All four of the state of Montana’s Division I basketball teams played simultaneously on Tuesday afternoon as a slate of matinees highlighted the action across the Big Sky Conference in men’s & women’s hoops.
With now four weekends of action remaining before the Big Sky Tournaments in Boise, Idaho (March 9-13), the Montana and Montana State men are still struggling to find consistency while Northern Arizona’s women completed a road sweep of the Bobcats and Lady Griz to leave the Treasure State in first place.
BIG SKY CONFERENCE MEN’S HOOPS
Northern Colorado 87, Montana 71
The moment Dejour Reaves came off the bench for the Bears in Greeley, Montana’s defense was completely out of sync. The explosive former junior college combo guard scored 12 straight points and 15 overall in the first half to help UNC take a 47-29 halftime lead and never look back.
Northern Colorado shot 62 percent and hit 9-of-15 tries from beyond the arc in completing the season sweep of the Grizzlies. The Griz trailed by as many as 29 points as their up and down campaign continues.
The Standout: Saint Thomas continues his Big Sky MVP season. The transfer from Loyola-Chicago scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Bears. Reaves came off the bench to score 25 points. For Montana, senior guard Aanen Moody poured in 24 points as the Griz had a weekend split for the fifth time in Big Sky play already. UM won 94-66 at Northern Arizona on Thursday.
What It Means: Northern Colorado is officially a conference title contender after sweeping the Bobcats and the Griz. UNC is now 8-3 in conference play and alone in second place behind Eastern Washington. Montana has exactly one two-game winning streak in Big Sky play; the Griz won in Bozeman over Montana State 87-77 and then beat Weber State 77-62 two nights later.
Since then, the Griz have narrow wins over Idaho and Sac State plus Thursday’s blowout win over NAU and Saturday’s lopsided loss in Greeley.
Montana’s 7-5 Big Sky record include a 93-63 loss at Weber State, a 72-46 loss at Portland State and Saturday’s 16-point drubbing.
Northern Arizona 76, Montana State 71
Montana State has made a habit of late of blowing leads, and Saturday in Flagstaff was no different, although this time the Bobcats didn’t wait until the final 10 minutes to relinquish control.
Northern Arizona used a definitive 25-6 run to turn a first-half deficit of 12 into an upset home victory. NAU has battled injuries all season but figured out a way to bounce back after getting drilled by the Griz on Thursday thanks in part to a double-double by Carson Basham.
The victory is the first in 11 games for NAU head coach Shane Burcar against the Bobcats. The win also marked NAU’s first over MSU since December of 2018.
Montana State led late against Portland State in an eventual 94-91 loss two weeks ago. MSU led by seven with 5:30 left in Greeley on Thursday in a 73-70 loss at Northern Colorado.
The Standout: Trent McGlaughlin, NAU’s leading scorer and top talent, poured in 24 points and hit four 3-pointers to pace the hosts. Basham had 20 points and 11 rebounds, including a steal into a behind the back dribble into a two-handed dunk on a one-man fast break that gave NAU a jolt of momentum early in the second half.
Robert Ford III continued his unbelievable senior year with 21 points, 11 rebounds and three steals but the Bobcats lost for the third night in a row. Brandon Walker had 22 points for MSU while Brian Goracke, who snared 11 rebounds, was hot early, scoring 11 in the first eight minutes but none after that.
What It Means: NAU has struggled mightily at times this season as the injuries have mounted and entered this contest on a four-game losing streak. The ‘Jacks lost 79-50 in Bozeman a month ago and lost to Montana by 28 on Thursday, NAU’s third loss of at least 25 points in conference play.
None of that matted as Northern Arizona moved to 4-7 in league play and dropped Montana State to 6-6 in Big Sky games in the process.
