Box Score (PDF)
RENO, Nev. (March 6, 2017) – Under most circumstances, finishing the game without scoring a field goal for the final 8 minutes and 54 seconds would spell doom.
Not so for the Idaho State Bengals. ISU was able to weather its drought by making 11 of 12 free throws down the stretch of its 63-53 win over Montana in the first round of the Big Sky Conference women’s basketball tournament Monday night at the Reno Events Center.
The win avenged a 15-point loss to the Lady Griz in the regular-season finale and snapped a three-game losing streak for the Bengals (17-13), who will face Northern Colorado on Wednesday at 8:05 p.m. PST in the quarterfinals. The Lady Griz finished the season at 7-23 under first-year coach Shannon Schweyen.
Isabel Vara De Rey led the Bengals with 18 points and Lindsay Brown added 16 before fouling out. Idaho State shot just 36 percent from the field, but held Montana to 27 percent shooting.
Montana was led by a pair of freshmen – Hailey Nicholson with 14 points and Taylor Goligoski with 13.
Idaho State used a 13-2 run over the final 5:19 of the first half to take a 40-28 lead at the break. Vara De Rey had six of those points. Sai Tapasa capped the run with a layup at the buzzer.
Montana, meanwhile, finished the half by going 7:39 without a field goal.
After Saylair Grandon’s trey gave ISU its biggest lead at 46-31, the Lady Griz put together a 10-2 burst to close the quarter and cut the gap to 48-41 at the end of the stanza.
A four-point sequence sparked the Lady Griz. McKenzie Johnston was elbowed in the nose by Brown, who was whistled for a flagrant foul. Sierra Anderson made the two free throws, then Gooligoski hit a 16-foot jumper on the ensuing possession, cutting the gap to 46-37. A drive by Goligoski and a scoop shot by Anderson got Montana within seven heading into the final quarter.
The Lady Griz twice cut the gap to just six in the final minutes, but were forced to send the Bengals to the line down the stretch.