Lady Griz fall to Lumberjacks on the road

Thursday, January 9

Flagstaff, Ariz.

6 PM

Montana

5-9, 1-2BSC

Northern Arizona

12-4, 3-0BSC

Montana

Northern Ariz.

Photos: Northern Arizona Athletics

1/9/2025 9:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana did the work on the defensive end on Thursday night in Flagstaff, holding high-scoring Northern Arizona to more than 16 points below its average, but for the second consecutive game, offensive frustrations proved costly to the Lady Griz.

Five days after losing 63-50 at home to Idaho, Montana shot 28.8 percent against the Lumberjacks and turned the ball over 23 times on its way to a 65-46 setback at NAU's Walkup Skydome.

It's the fewest points scored by the Lady Griz in back-to-back games under fourth-year coach Brian Holsinger.

"I would pay a lot of money to know," said Holsinger, when asked what's been holding back an offense that seven times this season has scored 70 or more points.

Montana never held a lead on Thursday night, opening the game 1 for 10 and trailing 15-6 after the first quarter, 32-21 at halftime and 47-34 through 30 minutes against a team that entered the game allowing 76.2 points per game.

MJ Bruno led Montana with nine points, Avery Waddington added eight off the bench. Montana's five starters combined to score 24 points, the same as Northern Arizona's Taylor Feldman, who led both teams with two dozen.

"We're searching. You can't beat people when you're in the situation we're in," added Holsinger. "You're not going to win. I don't know if it's confidence or what's going on. I know there is frustration because we feel like we're better than we're playing. As a coach, I have to figure it out."

Both teams opened 1 for 9 and the game was tied 2-2 nearly seven minutes in before Feldman finished an and-one, then hit a 3-pointer 30 seconds later to give Northern Arizona a 10-4 lead, an advantage the Lumberjacks would never give back.

Down 15 midway through the second quarter, Montana pulled within nine on two occasions before the halftime break, then cut its deficit to five early in the second half, 34-29, with Adria Lincoln hitting a 3-pointer and Izabella Zingaro scoring five points in less than a minute.

With a chance to cut into the NAU lead even further, Montana would be stuck on 29 points for more than six minutes as the Lady Griz missed seven straight shots and had three turnovers.

That allowed the Lumberjacks (12-4, 3-0 BSC) to build a double-digit lead they would hold to the finish.

Montana held the Big Sky Conference favorites to 65 points on 34.3 percent shooting, the second-lowest total of the season for a team averaging 81.5 points on 43.0 percent shooting.

"On the positive side, I think we defended them well," said Holsinger. "I thought we started to develop an identity on that end, that we're going to be scrappy and tough and do the right things. But in the end, we couldn't score. We couldn't make a basket."

Feldman scored 24 or more points for the fourth time this season, with Big Sky preseason MVP Sophie Glancey adding 15.

Montana (5-9, 1-2 BSC) will play at Northern Colorado (7-7, 0-3 BSC) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Greeley. The Bears lost 68-57 at home to Montana State on Thursday, UNC's fifth straight loss.