Gfeller, Lady Griz win; Bobcats fall to Idaho women

by UM and MSU Communications
| December 30, 2022 1:12 PM

CHENEY, Wash. — Carmen Gfeller’s 18 points led five players in double figures for the Montana Lady Griz, who beat Eastern Washington 81-70 in Big Sky Conference women’s basketball Thursday.

The Lady Griz (5-7 overall, 1-0 in the Big Sky) shot 18 for 29 (.621) in the first half to build a 45-33 halftime lead and never let the Eagles (7-4, 0-1) get closer than eight after that at Reese Court.

Freshmen Libby Stump and Mack Konig combined to score 26 points off the bench; Keeli Burton-Oliver had 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting along with nine rebounds.

Gina Marxen added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists, Sammy Fatkin had nine points, and Dani Bartsch hustled her way to a career-high 11 rebounds for UM.

The Lady Griz shot 11 for 18 in the opening period and led by 19 points in the second quarter before the Eagles scored 11 points over the final three minutes of the first half.

Montana plays at surging Idaho Saturday at 3 p.m. The Vandals beat conference champion Montana State 72-53 Thursday.

Vandals 72, Bobcats 53

MOSCOW, Idaho – Beyonce Bea scored 20 points, Sidney Gandy added 15 and Idaho led wire-to-wire in its Big Sky Conference opener.

The Vandals (5-7, 1-0) turned nine first-half MSU turnovers into 13 points and connected on six three-pointers to build a 35-20 lead at intermission at ICCU Arena.

MSU (7-6, 0-1) was led by Kola Bad Bear and Lexi Deden with 11 and 10 points. The Bobcats shot 37 percent from the field and were 3 of 11 from long range.

Idaho shot 38 percent, ruled the boards 45-36 (Bea had seven rebounds) and led 58-34 at 2:08 of the third quarter.

Deden had a season-best nine rebounds. Darian White finished with nine points, moving her into eighth on MSU’s all-time scoring list with 1,417 career points. The senior from Boise, Idaho also chipped in five assists and four rebounds.

Flathead High product Tiana Johnson had nine points and six rebounds in 26 minutes for Idaho.

The loss was the Bobcats' first in their Big Sky opener since the 2015-16 season.