The Montana Lady Griz were certainly not merely going through the motions in their72-53 win over the seventh-place Eastern Washington Eagles before 3445 fans at Dahlberg Arena Thursday.
That’s partly because the 10-18/5-10 Eagles wouldn’t let Lady Griz players look past them to Saturday night’s season-ending clash with the Portland State Vikings.
None of that mattered to the Eagles, who delivered blow after blow to the Lady Griz in a game that at times resembled a prize fight through more than three-quarters of the contest. It wasn’t until Montana point guard Mandy Morales grabbed an offensive board, stepped back beyond the three-point arc on the left baseline and calmly sank a three-point shot for a 13-point Montana lead that expanded a slim 9-point lead to 50-38 with 8:27 remaining.
From there Montana gradually stretched the lead to the final 19-point margin.
Montana’s win firmly set the stage for Saturday’s season-ending confrontation with the Vikings in a game that will decide both the regular season champs and the host site for the post-season tourney.
The Vikings did their part in a 75-61 win at Bozeman against the Montana State Bobcats, the only conference team to have beaten the Vikings this year.
Now the Lady Griz and the Vikings – at 14-1
apiece and clearly the class of the Big Sky Conference - will battle for everything in one 40-minute clash. No other team is close to the two title-contenders.
In fact, no other Big Sky team will finish conference play with a winning record and the four remaining teams to qualify for the tournament will have at least eight fewer wins combined than the Lady Griz and Vikings combined.
It was Montana’s MVP senior candidate Morales who took control of the game at precisely the critical juncture where it seemed feasible the Eagles could pull within eight points for the first time since the early going. Morales scored 11 of her game-high 22 points over the final 8:27 and handled the ball efficiently against the Eagles’ frantic full-court pressure over the final few minutes.
Montana’s steady front court forwards Sarah Ena and Britney Lohman ensured Montana
dominance of the paint, each notching a double-double with 13 and 11 points respectively and leading a 50-31 margin in rebounds... 13 by Lohman and 10 by Ena.
But it was perhaps junior point guard Shaunte Nance -Johnson who helped Morales most over the game’s final minutes. Nance-Johnson - slowed by a hip bruise from a first-half collision - controlled the perimeter with steady ball handling, two assists and seven points on several quick drives to the bucket while Morales posted up down low.
Eastern Washington post Julie Piper scored 14 points and reserve Amy Bratvold chipped-in 10. Neither team shot well from the field, Montana notching a 35.2 percent average while the Eagles were under 30 at 29.6 percent.
Forty six fouls were whistled in the contest, with Montana cashing in at the free throw line, sinking 31-of-41 for 75.6 percent.
The Eagles face elimination from post-season competition, depending upon the results of Saturday’s games.
Meanwhile, Montana turns its focus to the Vikings, who roll into town for Saturday’s 2 p.m. contest. Neither team has lost since the final week in January when the homestanding Vikings beat the Lady Griz and then promptly lost an overtime battle to the same Bobcat team they beat Thursday.
PHOTOS: (top) Montana point guard Mandy Morales fights for possession of the ball with Eagle forward Pauline Ferrall. Morales led all scorers with 22 points. (middle) Montana backup point guard Shaunte Nance-Johnson drives for the bucket in second half action. Nance-Johnson scored 7 points and played a solid floor game in the second half. (bottom) Sarah Ena goes up for two of her 11 points. Ena notched a double-double with 13 rebounds as well.
