DILLON — It was a tale of two halves for the Montana Western women's basketball team.
Led by a game-high 17 points from Jenni Weber and 16 from Sydney Sheridan, the Bulldogs overcame some misteps in the first half to surge past the College of Idaho 83-51 on Saturday afternoon at Straugh Gymnasium in the first game of a non-conference doubleheader.
The win came in Western's home opener after the Bulldogs opened their season on the road in an exhibition against Oregon State, which the Beavers won 88-54.
After leading 32-25 at the end of a first half that saw the Bulldogs in the second quarter go just 3 for 13 from the field, Western erupted after the break and outscored the Yotes by 25 points to turn what had been a close game into a rout.
"Everyone on this team can make shots," said Weber. "We all just kind of picked up our intensity on defense."
The Bulldogs scored 35 points off turnovers and snagged 19 steals to C of I's 9. Brynley Fitzgerald added 12 points and Natali Denning scored 10 to give Western four players in double digits.
The Yotes were led by 14 points from Allie Cannon and 11 from Emma Anderson. Western's bench outscored C of I's 37-26.
Western coach Lindsay Woolley said that, after the shaky first half, his team settled in and found its rhythm.
"I though we were a little more patient in the second half," Woolley said. "It was just a matter of cleaning up some things on the defensive end. They played their tails off, which is what we ask them to do. And we're really happy to be here and happy to be playing."
The Bulldogs, which are still the defending NAIA champions after the 2020 tournament was called off, take on the Yotes again on Sunday and then open conference play on Dec. 12 and 13 at home against Montana Tech.
