MISSOULA — A late surge in the second half powered the Idaho Vandals past the Montana Lady Griz, 63-50, on Saturday afternoon in front of 2,266 fans at Dahlberg Arena.
Hope Hassmann scored 20 points to lead the Vandals while Olivia Nelson and Sarah Brans each added 12 as Idaho (9-4, 1-1 Big Sky) picked up its first Big Sky Conference win. Montana in turn fell to 5-8 and 1-1.
Neither team shot the ball well in the first half as Idaho led 21-19 going into the break. Montana was 7 for 23 in the first half while Idaho was 9 for 30.
Both teams picked up the pace in the third quarter, and a pair of 3-pointers from Dani Bartsch made it 29-27 Montana with 6:41 left in the quarter. But Idaho quickly found its groove behind big plays from Hassmann and Brans and the Vandals took a 42-35 lead into the fourth quarter, and ran away from there.
Avery Waddington led UM with 15 points and nine rebounds while Mack Konig added 11 and six assists. Montana shot the ball at a 39.2% clip for the game and went 6 for 21 from deep. Idaho finished shooting 45.6% for the game and went 6 for 24 from 3.
The Lady Griz are on the road next week at Northern Arizona on Thursday and at Northern Colorado on Saturday.
