SEATTLE -- On Tuesday night the Montana Lady Griz held off a second-half push from the Seattle University Redhawks to pick up their second non-conference win of the 2020-21 women's basketball season with a 61-55 victory.
Montana was coming off a near upset over the 25th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs on Sunday.
In the first half, Montana carried that momentum and competitiveness from Sunday over into Tuesday's game.
In the first quarter, Montana started on a 16-4 run and ended the first quarter up 22-9. Junior transfer Hannah Thurmon started out 3 for 3 from beyond the arc with 9 points.
In the second quarter, Montana's shooting cooled off, but the Lady Griz still took a 31-20 lead into the half. In the first half, Montana went 12 for 32 (37.5 percent) from the field and 5 for 13 (38.5 percent) from 3-point range.
In the second half, Montana cooled off even more as Seattle started to slowly close the gap.
Seattle's Bree Calhoun heated up as she scored 16 of the Redhawks' 35 points on 7 for 13 from the field and 1 for 3 from beyond the arc. Calhoun finished with a game-high 23 points.
As a team, Seattle finished shooting 22 for 63 (34.9 percent) from the field and 3 for 22 (13.6 percent) from beyond the arc. Montana finished going 22 for 51 (43.1 percent) from the field and 8 for 19 (42.1 percent) from 3-point range, getting a team-high 17 points from Havre native Kyndall Keller. Keller was 5-of-8 shooting, including a 4-for-5 performance from 3-point range. Abby Anderson added 12 points for the Lady Griz, and Sophia Stiles filled the stat sheet with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.
In the end, Montana held off Seattle for the 61-55 victory.
Montana returns to Missoula next week as it hosts Utah Valley on Monday, Dec. 21.
