Eagles knock Lady Griz out of Big Sky tournament

Monday, March 6

Boise, Idaho

Noon

Montana

14-16

(4) Eastern Washington

19-10

Montana

Eastern Wash.

Photo by: UM Photo/Tommy Martino

3/6/2023 4:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

No. 4 Eastern Washington used a big close to the first half and held that lead all the way to the finish as the Eagles defeated No. 5 Montana 72-64 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise on Monday afternoon in a quarterfinal game of the Big Sky Conference Championship.

After the Lady Griz (14-16), who shot 10 for 13 in the first quarter, built a 31-22 lead midway through the second period, Eastern Washington (19-10) closed the opening half on a 21-4 run to take a 43-35 lead to the locker room.

Montana cut its deficit to two in the third quarter, to three in the fourth but could never draw even.

Jamie Loera, the best player on the court on Monday, and Aaliyah Alexander both had 23 points for the Eagles. Both were season highs. Loera added nine rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

"Credit to Eastern Washington. They outplayed us in pretty much every way. They were tougher, they played smarter and hence the score," said Lady Griz coach Brian Holsinger.

The loss was the sixth straight for Montana at the Big Sky tournament, dating back to the Reno era. The Lady Griz fell to 0-5 since the tournament has shifted location to Boise.

Montana lost last year as the No. 5 seed as well, 75-57 to Northern Arizona in Holsinger's first year.

"There is no question this one is way more frustrating," he said. "Last year everything was new. This year I expected more.

"I'm a defensive guy. We did not play defense like we should have all year. We've got to improve in that area, and we will."

Carmen Gfeller led Montana with 18 points. Sammy Fatkin, in her final game as a Lady Griz, had 12, as did Gina Marxen. Mack Konig had 10.

Montana couldn't have scripted a better start, at least from a shooting perspective. The Lady Griz attacked the basket early and often, and went 10 for 13 in the first quarter.

"Proud of the way we came out," said Fatkin. "We came out aggressive and played right from the start."

Instead of racing out to a double-digit lead, Montana led just 23-18 after 10 minutes. The Lady Griz had six turnovers in the first quarter that led to eight points for the Eagles, which kept the No. 4 seed right on Montana's heels.

The Lady Griz had 14 turnovers for the game that led to 20 points for Eastern Washington.

"We turned the ball over too much. You turn it over like that and they turn it into points, and that was really the difference in the game," said Holsinger.

"The turnovers changed it. The first quarter should have been about 23-12. We gave up five to 10 points just on mistakes."

If it was Montana's first-quarter miscues that proved costly early on, it was its inability to slow down Eastern Washington in the second quarter and get key stops in the second half that was the difference in the final outcome.

After Montana built its 31-22 lead in the second quarter, Eastern Washington scored 21 points over the final 6:31 of the first half to totally turn the game's momentum from one team to the other.

"The second quarter was really the difference in the game," said Holsinger. "We relaxed on defense and they got confident."

Eastern Washington's 43 first-half points was the 16th time this season Montana has allowed an opponent to score at least 40 in a half.

"We relaxed a little bit and quit pushing our tempo on offense and got comfortable," said Gfeller. "In March, you can never relax on the defensive side of the ball.

"It's something we've been talking about all season and we weren't able to get over that hump, and that really made the difference in the game."

Added Holsinger, "If you put last year's defensive intensity with this year's offense, we'd be pretty good. This year's team scored a lot easier than we did last year, but we weren't as gritty. We weren't as tough

"The urgency on defense wasn't there all season. To be a championship team, you have to play both. You can't give up 40 points in a half and try to outscore people every game. We have to be way tougher on defense in general."

Montana won three times this season when trailing at the half, including coming back from nine down at the break in a home win against Sacramento State.

After falling behind 51-41 midway through the third quarter, Montana went on an 8-0 run, holding the Eagles scoreless for four and a half minutes.

Gfeller scored six points during that run and Montana had three shots that would have either tied the game or given the Lady Griz the lead, but all missed.

"We got a lot of good looks. It was just a matter of finishing the shots and they didn't fall," said Fatkin.

Loera finally broke Eastern's drought, then she scored again right before the third period's end to give her team a more comfortable 57-49 lead going to the fourth.

Alexander would score eight of her 23 points in the final period as the Eagles had an answer for every Lady Griz threat.

"Those two guards really hurt us," said Holsinger. "(Eastern Washington) hit big shots. We made multiple runs at them and couldn't quite get over the hump."

Trailing 67-62 with more than a minute left, Montana got 3-point shots from two of its best perimeter shooters. Both missed.

Alexander hit from the arc with 48 seconds left to make it 70-62, and that was the game.

"Defense didn't matter enough tonight," said Fatkin. "All year we've been preaching defense. It comes down to getting stops, and we didn't do that."

Montana ends its season with a record of 14-16. Seventeen of its games were decided by 10 or fewer points. The Lady Griz won just six of those games.

"I hope it hurts," said Holsinger. "It has to hurt to make changes. I couldn't get them over the edge in a lot of games this season. We just weren't there most of the season. We saw flashes of it but we weren't consistent. I expected more out of this team and myself, to be honest.

"I think it's behind (where I want to be after two years). We haven't won enough for our second year. The program is not where it should be in my opinion."

Montana will return in 2023-24 nine of its top 10 scorers from this season, losing Fatkin and fellow senior Katerina Tsineke.

"We are building something special, and it takes time," Holsinger said. "Everybody wants it to go faster. I want it to go faster.

"Sometimes you have to go through these things that hurt in order to get to where you want to go. This is a process. We're going to get the Lady Griz back where they should be."