THE MATCHUP
The Montana Lady Griz fell 65-58 to defending Big Sky Conference champion Idaho State on Saturday in Missoula. Monday, UM played at first-place Southern Utah in a makeup game from a January 15 postponement. Southern Utah entered Monday’s game with a 9-2 conference record, good enough for a first-place tie with Montana State.
THE RESULT
The Lady Griz bounced back in a big way, posting a 69-64 win over SUU in Cedar City. The win moves Montana to 7-4 in Big Sky play and drops Southern Utah to 9-3. Montana State’s 96-84 win over Idaho Monday means the Bobcats are alone in first place in the conference standings at 10-2. Idaho State sits at 10-3.
| SCHOOL | CONF | PCT | OVERALL | PCT | HOME | AWAY | NEUTRAL | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana State | 10-2 | 0.833 | 15-8 | 0.652 | 12-1 | 3-6 | 0-1 | W8 |
| Idaho State | 10-3 | 0.769 | 14-8 | 0.636 | 8-1 | 6-5 | 0-2 | W1 |
| Southern Utah | 9-3 | 0.750 | 13-8 | 0.619 | 5-3 | 8-5 | 0-0 | L1 |
| Montana | 7-4 | 0.636 | 14-6 | 0.700 | 9-3 | 3-3 | 2-0 | W1 |
| Sacramento State | 7-5 | 0.583 | 11-10 | 0.524 | 6-3 | 4-6 | 1-1 | W2 |
| Northern Arizona | 7-5 | 0.583 | 10-10 | 0.500 | 5-5 | 5-5 | 0-0 | W1 |
| Northern Colorado | 5-7 | 0.417 | 9-11 | 0.450 | 5-3 | 4-8 | 0-0 | W1 |
| Idaho | 4-6 | 0.400 | 5-14 | 0.263 | 4-5 | 1-4 | 0-5 | L1 |
| Weber State | 4-9 | 0.308 | 8-14 | 0.364 | 7-4 | 1-10 | 0-0 | L2 |
| Eastern Washington | 2-9 | 0.182 | 4-16 | 0.200 | 4-7 | 0-8 | 0-1 | L5 |
| Portland State | 0-12 | 0.000 | 5-15 | 0.250 | 4-7 | 0-8 | 1-0 | L10 |
THE STANDOUTS
Katerina Tsineke, a former East Carolina transfer who originally hails from Greece, made her second start during Big Sky Conference play and thrived. The 5-foot-9 wing scored 14 points, her second-best total of the season, and grabbed six rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
Kylie Frolich, a reserve post who prepped at Missoula Sentinel, scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds off the bench as Montana earned a 46-36 rebounding advantage in Cedar City.
“We don’t win without (Kylie),” ,” Montana first-year head coach Brian Holsinger said. “We just don’t. She’s in there, totally undersized and she’s scrapping like crazy, she’s rebounding.”
“Kylie set the tone on the rebounds. Obviously the scoring is great. When she gets against someone her size, she’s tough to stop. Her rebounding set the tone for our team and changed everything.”
Carmen Gfeller, Montana’s leading scorer entering the game, had 10 points in 14 minutes of action. Dani Bartsch came off the bench to score nine points and grab six rebounds.
Daylani Ballena had 18 points, four assists and four rebounds to lead Southern Utah.
QUOTABLE
“I’m so proud of them. These kids stepped up,” said coach Brian Holsinger. “They responded the right way.
“Tonight was an ultimate team effort. I’m so proud of them. As proud of them as I’ve been all season.”
“I’m so proud of them. Our bench, are you kidding me? We had massive foul trouble, and those kids came in and battled,” said Holsinger.
“They were tired and they battled through. I told them, not only did you guys hold the lead, you extended it, multiple times. I hope this gives them more confidence because they deserve it. They fought for it.”
SOCIAL
What a play out of the timeout as Montana goes up four. SUU scores at the other end. Lady Griz lead 66-64 with 49 seconds left and have possession. pic.twitter.com/cie5BgvrRf
— Montana Lady Griz (@MontanaGrizWBB) February 8, 2022
CARMEN! Enough said. pic.twitter.com/caVfcKt9Gy
— Montana Lady Griz (@MontanaGrizWBB) February 8, 2022
The play of the game? Stiles hustles for the offensive rebound to extend a possession that ends with her hitting one of two free throws. pic.twitter.com/RAQJMP1FxA
— Montana Lady Griz (@MontanaGrizWBB) February 8, 2022
WHAT’S NEXT
Montana will play at Northern Arizona on Thursday, at Portland State on Saturday and at Eastern Washington next Monday.
