Bears use big 2nd half to rally past Lady Griz

Saturday, January 3

Greeley, Colo.

2 PM

Montana

3-10, 0-2BSC

Northern Colorado

10-5, 1-1BSC

Montana

Northern Colo.

1/3/2026 5:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana got the start it wanted but Northern Colorado had the strong finish as the Bears used a big second half to surge past the Lady Griz by a score of 77-58 on Saturday afternoon at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley.

Montana (3-10, 0-2 BSC) raced out to a 14-2 lead in the game's opening three and a half minutes and led 39-37 at the half before Northern Colorado (10-5, 1-1 BSC) outscored the visitors 40-19 over the final 20 minutes, holding the Lady Griz to 6-of-25 (.240) shooting in the second half.

"I thought we did some really good things in the first half," said coach Nate Harris, whose team opened its Big Sky Conference schedule with an 81-72 loss at Northern Arizona on Thursday night.

"We came out in the third quarter and looked a little timid. The ball didn't go in and the hoop started to look smaller. Then defensively we lost our juice a little bit."

After closing Thursday's game going 1 for 10 over the final nine minutes as the Lumberjacks broke free from a 64-64 fourth-quarter deadlock on their way to victory, the Lady Griz came out hitting baskets from all over on Saturday afternoon in Greeley.

Aby Shubert hit three 3-pointers in less than three minutes, Mack Konig hit one of her own, then scored at the basket to put Montana up 14-2 just 3:23 into the game.

On Thursday night against Montana State, the Bears fell behind 36-11 after the first quarter and still managed to make it a four-point game with the ball late in the fourth quarter, so Northern Colorado was no stranger to being down at home early.

The Bears scored 12 of the game's next 15 points to claw their way back into it, but the Lady Griz would lead 21-16 after 10 minutes and would stay ahead through the game's opening 24 minutes.

Montana's second-quarter lead reached nine points, 32-23, when Rae Ehrman scored twice on cuts to the basket against Northern Colorado's zone, then hit a corner three, her own seven-point run that forced a Northern Colorado timeout.

The Bears scored 14 points over the final five minutes of the first half to close to within 39-37 at the break.

"In the first half, I thought we looked like a team that can really do something in this league," said Harris. "We're going to be a whale of a team when we can put it together for an entire game. I have a lot of belief that we're going to get there. We have to stay the course and keep believing."

Konig opened the second-half with a 3-pointer, and Macy Donarski scored her only points of the game to make it 44-41.

Northern Colorado took its first lead of the game moments later, part of a 14-0 run that put the Bears in control.

UNC led by 12, 58-46, after three quarters and by at least 10 for the duration of the fourth as Montana went 4 for 21 over the game's final 17 minutes following Donarski's basket.

"We came out at halftime and got some really clean looks to start the (third) quarter," said Harris. "When they don't go in, we have a tendency to get a little tight. That's when we need to make sure our response is at its best, that the next one is always in. We're working through that and we'll get there."

Konig, coming off games of 35 and 27 points, had another big one, finishing with a team-high 19 points. Jocelyn Land added 12, Shubert, who got into early foul trouble, finished with 10, all her points coming in the first quarter.

Northern Colorado limited Avery Waddington to just three shot attempts.

The Bears were led by Heather Baymon, the team's first-year transfer from Texas State who scored 29 points, two days after putting 26 on Montana State. She scored 21 points in the second half, going 5 for 8 from the 3-point line.

Aniah Hall added 19 points and nine rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting.

Montana will play its first home game in more than a month when the Lady Griz host Idaho (10-4, 1-0 BSC) on Thursday night in Missoula. The Vandals were victorious in their Big Sky opener on Saturday, winning 69-63 at Eastern Washington.