Game Recap

Cold-shooting Lady Griz fall at No. 22 Gonzaga

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THE MATCHUP

A night after Montana’s men battled to an unexpectedly close loss at Gonzaga, the Lady Griz took the floor at the Kennel to take on another nationally-ranked Bulldogs team. Gonzaga’s women were ranked No. 22 this week after rolling to an 11-2 start to the season that included wins over ranked Tennessee and Louisville. After losing to No. 2 Stanford in early December, the Zags were on a four-game winning streak entering Wednesday’s clash. Meanwhile, the Lady Griz entered their final non-conference game at 4-6 but on a two-game winning streak.

THE RESULT

Like the men’s team on Tuesday, the Lady Griz had some good moments, battling back from an early 7-0 deficit and a double-digit gap in the second quarter to go into halftime down just 38-32. Montana then closed to within two points on multiple occasions early in the third quarter, but the Zags never let them get even and began to pull away into the fourth quarter for an 82-67 win. The hosts shot a scorching 19 of 29 in the second half, allowing them to keep the offense humming despite Montana forcing 17 turnovers for the game. The Lady Griz shot 1 of 9 on 3-pointers in the first half and finished the game 7 of 27 from beyond the arc (25.9%).

THE STANDOUTS

Carmen Gfeller’s shotmaking ability was on full display as she finished with 22 points, getting buckets from outside the arc all the way in to the rim. Gfeller added eight rebounds. Both marks were season highs. Sammy Fatkin scored 21 with six rebounds and a season-high five steals, and now has nine steals in her last three games. Freshman Libby Stump added 14 points off the bench for the Lady Griz, her fourth straight game in double figures.

Utah transfer Brynna Maxwell led Gonzaga with 23 points, making 5 of 6 3-point attempts, and Zags point guard Kaylynne Truong finished with 18 points and seven assists after an ice-cold first half.

BOX SCORE

UP NEXT

Montana (4-7) plays at Eastern Washington on December 29 and at Idaho on December 31 to start Big Sky Conference play.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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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