THE MATCHUP
Idaho State, the defending Big Sky Conference champions in women’s basketball, came to Dahlberg Arena Saturday afternoon to take on a Montana Lady Griz squad that beat Weber State 61-59 thanks to a Sophia Stiles buzzer-beater on Thursday night. In December, Idaho State beat Montana 66-56 as part of ISU’s 10-game winning streak.
THE RESULT
Saturday in front of 2,807, Idaho State hardly wavered, never letting the hosts play off a crowd that wanted to get involved but didn’t have a Lady Griz run to ignite them. Montana’s Nyah Morris-Nelson hit a 3-pointer with 3:41 remaining to cut the ISU lead to 54-48.
After that shot, Idaho State started winding clock. And because ISU All-Big Sky point guard Diaba Konate is so hard to pressure and press, the visitors were able to do it. ISU wound the clock down to 2:06 before Tamika Whitman drilled a 3-pointer to stretch it to nine points again and, 30 seconds later, gave ISU an 11-point lead that was enough of a cushion to move to 10-3 in league play.
Idaho State posted a 65-58 win thanks in large part to a masterful fourth quarter navigated by the Big Sky’s NCAA Tournament representative.
THE STANDOUTS
Estafania Ors, who has been around Idaho State so long, she was the Big Sky Tournament MVP back when the event was still held in Reno, cooked the Lady Griz for 10 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 18 points.
Konate battled foul trouble but also hit a crucial 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer as part of a 14-point outing. She also helped keep UM senior Sammy Fatkin in check, denying the slasher the ball for most of the game. Fatkin finished with nine points on five shots on a night Montana shot just 38 percent from the floor.
Whtiman, a rising standout for ISU, chipped in 11 points and six rebounds. Idaho State shot 60 percent in an 18-point first quarter before cooling off. Yet the visitors did not trail for all but 1:41 of the game.
Montana junior Carmen Gfeller had seven points, including a step-back 3-pointer with 1:07 left to cut the ISU lead to single digits, plus she chipped in a game-high 11 rebounds. But Idaho State caused Montana’s all-league forward into six of UM’s 16 turnovers.
A game after hitting the self-admitted first buzzer-beater of her life, Stiles had a tough shooting night. She finished 5-of-18 from the floor but scored a team-high 14 points. She also chipped in seven rebounds.
QUOTABLE
“I was on eggshells until the very end. We were laughing when we walked in the locker room because for so man times when Coach (Robin) Selvig was here, you’d walk into the locker room at halftime and maybe you’re up in an ugly game, something like 29-26, and then you lose by 20 in the second half. They kill you on the glass, hit big shots. So I never felt comfortable, at all.”
Idaho State 14th year head coach Seton Sobolewski
“There’s a reason they are the defending champions but our execution against teams that are veteran and physical has not been great. We are growing. This was a growing game. We are talented enough to beat a team like that. But we are not a good enough team as far as our execution, as far as doing the right things more than them.”
Montana first-year head coach Brian Holsinger
SOCIAL
BOX SCORE
WHAT’S NEXT
Montana plays Southern Utah in a makeup game for a postponement from earlier this season. Idaho State hosts Idaho on Thursday.
