MISSOULA — After a late-game thriller on Thursday, the Montana Lady Griz flipped the script and blew past Portland State 88-56 on Saturday in Dahlberg Arena as the school participated in its first Nike N7 showcase in honor of Native American heritage.
Featuring Native American songs and dances before the game and at halftime coupled with the presentation of every tribal flag in Montana, UM honored former Native American Lady Griz basketball players Malia Kipp, Tamara Guardipee, Simarron Schildt and LeAnn Montes as well as former UM coach Robin Selvig.
In the game itself, UM donned the new turquoise jerseys, and ran away from the Vikings quickly in the game. Carmen Gfeller scored 19 points, Dani Bartsch added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Sammy Fatkin added 13 points and Mack Konig tallied 10.
UM shot 46.8% from the field and 13 for 26 from deep. Konig and Gina Marxen each had six assists.
In the first half UM started fast, and shot 53.3% from the field and went 9 for 13 from deep as they built a 52-30 lead by halftime. The game was back-and-forth in the first quarter, but UM's defense settled down the rest of the way while offensively they were able to break Portland State's zone with relative ease.
The Lady Griz out-rebounded the Vikings 43 to 29 and forced 11 turnovers. Haley Huard and Keeli Burton-Oliver each added nine points. Missoula native and Hellgate grad Lauren Dick, a walk-on, also entered the game for just the second time this season, and scored her first points of her college career as the bench went crazy in the final seconds.
