MISSOULA — In a game defined by efficiency, South Dakota State came out on top against Montana with a 78-70 win Saturday at Dahlberg Arena as part the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge.
In the first quarter, both teams traded buckets, but Brooklyn Meyer's eight first-quarter points were complimented by Emilee Foxx's six points on two consecutive 3, and SDSU closed the quarter with an 18-13 lead.
Meyer would continue her consistent scoring throughout the game, and had 13 of her game-high 32 points in the first half to lead the Jackrabbits to a 35-29 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Lady Griz found themselves trailing until they made an 8-0 run with five minutes left in the third, led by Adria Lincoln, Avery Waddington and MJ Bruno. That catapulted Montana into its only lead of the second half at 48-47.
A 10-0 scoring run, led this time by Dani Bartsch, who knocked down three three-pointers this quarter, tied the game 62-62 with 4:51 remaining. Bartsch finished with a team-high 19 points to lead UM. That was as close as Montana would get, however, as Meyer continued to dominate in the paint.
