By AUSTIN SMITH
Taking their current win streak to five games, the Lady Griz ran away with a 76-51 win over the visiting Eastern Washington Eagles on Saturday afternoon.
Montana jumped to an early lead after converting senior guard Kenzie De Boer’s steal in the initial minutes and pairing it with her uncontested trey on the subsequent possession. One of two Griz players in double-digits, De Boer tallied 12 points and four rebounds as the pep band hurled a “Traitor!” chant at former-Griz-now-sophomore-Eagle Lexie Nelson.
Shoddy ball control and several untimely turnovers opened a window of opportunity for Eastern Washington with 11:00 minutes left in the first half, but sophomore Maggie Rickman’s half court steal disrupted the Eagles’ momentum and allowed Player of the Game Katie Baker to tally back-to-back turnaround jump shots.
Baker’s instinctual low-post shooting proved to be too much for the Eagles; she ultimately logged 22 points and four of Montana’s 40 total rebounds. The Lady Griz played very much as a cohesive unit, scoring 28 points off the bench and ending Saturday’s contest with 20 assists.
Their lead was so solid that the Griz were able to send in backup players with as much as 4:00 minutes left in the second half; by the final whistle, every Montana player with minutes had at least two points, and all but one of 12 ladies snagged a rebound.
Montana will defend their top spot in the Big Sky Conference, as well as their win streak and 18-5 overall record, when they take to the road next week to face Northern Colorado on Thursday, February 7th. The Lady Griz were victorious when they hosted the Bears in early January, a 56-42 thrashing that featured only one lead change.