Lady Griz get their Boise breakthrough

Monday, March 11

Boise, Idaho

2:30 PM

Montana

22-8

(6) Idaho

15-16

Idaho

Montana

Photo by: TOMMY_MARTINO

3/11/2024 5:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's basketball team won its first postseason game since 2018 with a 73-61 victory over Idaho on Monday afternoon in a quarterfinal game of the Big Sky Conference Championship at Idaho Central Arena in Boise.

The Lady Griz, the tournament's No. 3 seed, led 36-26 at the half, built a 24-point lead in the third quarter, then held on to advance in March for the first time since defeating Sacramento State in Reno back in 2018.

Montana (22-8), which won 20 games this season for the first time since 2015-16, won for the first time in Boise on its sixth trip.

"Anytime you do something that hasn't been done in a long time, it feels good, just like winning 20 games this year. These are milestones we want to keep building on," said third-year coach Brian Holsinger, whose team will face No. 2 Northern Arizona in a semifinal on Tuesday.

"Every win is big at this time of year. It doesn't matter how much, half a point, 20 points, they are all big wins. Just happy for our program because we hadn't won down here. Proud of our kids."

Monday was Montana at its best, as the Lady Griz hit nine 3-pointers, shot 50 percent overall and overwhelmed No. 6 Idaho with their balance. Five players were in double figures, with Dani Bartsch also doing her thing, finishing with 14 rebounds and a career-high six blocks.

Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw scored 15 points, Gina Marxen 14, Mack Konig 13, Carmen Gfeller 11 and MJ Bruno 10, her highest scoring game since January.

"I love team basketball. When you have five players who can score, it makes us hard to guard. It's what we've done all year," said Holsinger. "This team has been the most fun I've had coaching in a long time."

Playing on a court that had provided nothing but heartbreak over the years, Montana made itself right at home on Monday, going 9 for 14 in the first quarter to build a lead it would never give away.

Montana led 20-11 after the first quarter and ended the second period on a 7-0 run to go up 10 at the half.

It was the third quarter when Montana buried Idaho. The Lady Griz took 11 shots and hit nine of them to put up a 25-point period and pull away. Montana went up 61-37 late in the quarter on a Konig basket.

Idaho would outscore Montana 21-12 in the fourth quarter, but the lead was too large for the Vandals to overcome.

"I thought we came out in the third quarter and played right," said Holsinger. "Then I could see us relaxing and you cannot relax. You have to continue to play. Teams are too good.

"Credit to Idaho. They did not quit. They kept coming and coming. Our kids made the plays down the stretch when we needed to."

After Idaho pulled within 14, 63-49, with more than seven minutes left, Espenmiller-McGraw hit a pair of 3-pointers 65 seconds apart to put Montana back in control.

Her 3-pointer with 5:19 left made it 69-52 and gave her 74 made threes on the season, one shy of McCalle Feller's program record of 75 from 2015-16.

Next up for Montana will be a semifinal matchup against Northern Arizona at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The No. 2 Lumberjacks advanced out of the quarterfinals on Sunday with an 81-63 victory over No. 8 Sacramento State.

Montana and Northern Arizona split their season series, the Lady Griz winning 89-84 at Flagstaff in January, the Lumberjacks winning 69-60 in Missoula last month.

The semifinalists are the Big Sky's two highest-scoring teams.

"We both like offense," said Holsinger. "I like defense but our kids like offense, so I go with it. It will be up and down. That's the way they play, that's the way we play. It will make for some fun basketball.

"They are a good team and I think we're a good team. It will be a great matchup."