MISSOULA, Mont. (January 5, 2023) – Bouncing back from a 15-point deficit early in the second quarter, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks achieved a bit of history Thursday night in Missoula against the Montana Lady Griz.
Winning on the road in Missoula against the Lady Griz for just the fourth time in program history, the Lumberjacks snapped a 13-game road losing streak in the all-time series as they handed Montana their first home loss to Northern Arizona since March 9, 2007. Coupled with their wins last season in Flagstaff and at the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Boise, the Lumberjacks have beaten the Lady Griz in three consecutive meetings for the first time in program history. Never leading by more than five in the 76-74 win, the Lumberjacks survived a 9-0 Lady Griz run early in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback staged early on at Dahlberg Arena.
Missing their first eight shots of the game, the Lumberjacks received a pair of career games from underclassmen in the frontcourt. Freshman
Sophie Glancey put in a career-high 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting while sophomore
Fatoumata Jaiteh added her career-high of 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, as well as a career-best eight rebounds.
The two led the charge back with their work inside the paint. Jaiteh scored eight consecutive points on four layups during a two-minute stretch of the second quarter, cutting Montana's lead to 26-20 before
Montana Oltrogge hit a three-pointer to bring the Lumberjacks within three.
While the Lady Griz snapped what was a 12-0 run, Glancey picked up where Jaiteh left off with three straight baskets in the span of 32 seconds with the Lumberjacks taking their first lead of the game at 29-28 with just 2:20 before halftime. After a three-pointer by Montana put Northern Arizona back down by two, Glancey hit her fourth consecutive basket for the Lumberjacks and layups by
Regan Schenck and
Emily Rodabaugh pushed the score back to 35-31. In total, Jaiteh and Glancey's effort in the second quarter created a 24-7 stretch for Northern Arizona as the Lumberjacks entered the break leading 35-33.
Free throws pushed the Lady Griz back in front during the third quarter, with Montana hitting 9-13 from the line while shooting 5-of-12 from the field.
Back down by three with a little more than two minutes in the quarter, Northern Arizona held Montana scoreless for the final 2:14 while Oltrogge connected on a three-pointer and
Olivia Moran completed a three-point play.
Clinging to a three-point advantage to begin the final 10 minutes of play, the Lumberjacks ended up with six ties in the span of six minutes as they battled back-and-forth with the Lady Griz. Leading by five after Jaiteh hit a pair of free throws, Northern Arizona fell behind by four with Montana's 9-0 run over 1:10 of play.
Olivia Moran hit a jumper to end the run, with a layup by Glancey and a jumper by Oltrogge putting the Lumberjacks back in front.
Ties at 64, 66, 68, 70 and 72 created a dramatic finish, with Glancey ultimately coming away with four straight points and Oltrogge clinching the game at the free throw line on a pair of makes with just 31 seconds remaining. The 6-of-7 shooting from the line in the fourth quarter ended up being just enough as Montana missed a potential game-winning three-pointer with no time left on the clock.
Oltrogge's 15 points and 11 rebounds secured her a sixth double-double this season while now sitting at 996 points scored in her collegiate career. Schenck, who connected on a pair of crucial three-pointers early in the third quarter, finished with 10 points and nine assists as she moved into ninth in program history with 1,088 career points.
Outrebounding the Lady Griz 46-42, the Lumberjacks held a 12-3 advantage in second-chance points while a season-low eight turnovers allowed Northern Arizona a 23-10 advantage on points off turnovers.
Northern Arizona (8-8, 2-1 Big Sky) now heads to Bozeman for a rematch of the 2022 Big Sky Conference Championship game from last March. The Bobcats (9-6, 2-1 Big Sky) defeated Northern Colorado 61-40 on Thursday night, holding the Bears to just 12 first-half points.
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