Montana drops road opener at BYU - University of Montana Athletics

Saturday, November 7

Provo, Utah

2 PM

Montana

1-1

BYU

3-0

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Montana	18	13	13	9	53
BYU	23	23	21	30	97

The Lady Griz basketball team opens their season with a game against the Montana Western Bulldogs on Nov. 3, 2026, at the University of Montana, in Missoula.

Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/University of

11/7/2026 5:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's basketball team lost 97-53 at BYU on Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, in its first road game of the season.

The Cougars (3-0) shot 56.1 percent, went 12 for 25 from the 3-point line and out-rebounded the Lady Griz (1-1) 46-22.

"Until there is a level of desperation on the defensive end, we're going to fall victim to other teams' shooting nights," said coach Nate Harris.

"We have not impressed upon our team the level of defensive intensity that we need to have for us to have the season we want to have."

Paige Lofing, in her second game as a Lady Griz and making her first start, hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 points, 13 of those coming in the first half. Dominique Nesland added 14 points.

Montana fell behind 5-0 in the opening minute and a half but used the 3-point shot to keep pace with BYU through most of the first quarter.

Lofing hit a pair of threes and Nesland added one of her own to give the Lady Griz a 13-9 lead five minutes into the game.

"Paige is a great shooter, someone who can make buckets," said Harris. "Scoring comes easy for her. We have other players who are just as capable, but it was her day today."

The Cougars scored the game's next seven points and would hold the lead to the finish.

A four-minute scoring drought by Montana early in the second quarter allowed BYU to build its lead to 18 points, and the Cougars took a 46-31 lead to the locker room.

BYU led 67-44 after three quarters, then pulled away in the fourth, shooting 11 for 17 and hitting five of its nine 3-pointers.

The Cougars shot 35.5 percent in their home wins over Idaho State and Portland earlier this week and went into Saturday's game shooting 16 for 70 (.229) from the 3-point line.

Seven players hit from behind the arc on Saturday for BYU.

"The law of averages was going to even out for them after coming off two poor shooting efforts," said Harris. "They had a good shooting night and we didn't have the necessary level of intensity.

"Not our best effort but opportunities abound during the preseason. We need to figure out who this team is going to be on the defensive end."

While Lofing and Nesland combined for 32 points, no other Montana player scored more than five. BYU limited Avery Waddington to 1-of-5 shooting.

Olivia Hamlin led BYU with 22 points. She hit nine of her 13 shots and went 3 for 5 from the 3-point line. Delaney Gibb had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, BYU's first triple-double since the 1980s.

Montana will play at Kansas State on Tuesday morning. The Wildcats (2-0) host Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Sunday.