Lauren Beck and the Lady Griz escaped Flagstaff with a win
Montana at Northern Arizona
Flagstaff, Ariz. (March 3, 2010) - The Montana women’s basketball team grabbed an important 72-66 victory at Northern Arizona (5-23, 3-12 BSC) Thursday night in Flagstaff, Ariz. With one regular season game remaining, the Lady Griz (14-13, 9-6 BSC) moved into a three-way tie for third place in the Big Sky.
Montana shot a season-best 50.0 percent Thursday but turned the ball over 18 times and gave up 15 offensive rebounds. All of the turnovers and second-chance points gave the Lumberjacks the opportunity to stay close.
Northern Arizona freshman Amy Patton, who entered the game averaging 21.0 points per game in Big Sky play, cut the margin to four, 68-64, with her jumper from the right baseline with just under a minute remaining, but that would be as close as the Lumberjacks would get.
The Lumberjacks missed their final four shots of the game while Montana went 4 for 6 from the line down the stretch the seal the game.
Montana freshman Kenzie De Boer scored a team-high 20 points. Joining De Boer in double figures were senior Lauren Beck with 17 and junior Sarah Ena with 10. Beck went 7 for 10 from the field and added four steals, three rebounds and three assists.
Patton hit 8-of 18 shots and filled up the stat line with four assists and four steals to go along with her seven rebounds. She finished as the only Lumberjack in double figures.
Montana State at Northern Colorado
Greeley, Colo. (March 3, 2010) - Montana State (15-13, 8-7 BSC) couldn't overcome an eight-point halftime deficit in a 70-68 loss to Northern Colorado (14-15, 6-9 BSC), Thursday night in Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.
With seven seconds remaining, the Bobcats were down two and had to drive the length of the court. Northern Colorado junior guard Courtney Stoermer batted a pass out of bounds just past half court with three ticks left and then freshman forward Lauren Oosdyke grabbed the inbounds lob pass to preserve the win.
Stoermer led the team in scoring with 16 points, senior guard Whitley Cox scored 14 points, Oosdyke added 12, and junior forward Jayne Strand came off the bench to chip in 11. Cox also led the team with seven rebounds, while Stoermer had three assists and two blocked shots.
Montana State junior Sarah Strand poured in a career-high 22 points. Senior guard Erica Perry tallied 17 points, while sophomore Katie Bussey chipped in with seven points and 10 rebounds.
For the game, Montana State shot 48 percent from the floor, while holding Northern Colorado to 40 percent, including just 27 percent in the second half.
Post season ramifications
Eastern Washington (18-10, 11-4 BSC) doesn’t play until Saturday. The Eagles hold a game and a half lead over Sacramento State (14-13, 9-5 BSC). The Hornets, who play at Idaho State (14-14, 9-6 BSC) Friday and at Weber State (9-19, 3-12 BSC) Saturday, are the only team with two Big Sky games remaining and the only team that can reach Eastern Washington at 11 wins.
Portland State (15-13, 9-6 BSC), which plays at Eastern Washington Saturday afternoon, is tied with Montana and Idaho State. All three teams sit a half game back of Sacramento State.
Montana State could have made it a four-way tie for third with a win Thursday, but dropped to sixth place after the loss to Northern Colorado.