 10 or more 3-pointers in each game, with a season-high 13 against UC San Diego, just three makes off the program record and tied for fifth in program history.

Montana now ranks 20th in the country at 9.2 made 3-pointers per game. The Lady Griz rank 33rd nationally in 3-point attempts (25.1/g), 39th in 3-point percentage (.367). Montana has not shot better than 35 percent from the 3-point line for a season since 2007-08.

In Montana's 67-65 win at Cal Poly, Carmen Gfeller scored 21 points and Gina Marxen added 17 off the bench as the Lady Griz won despite leading for less than six of 40 minutes.

The Mustangs led 24-18 after the first quarter, 36-34 at the half, 49-48 after three quarters and 54-48 with five minutes left before Montana's big finish. Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw gave the Lady Griz the lead for good when she finished at the basket with 16 seconds left.

Mack Konig matched a career high with 21 points as Montana opened the USD Winter Classic with a wire-to-wire 72-52 road win at San Diego. The Lady Griz shot 60 percent in the first half to build a 39-28 halftime lead and led by at least that much the rest of the game.

Against UC San Diego, Montana played the most up-and-down game imaginable. The Lady Griz raced out to a 16-0 lead, trailed 40-30 at the half, fell behind by 14 in the third quarter and trailed 63-53 when the clock dipped under five minutes in the fourth quarter. And still won.

Gina Marxen, who had been 0 for 7 at that point, finished an and-one drive to the basket with 54 seconds left. That gave Montana its first lead since midway through the second quarter.

Montana won despite getting outscored by 30 points, 44-14, from the 5:07 mark of the first quarter to the 8:10 mark of the third.

Over the game's final five minutes, Montana went 5 for 5. UC San Diego went 1 for 5 with three turnovers.

MJ Bruno took eight shots against the Tritons and made all eight, with six of them coming from the 3-point line. She scored 23 points. Her high game in two seasons at Portland was 11 points. Her previous high as a Lady Griz was 12 in the opener against Gonzaga. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

It was only the second time in program history a player has taken eight or more shots in a game and gone without a miss. Jodi Hinrichs went 8 for 8 in a 67-48 road win at Montana State in January 1995.

It was also only the fourth time a Lady Griz has taken six or more 3-point attempts and been perfect. Linda Cummings went 7 for 7 from the arc in a home win over MSU Billings in November 1998.

Mandy Morales had a 6 for 6 game in the 2008 Big Sky championship game against Montana State. Taylor Goligoski went 6 for 6 in a home win against Incarnate Word in November 2016.

Bruno went 10 for 10 overall at the USD Winter Classic and 12 for 13 (.923) on the three-game trip to California. She went 7 for 8 from the 3-point line. She made 14 3-pointers in two seasons at Portland.

In two games at the USD Winter Classic, Mack Konig averaged 16.5 points while going 10 for 17 (.588) from the field, 5 for 8 from the 3-point line.

At a glance (Weber State): After going 15-81 in league over five years, the Wildcats underwent another coaching change in the offseason, hiring Jenteal Jackson away from Division II Westminster. She went 33-14 in two years as head coach. She was previously an assistant at Westminster for nine seasons.

Since parting with longtime coach Carla Taylor after the 2010-11 season, Weber State is on its third replacement. The Wildcats have had just two winning seasons since cutting ties with Taylor, finishing in the top five in the Big Sky just once.

Weber State opened 0-7 this season, including a three-point loss at San Diego, then followed with three straight wins, at home against Nevada, 57-55, at Utah Tech, 77-67, and at home against Westminster, 61-47.

Losses have followed at Air Force, 70-58, and at Utah, 89-36. Weber State is 1-9 away from home this season.

Through 12 games, Weber State is averaging 54.9 points on 36.9 percent shooting. The Wildcats rank 320th nationally in scoring out of 348 Division I teams. Their opponents are averaging 67.1 points on 45.5 percent shooting.

Senior Daryn Hickok, third-team All-Big Sky last season and preseason All-Big Sky this year, leads Weber State in scoring (11.4/g). Senior Jadyn Matthews is averaging 11.2 points and a team-leading 5.0 rebounds.

