Lady Griz play their game, take down Bobcats

Saturday, February 17

Missoula, Mont.

2 PM

Montana

17-7, 9-4BSC

Montana State

14-12, 8-5BSC

Montana St.

Montana

Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/ University of Mo

2/17/2024 6:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

This time there would be no comeback.

Montana raced out to an early lead, just as the Lady Griz did in Bozeman last month, and this time they kept it, rolling to a 72-50 victory over Montana State on Saturday afternoon at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.

Montana's starters all scored between nine and 14 points and the Lady Griz did their usual damage from the 3-point line, going 14 for 27 (.519).

If that was enough to get the win, it was Montana's work on the defensive end that turned it into a rout, with the Lady Griz holding the Bobcats to 21 second-half points and their fewest points against Montana since Robin Selvig was coaching.

"It's their defense," Montana coach Brian Holsinger said of his team. "And they are getting better and better. It's literally just toughening it out on the defensive end. That's the difference in the game. We're playing tougher and you saw that.

"It was really neat in the second half to see the defense come alive and make it really hard on them."

Montana raced out to a 19-5 lead in Bozeman last month, then tightened up, allowing Montana State to come all the way back for a 64-55 victory.

The Lady Griz went up 11-2 on Saturday, forcing an early Bobcat timeout, and never let Montana State feel like it was all the way back in the game.

Montana led 19-13 after the first quarter, 38-29 at the half, then built its advantage to 56-38 by the end of the third quarter and to 26 points early in the fourth.

"We knew we needed everybody to get the win and play as a team," said Gina Marxen, who had 14 points and four assists, and who hit back-to-back 3-pointers 32 seconds apart early in the game to get Montana rolling.

"I'm really proud of the energy and the effort we came out with and playing all 40 minutes and being able to finish it."

Montana held Katelynn Limardo and Madison Hall, Montana State's leading scorers, to 11 combined points on 4-of-16 shooting and the Bobcats to just seven made baskets over the final 20 minutes of the game.

"Being able to take away what players want to do the most was a big key for us," said Marxen. "Being able to shut down key players and make them take tough shots was really our goal."

Carmen Gfeller's stat line told the story of the game, how Montana rolled to a 22-point victory with Gfeller, the team's leading scorer, taking just five shots. But what she did do was get Montana State's attention, and that was enough to open up her teammates.

Dani Bartsch and Mack Konig matched Marxen with 14 points, Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw added 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the 3-point line.

If Carmen as decoy is the path to victory, it's the one Montana will gladly take. "She's been a focus of this program," said Holsinger. "We take what the defense gives us.

"Everything is easier when your post player can score. Without her being able to do what she can do, we're not as good as we can be. That's the bottom line."

Montana built its halftime lead by shooting 54.2 percent in the first half. The Lady Griz cooled off to 43.3 percent for the second half but still went 8 for 18 from the 3-point line.

"More than anything, for us it's to continue to play the right way. That's what we focus on all the time," said Holsinger, who picked up his second win against the Bobcats. "We feel like from top to bottom, we have enough talent to be successful if we do the right things."

Bartsch didn't reach her usual double-double but to her 14 points she added eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal.

Her chase-down block of Natalie Picton in the game's opening minute set the early tone.

"She's unbelievable," said freshman Macey Huard. "I've never played with someone who's so efficient. Rebounds, blocks, she's everywhere at once. Even if she's not scoring, she's affecting the game in a lot of other ways."

Soon people will be saying the same thing about Huard, who joined the program as a scorer and is steadily becoming a menace on the defensive end with her size and quickness and length.

She hit a pair of 3-pointers on Saturday, her 13th consecutive game with at least one, but also added three steals and two blocked shots as Montana held Montana State to 38.5 percent shooting.

"We have been on her constantly about playing good defense. She defended like crazy today," said Holsinger. "It was her best defensive performance by far this season.

"That's a big step for a freshman. Big time. She's always been an offensive kid. She's bought in and has just gotten better and better."

In the game in Bozeman last month, Montana had three different stretches that added up to more than 22 minutes when the Lady Griz made one basket. They went the final 5:41 without a made field goal.

That hesitancy was nowhere to be seen on Saturday. "Once our offense is moving and all five of us are touching the ball and we're getting into the flow of the game, it's really fun," said Marxen.

The lessons learned from that afternoon in Bozeman resulted in 18 assists on 26 made baskets in the rematch in Missoula.

After turning the ball over 10 times in the first half, which allowed Montana State to keep it close, Montana had just three in the second half as the Lady Griz outscored the Bobcats 34-21 over the final 20 minutes.

"You learn from moments like that," said Holsinger. "They made a run and we tightened up and didn't play the right kind of basketball. That's the key to this whole thing. We just want to continue to get better. Good things will happen for us if we do that."

The win kept Montana (17-7, 9-4 BSC) within two games of Big Sky leaders Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington, who share 11-2 league records and face each other on Thursday in Cheney.

Montana will play at Sacramento State (5-20, 4-10 BSC) on Thursday, at Portland State (6-20, 1-13 BSC) next Saturday.