Griz finish seventh at Big Sky Championship

The Montana women's golf team shot a final-round 301 on Wednesday and finished in seventh place at the Big Sky Conference Championship held in Litchfield Park, Ariz.

The Grizzlies, who shot rounds of 293 and 295 on Monday and Tuesday, opened the day in fifth and made their way up to third during the morning before struggles on the back nine at Wigwam Golf Club dropped them down the standings.

"Obviously not how we wanted to finish," said first-year coach Jimmy Mee. "We have to get a little more 'compete' in us, not wanting to make bogeys, just grinding, competing and when it's done, it's done.

"It was good to see us get into a position we haven't been in for a while. The girls definitely have the ability to go finish top three at conference."

Montana had three players in the top 25 for the first time since 2018 and, with a three-round total of 889, broke 900 for the first time ever at the Big Sky Championship.

Freshman Elle Higgins (68-76-75) tied for 16th at her first Big Sky Championship, Tricia Joyce (74-73-74) tied for 19th, Raina Ports (75-72-75) finished 21st.

Ports ended the year with a stroke average of 75.42, the best in program history, breaking the previous record of 75.52 set by Barbora Bakova in 2014-15.

Kendall Hayward (76-77-77) tied for 42nd, Hannah Ports (80-74-85) finished 47th.

Higgins held the 18-hole lead after shooting a 68 on Monday, the best round ever for a Grizzly at the Big Sky Championship and matching the low score in program history.

She had five birdies on Monday, five through her final 36 holes on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"There is a learning curve," said Mee. "It's playing with people with more experience than you, playing in harder course conditions. It's no longer junior golf.

"There are going to be some speed bumps along the way – you never play a round of golf when there aren't – but as long as we can get her to see how good the good was, she should be able to gain confidence."

Joyce's three-round total of 221 was the best of her collegiate career and came in typical Goose fashion on Wednesday: five birdies, eight bogeys, five pars.

"That's kind of how Goose plays golf. She is going to go for it. She is going to take a few risks here and there," said Mee. "It was good to see her get back to herself for the conference tournament and play some good golf."

Sacramento State (282-282-286) won the title by 14 strokes over second-place Northern Arizona (293-293-278). Weber State (288-294-287) finished third.

Northern Arizona's Lizzie Neale (71-68-64) was medalist at 10-under. Her 7-under 64 on Wednesday set a new tournament record. Sitting 1-under through 10 holes, she birdied six of the course's final eight holes, playing the back nine in 29 strokes.

Sacramento State's Jennifer Koga (70-67-70) and Weber State's Emily Song (71-72-69) also finished under par.

Four of Montana's five players who competed this week are underclassmen.

"Going forward, we need to get better mentally and better at competing," said Mee. "If we can do that, we can be somebody to look out for next year."

University of Montana Athletics

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Kendall Hayward

Elle Higgins

Tricia Joyce

Hannah Ports

Raina Ports

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