The U of M lady Griz made a big statement in their Big Sky Conference debut last night on the road taking on the Eastern Washington Eagles. The Lady Griz defense shined as they grounded the Eagles in a 53-46 win.

The Eagles came out hot & flew out to an early 70 lead. Then trailing, 15-10, the Lady Griz switched up from the zone to man to man defense. The pressure shutdown Eastern’s offense. Montana would then ignite on offense, going on a 19-5 scoring run to take a 25-22 halftime lead. The Lady Griz came out of the locker room hot, extending the lead to 44-28 midway through the half & never looked back.

Forward Katie Backer led Montana in scoring with 14 points. Baker also pulled down 11 rebounds. Torrey Hill added to the Lady Griz attack, scoring 13 points. Kenzie De Boer also scored in double-digits with 10 points. The Lady Griz defense came up with 13 steals, 6 by Alyssa Smith. Montana’s defense also held Eastern Washington to 27% shooting from the floor.

The win was the Lady Griz 4th straight & improves their season record to 8-6 & 1-0 in conference. Eastern Washington slips to 7-7 overall & 1-1 in the Big Sky Standings. Next up, Montana will return to Dahlberg Arena on Saturday, Jan. 7th to face Idaho ST. Tip-off is at 2pm.

Tim Neary

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