Series history: Montana has gone 76-15 against Weber State all-time and is 42-4 in Missoula against the Wildcats.

The Lady Griz have won three in a row in the series and nine of the teams' last 10 games. Montana has won 15 straight at home over Weber State. The Wildcats' last win at Dahlberg Arena was a 50-49 win in 2005-06.

Last season, Montana survived in Ogden, winning 67-64 in overtime. The Lady Griz had an easier time in Missoula, winning 65-48 in the first game played on Robin Selvig Court.

At a glance (Idaho State): The Bengals enter league with a 4-5 record. After defeating Air Force, 55-52, in Hawaii and Utah Valley, 54-50, in Pocatello, to get to 4-4, Idaho State almost made it three wins in a row going into Christmas but fell 79-76 in overtime at BYU.

Idaho State built a 60-47 lead early in the fourth quarter at Provo but watched the Cougars go on an 18-0 run to go up 65-60. The Bengals would fall behind 68-62, making it a 21-2 run for BYU, before coming back to force overtime. ISU made four baskets in the 15 minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime.

ISU's two leading scorers, juniors Tasia Jordan and Maria Dias, are both first-year players for the Bengals. Jordan (10.6/g) played two years at Kirkland (Iowa) Community College. Dias (10.1/g) played two years at the College of the Sequoias in California.

Six-foot-three junior Laura Bello, honorable mention All-Big Sky last season after transferring from Newman (Kan.) University, is averaging 9.2 points and 7.2 rebounds.

Five-foot-nine sophomore guard Kacey Spink ranks second in the Big Sky in rebounding (9.0/g). She averages more than three offensive rebounds per game.

Idaho State is averaging 58.0 points on 36.3 percent shooting and ranks 328th in the nation in 3-point shooting (.243), but the Bengals, per usual, are defending well under 16th-year coach Seton Sobolewski. ISU is allowing 61.6 points on 36.5 percent shooting.

After winning back-to-back Big Sky regular-season titles in 2021 and '22, Idaho State dropped off to an eighth-place finish a year ago, going 11-19 overall, 6-12 in league. Those 11 wins were the fewest for ISU since the 2008-09 season, the program's first under Sobolewski.

Idaho State was picked seventh and eighth in the preseason coaches' and media polls, respectively.

Series history: Montana leads the all-time series 73-19, but through former Montana coach Robin Selvig's retirement, after the 2015-16 season, that advantage was 70-8. Since then, Idaho State has gone 11-3 against Montana.

The Lady Griz are 41-7 at home against the Bengals, but Idaho State has won its last five games in Missoula.

Last season, Montana won 77-68 at Pocatello, its first win at ISU since 2015. Trailing 60-51 late in the third quarter, the Lady Griz closed the game on a 26-8 run, with Sammy Fatkin scoring 28 points.

In the rematch in Missoula, Idaho State led 29-22 at the half before a 22-8 third quarter flipped the game for Montana. The Lady Griz led 46-37 early in the fourth quarter before a 10-0 run put the Bengals back in the lead.

Montana went back up four, 54-50, with 2:25 to go, but that would be its final points of the game as the Lady Griz went 0 for 3 with two turnovers in the closing minutes. Idaho State won it 55-54 on a pair of free throws with less than a second remaining.

Quoting coach Brian Holsinger:

On closing out games in California: "Better late than never. The encouraging thing was we executed down the stretch in close games. The discouraging part is that we were in those situations. We're not consistent and we're not defending accurately enough for this point of the season."

On being 3-0 in games decided by five points or fewer: "The whole goal is having five players who are threats. If you have five players who are threats, how do you guard that? Everything is more effective."

On the trip to California: "I wasn't surprised by the Cal Poly game that we were a little off, with finals and travel. It was really encouraging how we executed down the stretch, both defensively and offensively. Then San Diego was one of our cleanest games of the year.

"We had an unbelievable start against UC San Diego and that didn't help. We have a team that still relaxes at times. They are hard to guard when they are making perimeter shots, and we let them get going. They gave us some issues but we put the pressure on and hit big shots down the stretch."

