Wildcats hold off Lady Griz 73-69

Saturday, February 15

Ogden, Utah

2 PM

Montana

10-15, 6-8BSC

Weber State

10-13, 7-6BSC

Montana

Weber St.

Photos: Justin Johnson (Weber State Athletics)

Photo by: JUSTIN JOHNSON

2/15/2025 5:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Some hot shooting from the 3-point line and a 22-point lead in the third quarter were enough for Weber State to defeat Montana on Saturday afternoon at Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah.

But just barely.

Down 17 entering the fourth quarter, the Lady Griz staged a furious rally that had them pull within one with nearly two minutes to go, but the Wildcats did enough late to sneak out a 73-69 victory.

"Really proud of our fight down the stretch to come back and cut it to one," said interim head coach Nate Harris.

"Our spacing in the second half was great, our energy and the way we attacked were great. That's stuff we have to build off of."

If Montana won the final period, Weber State won the game because of its play over the first three quarters.

After spotting the Lady Griz an early 11-2 advantage, the Wildcats scored 19 straight points to build a 21-11 lead, a lead they would never give back.

Weber State (10-13, 7-6 BSC) shot 9 for 15 in the first quarter, hitting four of its five shots from the 3-point line, and led 25-16 after 10 minutes.

The Wildcats led 38-25 at the half, then hit four 3-pointers through the first five minutes of the third quarter to extend their lead to 22 points, 56-34.

Shut out in the first half, it was freshman Avery Waddington who sparked the start of the comeback, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and scoring 12 points in the third quarter.

Montana would go 9 for 18 in the fourth quarter, attacking the paint and scoring or kicking out for four 3-pointers.

MJ Bruno hit a pair of 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter to make it a seven-point game, 64-57, then Macy Donarski hit a driving lay-up with the shot clock running out to make it 64-59.

Down seven with three minutes left, Mack Konig hit a 3-pointer and Bruno added a driving and-one. Her free throw with 1:51 to go made it a one-point game, 66-65.

Montana's run, after falling behind by 22 points, was 31-10 over 12 minutes of game time.

Kendra Parra, on the Wildcats' ensuing possession, was able to get to the basket after Weber State broke through Montana's pressure to make it a 68-65 game with 1:38 left.

After a Montana turnover, the Wildcats hit one of two free throws with 57 seconds left to go up four, 69-65.

The Lady Griz would not have the ball in a one-possession game the rest of the way, the Wildcats going a perfect 4 for 4 from the free throw line over the final 34 seconds.

"I thought we played a great offensive second half," said Harris, whose team went from shooting 27.3 percent in the first half to 44.4 percent in the second.

"When we spread it out and were more aggressive downhill, it really looked good for us."

Weber State went 11 for 21 from the 3-point line, the most makes from the arc for the Wildcats since November.

Lanae Billy came off the bench to go 5 for 7 from the 3-point line and score 16 points. Parra had 13 points, eight assists and four rebounds.

Idaho State went 7 for 15 from the 3-point line on Thursday in the Bengals' 66-46 victory over Montana in Pocatello.

"People continue to shoot at a good clip against us," said Harris. "You can choose to get discouraged or choose to get determined. We've got to respond the right way and guard better.

"I thought our pressure in the fourth quarter helped us but that's not something we can do for 40 minutes until we get a few more bodies back."

Waddington and Bruno both finished with 14 points, the duo going 10 for 20, 5 for 11 from the 3-point line. Dani Bartsch had 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.

Adria Lincoln and Draya Wacker both hit a pair of 3-pointers to combine for 12 points off the bench.

It was the third straight loss for the Lady Griz (10-15, 6-8 BSC), who now find themselves in sixth place in the Big Sky standings with two weeks of the regular season to go.

"The beauty of life is you get to choose your response. You get to choose how you respond to good things and how you respond to bad things," said Harris.

"It's really important that we respond the right way as a group and move forward, just find ways to move forward and get better."

Montana will play a single game next week, at Big Sky leader Montana State (24-2, 14-0 BSC) on Saturday in Bozeman.

The Bobcats extended their winning streak to 17 games with a 74-60 victory at Idaho State on Saturday afternoon.