| School | Conf | Pct | Conf Home | Conf Away | Overall | Pct | Home | Away | Neutral | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Washington | 9-1 | .900 | 4-0 | 5-1 | 15-8 | .652 | 7-0 | 8-8 | 0-0 | W2 |
| Northern Colorado | 8-3 | .727 | 6-1 | 2-2 | 15-9 | .625 | 10-2 | 5-5 | 0-2 | W2 |
| Montana | 7-5 | .583 | 3-2 | 4-3 | 16-9 | .640 | 9-3 | 7-6 | 0-0 | L1 |
| Weber State | 6-5 | .545 | 4-2 | 2-3 | 15-9 | .625 | 9-2 | 5-5 | 1-2 | W3 |
| Montana State | 6-6 | .500 | 4-2 | 2-4 | 11-14 | .440 | 8-6 | 3-8 | 0-0 | L3 |
| Portland State | 5-6 | .455 | 4-2 | 1-4 | 14-10 | .583 | 8-2 | 5-7 | 1-1 | L2 |
| Idaho State | 5-6 | .455 | 2-3 | 3-3 | 10-14 | .417 | 6-3 | 4-10 | 0-1 | W2 |
| Northern Arizona | 4-7 | .364 | 3-3 | 1-4 | 11-14 | .440 | 6-3 | 4-10 | 1-1 | W1 |
| Idaho | 3-7 | .300 | 1-4 | 2-3 | 9-14 | .391 | 5-7 | 3-7 | 1-0 | W2 |
| Sacramento State | 2-9 | .182 | 2-3 | 0-6 | 6-18 | .250 | 5-5 | 1-11 | 0-2 | L7 |
BIG SKY CONFERENCE WOMEN’S HOOPS
Northern Arizona 71, Montana State 58
If anyone wondered if NAU was a legit contender to repeat as Big Sky champs, the Lumberjacks certainly affirmed themselves as the team to beat over the last few weeks.
After emerging with an 89-81 overtime win over Eastern Washington to snap EWU’s 10-game winning streak, Northern Arizona won at Weber State, at Idaho State, at Montana (avenging its only league loss in the process) and then at Montana State to push its winning streak to eight victories in a row.
Leia Beattie, the Top Reserve in the Big Sky last season at Montana State, hit four 3-pointers in the first 11 minutes of the game to spark the ‘Jacks and Sophie Glancey had yet another powerhouse performance as her sensational sophomore season continues.
The Standout: Glancey scored 30 points and ripped down eight rebounds in NAU’s 69-60 win over Montana in Missoula on Thursday night. Less than 48 hours later, she was equally as dominant, pouring in another 30 points and grabbing seven rebounds. to continue fortifying her Big Sky MVP resume. The 30 points marks her career high and she is now averaging 15.5 points per game for the first-place Lumberjacks. Beattie scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for NAU against her former team.
Marah Dykstra, who shared Big Sky Player of the Week honors last week with Glancey, continued her strong play with 18 points but her team had its five-game winning streak snapped.
What It Means: Northern Arizona’s eight-game winning streak has included victories over every team in the league except Northern Colorado. NAU now sits at 10-1 in league play, a game ahead of Eastern Washington.
Montana State entered the game on a five-game winning streak. The loss drops the Bobcats to 8-4 in Big Sky play.
Montana 82, Northern Colorado 73
The Lady Griz again proved they can bounce back, especially if the bounce back opportunity comes against lesser competition.
UM fell 69-60 to Northern Arizona on Thursday, dropping the Lady Griz to 1-4 against the other three teams in the top tier of the Big Sky standings. After Saturday’s offensive barrage that included 13 made 3-pointers, the Lady Griz have now scored at least 79 points in every game in six of its seven wins over the teams in sixth through 10th in the 10-team Big Sky.
Saturday afternoon’s victory helped the Lady Griz earn a season split against the Bears, who have now lost five of six.
The Standout: Dani Bartsch battled foul trouble but it still didn’t deter one of the Big Sky’s most versatile players from filling it up again. Her 20-point, 10-rebound outing included four made 3-pointers and gives her nine double-doubles this season, including six in Big Sky play and five in the last eight outings. Sophomore Mack Konig scored nine of her 18 during a third quarter flurry that helped the Lady Griz stretch the lead to 18 points while Gina Marxen added 17 points for Montana.
The Lady Griz held UNC All-Big Sky combo guard Hannah Simental to six points on 3-of-14 shooting. Delaynie Byrne, herself an all-conference candidate, had 11 points and 10 rebounds while Tatum West had 20 points to lead UNC.
What It Means: The Lady Griz are still locked in a tie for third place in the Big Sky standings with rival Montana State at 8-4. Northern Colorado is now 5-6 in league play after starting 4-1.
