In a game of wild momentum swings, the Montana Lady Griz made the most of their final surge, rallied from a six-point, 56-50 deficit with 7:10 remaining, and rode the wave to a resounding 74-61 victory over the Weber State Wildcats before 3676 fans at Dahlberg Arena Thursday.
Montana’s win sets the stage for a Saturday confrontation for first place with the Idaho State Bengals, which whipped the Montana State Bobcats 85-71 in Bozeman.
Montana’s final rally erupted in whipsaw fashion on a sudden recoil after a blistering Weber State run had just erased a 46-37 Montana lead. Wildcat guards Caitlin Anderson and Ali Thorderson had just teamed for five Wildcat treys (5-of-6) in a three-minute span midway through the second half, and had reversed the lead Montana had claimed a mere minute into the second half.
No single Lady Griz player keyed the 19-point Montana rebound. But Montana Coach Robin Selvig said the rally came about after a change of offensive strategy that featured Lady Griz point guard Mandy Morales penetrating on dribble-enter drives and posting-up low, where she drew a crowd.
PHOTO: Mandy Morales (#3) delivers an assist past Weber State defender Tonya Schnibbe (24).
"Mandy, we finally got her involved in the offense down under the basket
where she had size on them and she got to the line," said Selvig. " When we were getting the ball to her under the basket there, she’s a load to handle. We didn’t really do that in the first half."
The change in offensive flow collapsed the Wildcat defense and opened up the perimeter. Up stepped Montana sharpshooters Laura Cote, Sonja Rogers and Britney Lohman, who knocked-down treys in rapid succession while Morales scored four points of her own.
Suddenly the 6-point deficit became a 68-59 lead with 1:02 remaining and the Lady Griz coasted on eight free
throws and two Lohman blocks to the final margin.
PHOTOS: Johanna Closson (middle) puts up a shot over two Wildcat defenders in second-half action. Closson scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds. Laura Cote (bottom photo) drives for two past Wildcat defender Caitlin Anderson. Cote scored 11 points, had two assists and one steal that she converted on a breakaway layup in the final seconds of the first half.
Although the Wildcats were paced by the heady play and 21 points of all-conference senior Sarah Tuomi, her effectiveness was dulled by a poor 8-for-25 shooting night. Instead, it was the outside shooting of Thorderson (14 points) and Anderson (9 points), and the 10 assists from sophomore point guard Tonya Schnibbe that kept the Wildcats within striking distance.
Schnibbe led the Wildcats to an efficient first half that featured a seven-point 28-21 WSU lead with barely over a minute remaining in first-half action.
Lohman almost single-handedly erased that lead with two steals, a jumper and four free throws before Cote stole a pass, scored on a breakaway and drew the Lady Griz within 31-27 at halftime.
The Lady Griz started second-half play with the same intensity, took the lead one-minute into the half, and looked as if they would steadily pull away after Morales’ mid-paint jumper gave Montana a nine-point 46-37 lead with 12:44 remaining.
That’s when the Wildcats caught fire and reversed the flow, setting the stage for the game’s final see-saw action.
Selvig credited Montana’s second-half resurgence to dominant rebounding and an in-your-face Lady Griz man-on defense. Montana finished with a resounding 46-28 rebounding margin by out-boarding the Wildcats by 19 in second-half action.
"We were tied in rebounding at half and we came out and outrebounded them by 18 in the second half, so that was probably the telling stat," said Selvig.
"You’ve just got to be relentless." said Selvig. "But I really think that's what the ladies showed... the little things that make a difference. We outrebounded them badly. Not just the ones that come to you. We went and got tough boards."
After the Wildcats shot 41 percent from the field and the three-point line in first-half action, Montana’s defense held the Wildcats to 35.4% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range in second-half play.
Meanwhile, Montana shot 48.1% from the field in the second half, as four Lady Griz – behind Lohman’s 18, (11-for-13 from the free throw line)– scored in double figures. Morales made 15 (9-for-10 from the free throw line), Cote scored 11 on several mid-paint drives, and Tamara Guardipee scored 12, most coming in the first half where she dominated the key.
Saturday's game may well determine which team has the inside track to host the post-season tourney. A Montana victory solidifies a hold on first place. An ISU win would give the Bengals a sweep of the Lady Griz and a tie-breaker in the standings.
