Coming off a dominant home win over Weber State, the Idaho Vandals had to travel east to face the Montana Grizzlies. Idaho was looking to build some momentum going to the Big Sky Tournament, however, in a tightly contested shootout, the Vandals lost 85-82 to the Grizzlies.
The game began with fifth year guard Sammy Fatkin getting the Grizzlies on the board with a jumper to open the scoring. Senior guard/forward Beyonce Bea scored the next four points to put the Vandals in the lead at 4-2. Idaho went on a 9-7 run to extend its lead to 13-7 before Montana made back-to-back shots to cut the lead to 13-11. Freshman guard Mack Konig followed with a three pointer to put Montana back up 14-13. The Griz made a free throw to push their lead to 15-13 before Bea and freshman forward Sarah Brans made back-to-back three pointers to put the Vandals up 19-15 at the end of the first quarter.
Idaho shot efficiently in the first going 8/18 from the field, 2/7 from three and 1/2 from the free-throw line. Montana was equally efficient as the Griz went 6/16 from the field, 2/4 from three and 1/2 from the line. Bea led the Vandals with seven points in the quarter.
Montana opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run to get the lead back at 21-19 before Bea tied the game back up at 21. Montana was too much for Idaho in the second quarter, outscoring the Vandals 22-15 in the quarter. With 30 seconds left, sophomore forward Lisa Kiefer hit a three to give the Griz a 37-34 lead at halftime.
Of the Vandals 15 points in the quarter, Bea scored 13 of them, giving her 20 in the half. The Vandals were less efficient, shooting the ball as they went 6/14 from the field, 0/2 from three and 3/3 from the free-throw line. Montana was led by Fatkin with 10 points in the half. As a team, the Grizzlies shot fairly well again going 9/17 from the field, 4/6 from three and 0/1 from the free-throw line.
Fatkin continued leading in the second half, hitting an early three pointer to put the Griz up six. Montana followed with a 4-0 run to push their lead out to 47-34. Freshman guard Rosa Smith hit a jumper to finally get the Vandals on the board in the second half, cutting their deficit to 47-36. Montana went on another 4-0 run before Idaho countered back with a 4-0 run of their own, cutting the lead to 51-41. The Vandals tried to hold on in the third quarter, but Montana took a 61-54 lead into the fourth.
After being held scoreless in the first half, redshirt freshman Carmen Gfeller scored a team high eight points in the third quarter. The Vandals were better at spreading the ball, but Bea once again led the Vandals with 12 points to get 32 points in three quarters.
The fourth quarter started with a back-and-forth battle. Montana held a 67-56 lead before sophomore guard Ashlyn Wallace scored five-straight points. The Vandals and Griz continued answering each other before Bea hit a jumper to make it a three-point game. Montana was able to hold Bea scoreless in the final five minutes, taking an 85-79 lead with four seconds to go. Wallace hit a three with one second left on the clock, but it was too little too late as the Griz won 85-82 on senior night.
Both teams were excellent on the offensive end in the fourth. Montana shot 8/16 from the field, 2/7 from three and 4/7 from the free-throw line. The Vandals were 10/20 from the field, 4/11 from three and a perfect 4/4 from the free-throw line.
Fatkin had an amazing night as she finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. She went 8/17 from the field, 2/5 from three and 3/7 from the line. Gfeller, after not scoring in the first half, finished the game with 18 points and seven rebounds. She was 6/11 from the field, 2/4 from three and a perfect 4/4 from the line.
Idaho was led by an amazing game by Bea as she tied her career high of 40 points. She grabbed 12 rebounds and went 17/30 from the field, 1/5 from three and 5/5 from the line. Junior guard Sydney Gandy also got some shots to fall as she ended with 11 points. She also dished out four assists, went 4/11 from the field, 1/3 from three and a perfect 2/2 from the free-throw line. Wallace scored all 11 of her points in the fourth quarter. She was an efficient 3/6 from the field, 2/5 from three and 3/3 from the line.
After such a high scoring game, head coach Jon Newlee was disappointed in how the Vandals played defensively.
“I think defensively we had some let downs,” Newlee said.
Despite the Vandals’ defensive struggles, Newlee is optimistic about the tournament.
“If we can continue playing at this level like we are, I feel good about our chances in Boise,” he said.
After some results went the Vandals’ way, Idaho landed the sixth seed in the Big Sky Tournament. They will face Sacramento State on Monday March 6 at 1:30 p.m.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JaydenBarfuss10.