MISSOULA — Dani Bartsch recorded her eighth double-double of the season and the Montana Lady Griz snapped a two-game losing skid with a win over Northern Colorado, 82-73, in front of 2,545 fans at Dahlberg Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The junior forward from Helena continued what's been an all-Big Sky Conference season for her as she finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the game to pace Montana (16-7, 8-4 Big Sky). Bartsch was 7 for 13 from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers as her and Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw led the Lady Griz offense early.
UM led 38-31 at the break and Montana blew it open in the second half, though the Bears went on a furious rally in the fourth quarter to get within six points (78-72) with 1:14 left after the Lady Griz led by as much as 18 in the fourth.
Mack Konig finished with 18 points and four assists while Gina Marxen added 17 points as those two came up big in the second half to keep Montana's offense rolling. Espenmiller-McGraw finished with 11 points, as well, as Montana shot 44.4% from the field and 13 for 33 from deep. Defensively Montana forced UNC to commit 16 turnovers.
Tatum West led Northern Colorado (10-12, 5-6) with 20 points as the Bears shot 45.3% from the field and went 5 for 15 beyond the arc.
The Lady Griz split the season series with the Bears after Northern Colorado won back on Jan. 11 in Greeley.
Next up for Montana is a rematch of the Brawl of the Wild as they welcome rival Montana State to Missoula next Saturday with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m.
