Idaho uses fast start to top Montana

Monday, January 20

Moscow, Idaho

3 PM (MT)

Montana

7-11, 3-4BSC

Idaho

13-4, 5-1BSC

Montana

Idaho

Photos: Idaho Athletics

1/20/2025 6:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Idaho jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the opening minutes and one of the nation's top defensive teams never allowed Montana to fully get back into the game on Monday afternoon.

The Vandals, who defeated the Lady Griz earlier this month 63-50 in Missoula, won by the same margin in the teams' second meeting, sweeping the season series with a 70-57 victory at ICCU Arena in Moscow.

The Lady Griz, who saw their two-game winning streak come to an end, fought back to within four points midway through the second quarter and six early in the third, but Idaho steadily pulled away down the stretch, going up by 16 late in the third quarter, by 18 in the fourth.

"Have to give Idaho a ton of credit. They played great. They out-played us, they out-coached us, they out-competed us," said acting head coach Nate Harris.

"It comes back to me. I didn't have this group ready to go today in a way that was going to give them a chance to win."

Facing a team that entered the day ranked sixth nationally in field goal percentage defense (.341) and allowing only 55.6 points, the game's start couldn't have gone much worse for Montana.

The Lady Griz missed their first nine shots, which allowed the Vandals (13-4, 5-1 BSC), who won for the fifth straight time, to go up 14-0 before the game was even four minutes gone.

The rest of the game would be an uphill struggle for the Lady Griz, who shot 28.2 percent, their second-lowest percentage of the season.

After hitting 14 3-pointers in Saturday's home win over Idaho State, Montana went just 7 for 29 (.241) from the arc against the Vandals.

The Lady Griz trailed 20-11 after the first quarter, then scored seven of the first nine points of the second quarter to pull within four, 22-18, and had a 3-point shot that could have cut into Idaho's lead even further.

But the Vandals had offensive answers all game long, with five players scoring in double figures and Idaho shooting 46.4 percent.

"We had some shooting struggles, but I would have thought 57 points would have given us a chance," said Harris. "We just didn't have our group ready to go defensively, and Idaho took advantage of that."

Idaho scored 32 points in the paint and balanced that out with a solid 8-for-20 effort from the 3-point line.

"We couldn't keep them out of the paint," said Harris. "They did such a good job of getting downhill, such a good job of being vertical and forcing you to make really hard decisions.

"They just do a lot of good things that force you into some tough spots. They outplayed us and really got after us."

Held without a point in the first half, Aby Shubert sparked Montana early in the third quarter, hitting a pair of 3-pointers that made it a 41-35 game, but Idaho answered with back-to-back 3-pointers, then later went on an 8-0 run that made it a 16-point game, 55-39.

Montana would get no closer than 11 the rest of the way.

The Lady Griz had 10 players in the scoring column but only one reached double figures, Mack Konig totaling 10 off the bench.

Dani Bartsch had eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks, Shubert finished with eight points, MJ Bruno handed out four assists and Avery Waddington had five points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Montana (7-11, 3-4 BSC) will host first-place Montana State (16-2, 6-0 BSC) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula. The Bobcats play at Eastern Washington on Monday night.