Montana Lady Griz blow past Seattle University

MISSOULA – After losing her last game, the Montana Lady Griz bounced back in style at the Dahlberg Arena Thursday night as UM beat Seattle University 83:57, improving to 8-2 that season.

Carmen Gfeller scored 21 points to lead the Lady Griz while Katerina Tsineke added 18 points from the bench. Freshman Haley Huard saved the start against Seattle, heading 4 for 6 from the depths to a 12-point performance.

“What worked tonight was more focused and I would say more relaxed, especially on the offensive,” said Tsineke. “A great start from our first five (players) just gave me the energy and I just went for their energy.”

On the offensive, Montana had problems in the first half and only shot 9-for-30 from the field and 3-for-15 from the depths. But UM shifted into gear in the third quarter thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Huard and Gfeller, and the lead for Montana rose quickly.

Abby Anderson finished the race with nine points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks, while Sophia Stiles added nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists. The Lady Griz finished shooting 43.5% from the field and 11-for-31 from the 3-point distance. They also recovered from Seattle 47 to 30.

“I knew we’d start the shootout. For us it was a matter of percentages,” said Lady Griz coach Brian Holsinger. “We had a week between games and we had practiced a lot and they were just a little hesitant I think. At halftime I said don’t worry about the shooting, it will happen. Don’t worry, and I think that just relaxed her a little.

“Defensively we were locked up pretty well, but offensively we don’t see things as fast as I would like right now and it’s just a process. It’s a process of a system, it’s a process where the players understand where to go get the ball. You sometimes hear me say on the sidelines, “The corner, look at the corner” so I have to tell them they just see it. It will come, and when it does it will be fine. “

The Lady Griz (8-2, 2-0 Big Sky Conference) will receive the State of Utah (5-4) at 6 p.m. on Monday to end the game without a conference.