On opening Big Sky: "Conference play is always tougher. Teams know each other better and coaches know each other better, so you kind of know what you are going to get. It's going to be a battle and these teams will be physical. We have to be ready to do what we do and defend better."

On the recent performance by MJ Bruno: "She proved she could make them last year (at Portland) based on her percentages. It's just continuing to build confidence and shooting the right shots at the right time and trying to simplify what is a good shot and what is a bad shot.

"She continues to get better and is feeling confident. You don't want people taking bad shots but at the same time you want them to feel confidence to take the right shots. That is a really fine line in coaching."

On defending home court, where Montana is 2-3 this season: "I was hoping we'd get one of (those three losses) and we didn't. The homecourt advantage we have here is significant, but we have to give the fans a reason to cheer. We've battled. We just haven't found ways.

"I think the belief that we're supposed to win at home is starting to get there. That belief used to be here. Oh, we're at home. We'll win. We're getting closer to believing we're supposed to win every game."

Montana notes:

* Montana is 2-3 at home this season, with losses to Gonzaga, Washington State and Colorado State. Those three teams are currently a combined 33-7.

* Montana's fans have not witnessed a Division I home victory yet this season. The win over Loyola Marymount was played in front of nearly 6,000 school kids. The other win at Dahlberg came against Dickinson State.

* Montana has six players averaging between 7.0 and 12.7 points per game. Five of those players are shooting 43.2 percent or better, two of them 50 percent or better.

* Here is why Dani Bartsch is playing a team-high 28.2 minutes. She is shooting 55.0 percent overall, 47.8 percent from the 3-point line, she is averaging 7.0 points and 8.0 rebounds, and she leads the team in blocks (10) and steals (15). And she commits a foul every 19.5 minutes she is one the court.

* Montana has made 10 or more 3-pointers in six of nine games this season. The most games with at least 10 made 3-pointers in a season is nine, set by last year's team. This is already only the fourth time any Montana team has done it at least six times in a season.

* After getting outrebounded in the season opener by Gonzaga, Montana outrebounded its next seven opponents. UC San Diego ended that streak, out-boarding the Lady Griz 34-27. Montana ranks second in the Big Sky in rebounding margin (+6.1/g).

* Montana has had four players post a 20-point scoring game this season: Mack Konig, Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw, Carmen Gfeller and MJ Bruno. Dani Bartsch has had an 18-point game, Gina Marxen a 17-point game.

* Carmen Gfeller has scored in double figures the last eight games after being held to four by Gonzaga. She has 71 career games with 10 or more points.

* MJ Bruno scored 50 points through the season's first eight games. She scored 23 points in game No. 9.

* The 26 second-quarter points UC San Diego scored were the second-most points in a period allowed by Montana this season. Gonzaga scored 30 fourth-quarter points in the season opener.

* Montana outscored Cal Poly, San Diego and UC San Diego 58-37 in the fourth quarter. … The Lady Griz got a season-low five points from their bench against UC San Diego. The previous low was 17. Montana's bench has outscored the opponent bench in seven of nine games this season and by 83 points overall.

* Montana rallied from 14 down to win against UC San Diego. The Lady Griz rallied from the same deficit to win twice last season, at home against North Dakota and Sacramento State.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* The teams picked in the top three spots in the Big Sky preseason coaches' poll, Eastern Washington (8-3), Northern Arizona (8-3) and Montana (6-3), had the best pre-Christmas records.

* Half the teams in the Big Sky are .500 or better, with three more one game under .500. The other teams, Weber State and Sacramento State, are under first-year coaches.

* Thursday in the Big Sky: EWU at PSU, UI at SAC
* Friday in the Big Sky: WSU at UM, ISU at MSU
* Saturday in the Big Sky: UNC at NAU, UI at PSU, EWU at SAC
* Sunday in the Big Sky: ISU at UM, WSU at MSU

* Next week is the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge, with games on Wednesday and Saturday.

Upcoming: Montana will host South Dakota (10-3) on Wednesday next week, then play at Nebraska-Omaha (4-7) on Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

Dani Bartsch

MJ Bruno

Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw

Sammy Fatkin

Carmen Gfeller

Mack Konig

Gina Marxen

University of Montana Athletics