Montana falls at Eastern Washington

Saturday, February 3

Cheney, Wash.

3 PM (MT)

Montana

15-6, 7-3BSC

Eastern Washington

17-5, 7-2BSC

Montana

Eastern Wash.

Photos: Bridget Mayfield (EWU Athletics)

2/3/2024 6:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's basketball team had its four-game winning streak come to an end with a 61-56 loss to Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.

The Lady Griz (15-6, 7-3 BSC) fell behind by 10 at the half, 32-22, and could not come all the way back despite holding the Eagles (17-5, 7-2 BSC) to 2-of-13 shooting and 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Montana pulled within one, 52-51, with 4:47 left in the game but came up empty on three straight possessions when the Lady Griz could have taken their first lead since the second quarter.

Down two, 55-53, Montana went 1 for 2 at the free throw line with 52.1 seconds left, and the Lady Griz missed an open 3-pointer with 13 seconds left when trailing 57-54.

Eastern Washington, which went into Saturday on a two-game losing streak, with close losses to Northern Arizona and Montana State, went 4 for 4 from the free throw line in the final 10 seconds.

"Our first half was disappointing but I'm proud of the way we fought in the second half. We were tougher and we played hard on defense," said coach Brian Holsinger.

"Even with that, we had our shots. You have to make those plays, especially on the road against a pretty good team. I'm proud of our effort in the second half for sure."

After averaging more than 84 points during its four-game winning streak, Montana had a season-low 22 at the half on Saturday on 30 percent shooting.

The Lady Griz went just 4 for 18 from the 3-point line over the game's opening 20 minutes.

"Credit to them. We couldn't get our pace up high enough," said Holsinger. "We got some good looks, then we started to get a little hesitant and you can't do that.

"They are aggressive and a good defensive team for a reason. They rotate quick, so you have to move the ball fast and pass on time. A lot of it was on us not doing what we were supposed to be doing."

After scoring 22 points in the first half, Montana put up 20 in the third, finally finding some space on the 3-point line and going 4 for 9 from the arc.

But Eastern Washington, behind the all-around play of Jamie Loera and the scoring of Aaliyah Alexander and Jaleesa Lawrence, would never allow the Lady Griz to come all the way back.

Loera had 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks, and Alexander and Lawrence combined to score 35 points. EWU's big three scored all but seven of the Eagles' points, going 20 for 45.

After Loera put Eastern Washington up 52-46 with 8:06 to play, the Eagles went 0 for 9 with a turnover over the next 7:35, opening the door for Montana.

Mack Konig made it 52-48 with 6:47 to go, Carmen Gfeller brought the Lady Griz within one, 52-51, with 4:47 to play with a banked-in 3-pointer from the top of the key.

But Montana could not completely bridge the 13-point gap the Eagles created early in the third quarter, making just one of its last nine shots to end the game.

"We had some layups, we had some things we needed to finish," said Holsinger. "We had all these plays you need to make on the road to win a game. We didn't make those plays."

Konig finished with 16 points, Gfeller had a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double and Dani Bartsch grabbed 11 rebounds, the 20th game of her career with 10 or more.

Montana finished 9 for 34 (.265) from the 3-point line, its fewest makes and lowest percentage since a road loss at Northern Colorado on Jan. 11.

The team's overall shooting percentage (.333) was a season low.

With the loss, Montana falls into a third-place tie in the Big Sky with Montana State at 7-3 in league. Northern Arizona, which won at Idaho State on Saturday, is 8-1, Eastern Washington is 7-2.

The Lady Griz will play five of their next seven at home starting with a matchup against the Big Sky-leading Lumberjacks (16-6, 8-1 BSC) on Thursday at 7 p.m.