The Montana women’s basketball team dropped its third straight game on Saturday afternoon, falling to Sacramento State 63-56 at The Nest in California.
Less than 48 hours after losing in overtime at Portland State, which was preceded by an enervating day of travel, the Lady Griz shot 30.6 percent and couldn’t hold a fourth-quarter lead.
Isnelle Natabou had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, Kahlaijah Dean added 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Hornets, who ran their winning streak to five games.
Sacramento State kept pace with the Big Sky leaders and will go into Monday’s games tied with Northern Arizona for second at the Big Sky at 12-5. Both teams trail Montana State, which is 13-4.
Gina Marxen had 18 points for Montana, Dani Bartsch grabbed 15 rebounds, her fifth time in six games with 10 or more, Mack Konig added 13 points, Carmen Gfeller 12.
Montana fell behind by nine points in the first quarter, by 11 in the second before closing the first half on a 10-0 run to trail 28-27 at the break.
The Lady Griz again fell behind by 11 in the third quarter but used a strong start to the fourth to build a 52-50 lead on a Marxen 3-pointer, Montana’s first lead of the day.
They would miss their final 10 shots of the game over the last six minutes, which allowed Sacramento State to steadily pull away down the stretch.
“I thought our effort was fantastic today. We really battled hard and were tough,” said Lady Griz coach Brian Holsinger. “Really proud of them in that area.
“But we continue to not execute well, whether that be on box-outs or defending screens, we make too many mistakes. Mistakes will kill you, and we just made too many today.”
The day’s results drop Montana into fifth place in the Big Sky, behind the top three and now Eastern Washington. Idaho can pull even with the Lady Griz with a win over Weber State on Saturday night.
Montana has now lost four of five, a stretch of frustrating losses that began with a last-second setback at home against Idaho State, which hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds left to win by one.
In Thursday’s overtime loss at Portland State, the Vikings hit two 3-pointers in the final 2.9 seconds of regulation to force overtime, where the Vikings prevailed.
Saturday was the third time in those four losses when Montana held a lead in the fourth quarter but couldn’t finish the game out with a victory.
“We have not executed well enough as a team and that’s on me as a coach. I have to get them to execute better. I haven’t been able to do that,” said Holsinger.
“We’re good enough to beat anybody but we can also lose to anybody.”
Sacramento State was coming off an overpowering 82-73 home win over Montana State on Thursday night, a game that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate.
The Hornets went 11 for 17 from the 3-point line in the first half to build a 47-30 halftime lead and never looked back. They went 17 for 31 from the arc for the game.
Sacramento State hit three 3-pointers in the opening seven minutes on Saturday to build a 15-6 lead, but Montana never allowed the Hornets to pull away.
After the Lady Griz fell behind 28-17 late in the second quarter, Marxen, with eight points, sparked Montana’s half-ending 10-0 run that brought the visitors within a point at the break.
The Lady Griz were shooting just 31.0 percent at the half but limited the Hornets to one offensive rebound and no second-chance points through the first 20 minutes.
That would change in the second half, as Sacramento State got more aggressive on the offensive boards. The Hornets’ seven second-chance points in the second half matched the game’s final margin.
“They made more plays than us, and we made too many mistakes in our execution. That’s the game. Good teams will take advantage of mistakes,” said Holsinger.
Montana trailed 48-39 entering the fourth, then played its most efficient offensive basketball of the afternoon over the next four minutes to take its only lead of the game.
Gfeller opened the period with a basket in the paint, then added a 3-pointer. Konig hit a 3-pointer, and Sammy Fatkin finished a strong drive at the rim to make it 50-49.
After forcing a Hornet turnover, Marxen hit a 3-pointer to put Montana up 52-50.
After Jordan Olivares tied it on Sacramento State’s next possession, both teams went more than two and a half minutes without scoring.
Natabou snapped the tie with an offensive rebound and putback with 3:37 left, and Dean hit a pair of backbreaking 3-pointers in the final 3:07 to keep Montana at arm’s length.
Dean’s final 3-pointer of the game, with 90 seconds left and her team up 57-54, came when her defender opted to go underneath a Hornet setting a screen for Dean.
That allowed her to stop, get set and let go of the dagger. Swish. Montana wouldn’t get within five points again.
“I love our effort, but our execution on defense in particular cost us. We’re just not doing the things we’re supposed to do,” said Holsinger.
While the road losses didn’t come because of them, the trip highlighted the reliance Montana has on Konig and fellow freshman Libby Stump.
Stump is on pace to be the first Montana true freshman in more than two decades to play a full season and average more than 10 points per game.
The normally deadly shooter was 4 for 21 at Portland State and Sacramento State.
Konig, who is averaging 8.7 points and is near the team lead in assists, was 3 for 17 on the trip.
Those two will be instrumental to Montana’s chances when the Lady Griz open play at the Big Sky tournament in Boise next month.
“We’re relying on freshmen, and when you rely on freshmen in a long season, it makes it really hard. They are trying hard. We have to find a way to help them be at their best down in Boise,” said Holsinger.
Montana (13-15, 9-8 BSC) closes its regular-season schedule with a home game against Idaho (12-15, 8-8 BSC) on Monday night. The Vandals host last-place Weber State in Moscow on Saturday night.
Idaho, behind Beyonce Bea’s 32 points, defeated Montana 79-71 when the teams played in Moscow after Christmas.