Eastern Washington 62, Idaho 52
Eastern Washington was one of the hottest teams in America before hitting a two-game skid. Since having their 10-game winning streak snapped, EWU has posted a few impressive victories, including beating Montana in Cheney a week ago and gutting out a rivalry victory over the Vandals
The Standouts: Aaliyah Alexander continued her strong play by scoring 15 points while Jamie Loera continued her Big Sky MVP campaign by scoring 11 points, dishing six assists and grabbing six rebounds.
What it means: Eastern Washington keeps pace in the league title race with NAU. The Lumberjacks have won eight in a row and sit at 10-1 in league. EWU’s latest victory boosts the Eagles to 9-2. Idaho is 4-7 in league play.
Sacramento State 75, Weber State 44
Don’t look now, but Sacramento State is one of the hottest teams in the Big Sky Conference. The reigning league and tournament champions saw head coach Mark Campbell bolt to TCU in the off-season and take most of his star-studded roster with him.
Under first-year head coach Aaron Kallhoff, the Hornets started 1-18, including 0-8 in league play. But Sac beat Portland State and then followed it up with a win against Idaho State.
Saturday, against a Weber State team that set a program record for shooting percentage against Portland State on Thursday, the Hornets kept rolling. Sac hit 11 3-pointers and held WSU to 28 percent shooting to earn a third straight win.
The Standouts: Benthe Versleeg poured in 26 points and Summah Hanson had 19 for the hosts. Daryn Hickok had 18 points and seven rebounds for WSU.
What it means: Sac State is 3-9 in league play while Weber State is 4-8.
Portland State 59, Idaho State 53
Portland State finally had the Big Sky Conference breakthrough the Vikings have been searching for. Last spring, PSU was the surprise of the Big Sky Tournament, riding the hot shooting of Esmeralda Morales and Jada Davis to a semifinal berth that included ousting league champion Montana State.
Morales was the preseason MVP entering this season and Portland State was projected to make a big jump. Instead, PSU has struggled mightily and entered Saturday on a 15-game losing streak.
Idaho State is all of a sudden reeling. Since beating Montana State and Northern Colorado during a three-game spurt, Idaho State has lost three in a row, including getting swept by the two worst teams in the league.
The Standouts: Alaya Fitzgerald had a game-high 19 points, Rhema Ogele had 14 points and five rebounds and the Vikings overcame a 1-of-9 shooting performance and two points from Morales, who still played all 40 minutes. Nika Lokica had 16 points for the Bengals.
What it means: Portland State’s 15-game losing streak is over and the Vikings are now 6-18 overall. Idaho State has lost three straight to sit at 6-6 in league, 10-13 overall and 1-10 on the road.
| SCHOOL | CONF | PCT | CONF HOME | CONF AWAY | OVERALL | PCT | HOME | AWAY | NEUTRAL | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Arizona | 10-1 | .909 | 4-1 | 6-0 | 18-6 | .750 | 6-3 | 10-3 | 2-0 | W8 |
| Eastern Washington | 9-2 | .818 | 5-1 | 4-1 | 19-5 | .792 | 9-2 | 8-3 | 2-0 | W3 |
| Montana | 8-4 | .667 | 5-1 | 3-3 | 16-7 | .696 | 8-4 | 7-3 | 1-0 | W1 |
| Montana State | 8-4 | .667 | 6-1 | 2-3 | 14-11 | .560 | 10-2 | 3-8 | 1-1 | L1 |
| Idaho State | 6-6 | .500 | 5-1 | 1-5 | 10-13 | .435 | 8-2 | 1-10 | 1-1 | L3 |
| Northern Colorado | 5-6 | .455 | 2-2 | 3-4 | 10-12 | .455 | 5-4 | 5-8 | 0-0 | L2 |
| Idaho | 4-7 | .364 | 1-5 | 3-2 | 11-12 | .478 | 3-9 | 7-3 | 1-0 | L1 |
| Weber State | 4-8 | .333 | 2-3 | 2-5 | 7-18 | .280 | 4-4 | 3-13 | 0-1 | L1 |
| Sacramento State | 3-9 | .250 | 3-4 | 0-5 | 4-19 | .174 | 4-10 | 0-9 | 0-0 | W2 |
| Portland State | 1-11 | .083 | 1-5 | 0-6 | 6-18 | .250 | 4-8 | 2-10 | 0-0 | W1 |
