(Editor's note: Montana Athletics release.)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Montana women’s basketball team dropped its third straight game on Saturday afternoon, falling to Sacramento State 63-56 at The Nest in California.
Less than 48 hours after losing in overtime at Portland State, which was preceded by an enervating day of travel, the Lady Griz shot 30.6% and couldn’t hold a fourth-quarter lead.
Isnelle Natabou had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, Kahlaijah Dean added 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Hornets, who ran their winning streak to five games.
Gina Marxen had 18 points for Montana, Dani Bartsch grabbed 15 rebounds, her fifth time in six games with 10 or more, Mack Konig added 13 points, Carmen Gfeller 12.
Montana fell behind by nine points in the first quarter, by 11 in the second before closing the first half on a 10-0 run to trail 28-27 at the break.
The Lady Griz again fell behind by 11 in the third quarter but used a strong start to the fourth to build a 52-50 lead on a Marxen 3-pointer, Montana’s first lead of the day.
They would miss their final 10 shots of the game over the last six minutes, which allowed Sacramento State to steadily pull away down the stretch.
“I thought our effort was fantastic today. We really battled hard and were tough,” said Lady Griz coach Brian Holsinger. “Really proud of them in that area.
“But we continue to not execute well, whether that be on box-outs or defending screens, we make too many mistakes. Mistakes will kill you, and we just made too many today.”
