Lady Griz too much for the Skylights

Before Tuesday’s foray into Dahlberg Arena, Montana State University-Northern head basketball coach Chris Mouat said, his Skylight’s game against the Montana Lady Griz would be played in front of the biggest crowd his team will ever see.

And he wasn’t wrong. But it wasn’t just the crowd size that might have overwhelmed the Skylights Tuesday morning in Missoula, it was a hungry Lady Griz’ squad playing their season-opener.

In what was billed as the School Day Game at Montana, the Skylights fell to the Lady Griz 98-45 in front 7,205 fans, more than 5,000 of whom were elementary school students.

The loss didn’t affect Northern’s record because the game was an exhibition for the Skylights, but it was an official game for the Lady Griz (1-0) and it showed.

“It was a great environment for our kids to play in,” Mouat said. “But at the same time, we didn’t play well at all, and Montana did. They’re as good as they’ve been and they really took it to us. So credit to them, they came out and played exceptionally well, and we didn’t respond to it at all.”

Offensively, The Griz came out and punched the Skylights hard, outscoring them 25-9 in the first 10 minutes of the game. And it didn’t get any easier for Northern in the second stanza, as the Griz went on a 24-11 run, which led to a 49-20 halftime lead, Montana made six 3-pointers during that stretch, and shot better than 56 percent from the floor.

Defensively, the Lady Griz were every bit as good, holding the Skylights to just 36 percent shooting. And UM’s defense only intensified in the third quarter. The Griz outscored the Skylights 30-14 in the third period, and for the half, MSU-N shot just 26 percent from the field. Montana’s pressure defense also forced Northern into 25 turnovers, but, on the flip side, the Skylights did make six of 14 threes.

Kenya Lorton was the catalyst for the Skylights. She came off the bench to hit three triples and score 13 points. McKenzie Gunter added 10 points, but overall, Northern struggled on the offensive.

Montana had no such trouble. The Lady Griz were efficient across the board, shooting 60 percent from the field, 58 percent from beyond the arc, while committing just three turnovers. Taylor Gologoski nailed six threes to lead all scorers with 20 points, while Sammy Fatkin added 17 points, as part of six Grizzlies to reach double figures.

Montana improved to 1-0 on the young season and will host Fresno State next Friday night in Missoula.

Meanwhile, the Skylights will get back to work Thursday when they host NAIA powerhouse Vanguard in a huge showdown at the Armory Gymnasium. And while the loss to the Lady Griz was a tough pill to swallow, the Skylights will learn plenty from it.

“They (Griz) were really good tonight,” Mouat said. “But we know we can do better. We weren’t physical enough, we didn’t shoot it well enough, and 25 turnovers for 32 points is too much. Those things aren’t who we are. So we have to learn from this and get ready for two really big home games against two very good teams. And that means, we have to be better.”

Lady Griz 98, Skylights 45

MSU-Northern 9 11 14 11 - 45

Montana 25 24 30 19 - 98

MSU-N - McKenzie Gunter 10, Allix Goldhahn 4, Hailey Nicholson 3, Peyton Kehr 3, Sydney Hovde 0, Kenya Lorton 13, Jada Nicholson 3, Tiara Gilham 3, Reilly Walsh 2, Petra Sellin 2, Ryley Kehr 0, Morgan Mason 0. Totals: 14-44 11-16.

UM - Gabi Harrington 12, Mckenzie Johnston 10, Sophia Stiles 9, Emma Stockholm 8, Abby Anderson 6, Taylor Gologoski 20, Sammy Fatkin 17, Jamie Pickens 5, Kylie Frohlich 5. Totals: 41-69 5-9.

3-pointers: MSU-N 6-14 (Gunter 1, P. Kehr 1, Lorton 3, Gilham 1), UM 11-19 (Harrington 2, Johnston 1, Gologoski 6, Fatkin 1, Pickens 1). Rebounds: MSU-N 25 (H. Nicholson 5), UM 37 (Harrington 8), Fouls: MSU-N 12, UM 15.