Lady Griz, Bobcats win ahead of Monday showdown
MISSOULA — Carmen Gfeller scored 18 points, including 12 free throws, and the Montana Lady Griz held down offensive-minded Northern Arizona for a 66-60 win in Big Sky Conference women’s basketball Saturday.
Sammy Fatkin added 13 points and Haley Huard had 11 for the Lady Griz (12-4 overall, 5-2 in the Big Sky), who withstood 18 offensive rebounds and 76 field goal attempts by the Lumberjacks (7-8, 4-3 in league).
Khiarica Rasheed scored 17 points to lead NAU, which came in shooting 46 percent from the floor but managed just 30.3 percent at Dahlberg Arena.
“Credit to NAU. The other night (in an 88-73 loss at Montana State) they got smashed on the glass and defensively didn’t look good,” Lady Griz coach Brian Holsinger said. “They came out and were a different team tonight.
“But defense wins, right? And we defended like crazy. I’m proud of our kids. They were gritty. (Northern Arizona is) hard to guard. Credit to our kids for toughing this one out.”
Gfeller added 13 rebounds to back up Abby Anderson, who managed eight points and seven rebounds in 23 foul-plagued minutes.
Sophia Stiles added nine points, including a step-back 3-pointer that put Montana up 32-31 at 7:13 of the third quarter; at the 5:47 mark Huard’s three put the Lady Griz ahead for good, 37-34.
Anderson’s fast-break layup had Montana up 41-34; NAU came no closer than four, the last time at 58-54 with 46 seconds left. Nyah Morris-Nelson, Stiles combined on eight free throws from there.
Regan Schenck added 13 points for NAU.
Montana’s next action is Monday night, against Montana State at Worthington Arena in Bozeman.
Montana St. 71, Portland St. 56
BOZEMAN — Kola Bad Bear had 13 points for the third consecutive game and Montana State used a 9-0 second-quarter spurt to take command of this Big Sky game.
Bad Bear had five points in the opening quarter as MSU (10-8, 5-2 in league) took a 20-15 lead; Darian White, who scored 10 for the game, hit two free throws to spur the Bobcats away from a 26-21 advantage.
Leia Beattie’s 3-pointer with 2:52 left in the first half made it 35-21, and the Vikings (5-9, 0-6 in the Big Sky) came no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
Beattie added six points and six rebounds; Lexi Deden had nine points and five boards. White had seven assists and four rebounds. All 12 Bobcats that suited up scored.
“It was fantastic to get everyone involved today,” MSU coach Tricia Binford said. “The bench really produced at a high rate and that’s super critical as we go through this stretch of games.”
Jada Lewis scored a game-high 18 for Portland State, including a 5-for-7 performance from three.