Game Recap

Stiles scores career-high 27, Lady Griz stop skid with narrow win over Idaho

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THE MATCHUP

Working on a stretch of four losses in six games, including an unlikely buzzer-beater defeat to Northern Arizona followed by a bad letdown against Eastern Washington, the Montana Lady Griz needed a win at home against Idaho on Thursday. Idaho, considered a preseason contender and led by preseason MVP Beyonce Bea, entered at just 5-7 in the Big Sky Conference.

THE RESULT

Sophia Stiles scored a career-high 27 points for the Lady Griz and her layup capped a crucial sequence with under three minutes to play as Montana, despite looking shaky at times, saw out a 76-73 win.

Carmen Gfeller’s jumper with three minutes, 16 seconds to go gave Montana a one-point lead in a topsy-turvy fourth quarter. After a Montana stop, Gfeller made 1 of 2 free throws to put the Lady Griz ahead 70-68.

Idaho pushed the ball down the court into a quick post-up for Louise Forsyth, but she couldn’t get a turnaround to fall and Stiles came back with a tough right-handed drive to put Montana up by four points.

The Lady Griz still had to get several stops in the final two minutes, but Idaho couldn’t even get a shot up on its last best chance, down one with 22 seconds to go. Gfeller made four free throws in the final three seconds, and Forsyth’s potential tying 3 at the buzzer was way off.

Montana shot 48% from the field and held Idaho to 36%, including 8 of 34 from 3-point range, but the Vandals won the turnover battle 15 to 4.

The win made the Lady Griz the only team from Montana to get a win Thursday, with the UM men shockingly losing to Idaho and Montana State getting swept by Eastern Washington.

THE STANDOUTS

Stiles started hot with 16 points in the first half and kept things rolling after halftime as Idaho kept ducking under screens and giving her open shots.

After being held scoreless for the first seven minutes of the third quarter, she closed the frame with a pullup jumper, a driving layup, an assist to Kyndall Keller for a corner 3 and then a stepback 3 of her own to give the Lady Griz a 56-54 lead heading to the fourth.

The redshirt senior from Malta shot 12 of 21 from the field, added six rebounds and four assists and topped her previous career high, set as a freshman all the way back in 2017-18, by one point.

Keller came off the bench to score a season-high 16 points for Montana, with nine of those coming in the third quarter. Her four rebounds were also a season high for the sophomore from Havre.

Forsyth, a transfer from Gonzaga, poured in 29 points for Idaho. Sydney Gandy had 15 for the Vandals, and Bea recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

QUOTABLE

“I told them, it’s urgency, toughness and freedom. I want them to play with freedom. That also requires me to sometimes have more patience as a coach. It’s hard to play with freedom when your coach is constantly on you. The turnovers are hard to have patience with, but some of the mistakes they make, you’re just like, ‘Stick with it, let it go.’ You’ve got to move on, and for the most part we do.” – Montana head coach Brian Holsinger

“You have to stay on your toes. Idaho has great shooters, they can get to the basket, they like to draw fouls, so you always have to be ready and you can’t relax. … We came out with an energy and an urgency. We wanted to win.” – Montana sophomore guard Kyndall Keller

BOX SCORE (CLICK)

SOCIAL

WHAT’S NEXT

Montana (15-8, 8-6 Big Sky Conference) travels to Portland State on Saturday before heading down to Moscow on Monday for a rematch with the Vandals.

Idaho (6-16, 5-8) hosts Eastern Washington on Saturday before the rematch.

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About Andrew Houghton

Andrew Houghton grew up in Washington, DC. He graduated from the University of Montana journalism school in December 2015 and spent time working on the sports desk at the Daily Tribune News in Cartersville, Georgia, before moving back to Missoula and becoming a part of Skyline Sports in early 2018.

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