Big 2nd half sparks St. Thomas to win over Lady Griz

Saturday, December 6

Missoula, Mont.

7 PM

Montana

2-6

St. Thomas

4-6

St. Thomas (MN)

Montana

The Lady Griz played against the University of St. Thomas Tommies in Dahlberg Arena, in Missoula, MT, on December 6, 2025.

Photo by: Noah Epps/university of Montana

Big 2nd half sparks St. Thomas to win over Lady Griz

12/6/2025 10:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

Trailing 32-28 at the break, St. Thomas put up a big second half to rally past Montana 81-65 at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula on Saturday night.

The Tommies (4-6), who won their third straight game, went 22 for 34 (.647) over the final 20 minutes to catch and then pull away from the Lady Griz (2-6), who were coming off a 30-point road win at North Dakota on Wednesday.

St. Thomas outscored Montana 53-33 in the second half to finish 2-0 in the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge.

"We had a positive day on Wednesday. Coming back today, I didn't feel like we competed with what we need to be great," said coach Nate Harris. "It was a disappointing day, especially that second half. We never got going, especially on the defensive end."

After shooting 19 for 38 from the 3-point line in Wednesday's 86-56 win at North Dakota, Montana attempted only 18 threes on Saturday as St. Thomas employed a no-help defense that allowed the Lady Griz to take individual defenders to the basket.

Montana, which made five 3-pointers, would score a season-high 42 points in the paint but shot just 21 for 43 within 15 feet of the basket.

"That is what we're going to see," said Harris, whose team shot 41.9 percent overall, its second-best effort of the season against Division I opponents. "Teams are going to make us finish at the rim. They are going to stay out and not help, so you've got to finish.

"Forty-two (percent) was good but a bulk of those were lay-ups. We've got to get that closer to 60 if we're playing lay-up basketball."

With Avery Waddington scoring 13 first-half points, Montana was doing just fine at the half, up 32-28 after holding St. Thomas to eight points in the second period on 3-of-14 shooting.

"Our energy, our effort," said Harris, about what he liked in the second quarter. "I thought we played really hard. In the second half, we never got over the hump in terms of how hard we were playing."

Aby Shubert put Montana up six, 36-30, early in the third quarter and Waddington later made it 38-33, but an 11-0 run for St. Thomas gave the Tommies a lead they would hold the rest of the game.

Montana pulled within a point, 48-47, in the final minute of the third quarter before St. Thomas closed the period with four straight points. The Tommies opened the final period with a basket and it was never a one-possession game again.

St. Thomas shot 11 for 16 (.688) in the fourth quarter, including hitting four of six shots from the 3-point line that kept Montana at arm's length.

Waddington, who went 9 for 16, matched her career high with 21 points. Mack Konig added 17, Shubert finished with 12 and Jocelyn Land, coming off a 30-point game at North Dakota, finished with 11.

The Lady Griz won't play again until going up against Houston on Tuesday, Dec. 16, the start of a three-game trip to Texas.