DILLON, Mont. – The Montana Western Bulldog Women's Basketball team won today's home matchup against the Montana Tech Orediggers by a score of 73-67. The Bulldogs stepped it up after the slow start to the game, scoring 32 points in the second quarter alone. Despite being up 20 in the fourth quarter, Montana Tech jumped back in the game, but the Bulldogs were able to hang on to finish out the game.
"We needed to step it up and work together to get stops on defense. We always talk about letting our defense feed our offense, so once we were able to put a string of stops together the rest followed. It goes to show that basketball is a long game and you cannot take your foot off the pedal. Especially in the Frontier Conference because teams will do everything to get themselves back in the game. We just tried to stay calm, execute, and get stops. Proud of the team win!"
Brynley Fitzgerald commented after the game.
How it Happened
The Orediggers opened the game going on a 16-5 run over the Bulldogs in the first few minutes of the game. A pair of free throws made by
Jordan Sweeney wasn't enough to keep the Orediggers from putting up another four points before another Bulldog score.
Payton Hagy hit a three-pointer to send the Bulldogs into the second quarter down 10 points at 20-10 Orediggers.
A steal followed by an easy layup by
Brynley Fitzgerald fueled the Bulldogs offense. A pair of threes from Hagy and Fitzgerald brought the game back within five points just a minute and a half into the second quarter. The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game behind a layup from
Keke Davis at 3:45 left in the half and continued to run behind a 19-0 scoring stretch on the Orediggers. The Bulldogs would go into the half up 42-29 behind a 32-point second quarter.
The Bulldogs continued to stretch their lead to 53-33 over the Orediggers in the third quarter behind a layup from
Isabella Lund. The Orediggers cut the lead to 17 just before the end of the quarter to bring the score to 63-46 heading into the final ten minutes of the game.
Joelnell Momberg hit a three-point shot to kick off the fourth quarter, giving them a 20-point lead for the second time in the game. Montana Tech cut the lead down to just four points with 1:29 left in the game behind an 15-2 scoring run. Despite the Oredigger comeback, the Bulldogs were able to cling to the lead and win by a score of 73-67.
Notables
- The Bulldogs capitalized on points off of turnovers as they totaled 20 in the first half alone, compared to that of Montana Tech who had just six.
- Despite trailing 63-46 at the end of the fourth quarter, the Orediggers fought their way back into the game and outscored the Bulldogs 21-10 in the fourth quarter alone.
- The Bulldogs as a team totaled 11 steals in the game, compared to the Oredigger's seven. They also tallied 14 offensive boards.
- Brynley Fitzgerald led the way for the Bulldogs as she totaled 26 points, eight rebounds, and two steals.
- Jordan Sweeney and Joelnell Momberg each had eight points and two steals apiece. Sweeney also added four rebounds.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will be taking two weeks off from play and are traveling to a very tough Cactus Classic in Chandler, Ariz. They will open their trip with a game at Ottawa University (Ariz.) on Dec. 17 at 2PM MST.
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