Lady Griz

Lady Griz race past UND in home opener

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MISSOULA — The mystique of Dahlberg Arena, particularly when it comes to the Montana women’s basketball program, is unmistakable.

Over the years, the Lady Griz have established one of the great home court advantages in the sport thanks to teams that won on a more consistent basis than just about any program in the country highlighted by rosters filled with likable, often local homegrown stars.

On Monday afternoon, Dahlberg Arena looked different than any other home opener in Lady Griz history. But the Montana women looked like the Lady Griz of old, at least for a moment, in thoroughly dispatching of visiting North Dakota, 86-72.

With the stadium empty other than coaches, trainers, staff and media, UM used a 22-point second quarter to build a 38-28 halftime lead. After halftime, junior point guard Sophia Stiles continued to push the pace, sophomore wing Carmen Gfeller continued to establish herself as a legitimate go-to scorer and the Lady Griz led for the final 24 minutes of the game to help interim head coach Mike Petrino earn his first win as the leader of the storied program.

Montana was forced to wait to make its home debut after the scheduled Big Sky Conference opening weekend for the Lady Griz was called off when Southern Utah had a Tier 1 positive COVID-19 test before making the trip to Missoula. With Thursday and Saturday’s games cancelled, UM had not played since its 81-74 season-opening loss at Utah State on November 25.

“We have to remember, we only have 80 minutes of experience with this group. Not playing Southern Utah on Thursday and Saturday took away half our season to this point,” said Petrino, who served as an assistant on Shannon Schweyen’s staff the last four seasons.

“We should have four games in, so we need time to continue to grow and get better. But the effort is excellent by the girls. I love the team attitude they have.”

UND’s Juliet Gordon hit a 3-pointer with three minutes, 51 seconds left in the first half to put the visitors up 26-25 in what was a back and forth first 16 minutes of action. But Stiles and Gfeller converted transition layups on consecutive possessions, sparking an 9-0 run that also included a 3-pointer by true freshman Kyndall Keller to help Montana take the lead for good.

Kyndall Keller, the 2019 Montana Gatorade Player of the Year, joined Tootell and Nuanez for their Senior Spotlight series last summer/ by Colter Nuanez

UM pushed the lead to as many as 15 points in the third quarter but the Fighting Hawks, under the direction of interim head coach Mallory Bernhard, never quit.

By the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, the Lady Griz lead was down to four, 66-62, before UM junior college transfer Hannah Thurmon hit a 3-pointer to halt the run.

Gordon, one of three UND players in double figures scoring with 13, converted in the paint with 2:41 left to cut the lead to 72-68. Stiles and Gfellercombined for the next 14 Lady Griz points to ensure the advantage stayed in place.

Gfeller, who was a heralded recruiting coming out of Colfax, Washington as the state’s Associated Press Player of the Year in 2018, looks back to full health after redshirting last season because of an injury. She scored a career-high 21 at Utah State, then broke that career-best with a 27-point outburst on Monday. The 6-foot-1 forward made six of her first seven shots and 11-of-17 overall on the way to scoring the most points by a Lady Griz since Jace Henderson scored 31 against Idaho two years ago.

Montana guard Sophia Stiles, pictured here in February of her sophomore year/ by Brooks Nuanez

Stiles, a former two-time Montana Gatorade Player of the Year from Malta, also seems back to full strength after battling a variety of ailments the last two seasons. The lightning-quick guard posted her first career double-double, piling up 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds. She also snared five steals to help UM force 12 UND turnovers.

Montana junior post Abby Anderson suffered an ankle injury against Utah State and did not practice until Saturday, Petrino said in a UM press release. Yet the 6-foot-2 center still managed to play 32 minutes, scoring 13 points and blocking three shots.

“If you had told me 48 hours ago that she’d be playing 32 minutes and scoring double figures? I’m really proud of the toughness she showed,” Petrino said. “I’m really proud of her.”

Anderson grabbed three rebounds but Stiles and senior Madi Schoening (8 boards) led the charge on the glass as Montana earned a 42-32 rebounding advantage.

That came less than 24 hours after North Dakota out-rebounded Montana State 52-39 in Bozeman, one of the only factors that helped UND stay in a game where the Bobcats nailed 14 3-pointers on the way to an 84-72 win. UND had 22 offensive rebounds on Sunday and exactly half that many on Monday in Missoula.

Montana shot 6-of-15 from deep and finished at 49.2 percent, a vast improvement for a team that has struggled to score the ball in the half-court for most of the last four years.

UND made 8-of-25 from beyond the arc and shot 40 percent overall, led by Maggie Manson, who hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 of her 21 points in the third quarter. Julia Fleecs scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the way for the visitors.

Thurmon’s 3-pointer, one of three triples by the junior from Dexter, Missouri who transferred from Three Rivers College in the off-season, marked the only points in the fourth quarter scored by one of the team’s eight newcomers. Gfeller, Stiles, Anderson and Schoening accounted for the other 22.

“Our returners, I can’t say enough,” said Petrino. “Carmen in back-to-back games. Sophie playing 33 minutes and getting a double-double.

“And Madi’s effort on the boards was critical. She wanted to play better after our first game and to her credit, she bounced back. She played really well. This was a really good performance by a lot of players.”

The Lady Griz will not play again until facing Gonzaga on Sunday in Spokane, a road trip that continues with a game at Seattle on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

Montana will close out its pre-Christmas schedule with a home game against Utah Valley on Dec. 21.

Photos by UM athletics and Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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