Sacramento State used a big third quarter and some key baskets down the stretch to hold off Montana 64-57 on Saturday afternoon at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.
The win was only the Hornets’ second-ever over the Lady Griz in Missoula in 32 tries and ended Montana’s four-game winning streak.
Rubi Gray hit 4-of-5 3-pointers and scored a game-high 18 points. Big Sky Conference Preseason MVP Benthe Versteeg had 17 points and seven assists. Natalie Picton also scored 17 points.
Avery Waddington, coming off a 31-point game in Thursday’s win over Portland State, led Montana (7-14, 4-6 BSC) with 16 points. Draya Wacker added 10 off the bench.
The game was tied 29-29 at the half before Sacramento State outscored Montana 20-10 in the third quarter.
The Hornets (11-11, 5-4 BSC) went 4 of 6 from the 3-point line in the period and shot 53.8 percent overall to build a game-high 11-point lead. Sac State led 49-39 entering the fourth quarter.
Montana went 4 for 15 in the third quarter, 2 of 10 from the 3-point line.
“We struggled in the third. That’s probably the difference in the game,” said coach Nate Harris. “We needed a couple more stops as we battled some offensive ups and downs.”
The game marked the return of Mack Konig, who hadn’t played since Jan. 3, and she sparked Montana at the start of the fourth.
She opened the period with a driving layup, her only points of the game, then found Aby Shubert for a 3-pointer that made it 49-44.
Waddington followed with a three that had the Lady Griz within two, 49-47, with more than eight minutes still to go.
What followed was an unbelievably tense and scoreless three and a half minutes, after Jocelyn Land hit a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game, 51-50, with 7:31 left.
The teams combined to miss seven straight shots before Fatoumata Jaiteh muscled in a basket with 4:03 remaining to make it 53-50.
Picton, in her first season as a Hornet after two years at Montana State, added a 3-pointer less than 30 seconds later to extend the Sacramento State lead to six, 56-50.
Montana made one final push. Macy Donarski finished at the rim and Land hit another 3-pointer, bringing the Lady Griz within one, with 1:51 left.
Another minute and a half would tick off the clock before Picton hit the biggest shot of the game, scoring in the paint with 32 seconds remaining to put the Hornets back up three, 58-55.
Montana went for a quick two at the other end, missed, and the Hornets were perfect at the line in the final seconds to seal their rare Dahlberg victory.
“I thought we responded really well to start the fourth and put ourselves in a situation where we had a chance to win,” said coach Nate Harris. “We got some good looks and they didn’t go.”
The loss snapped Montana’s winning streak at four, the longest for the Lady Griz in nearly two years. Montana’s last five contests have been a one-possession game in the final minute.
“It was great to win four in a row. Now can we start a five-game streak? It’s never going to be perfect,” said Harris, whose team made 11 3-pointers but those came on a season-high 41 attempts from the arc.
“The difference today was we didn’t defend our way through the ebbs and flows of our offense.”
Sacramento State was an efficient 8 for 18 (.444) from the 3-point line and out-rebounded Montana 41-32.
Montana will play next week at Eastern Washington (11-11, 4-5 BSC) on Thursday and at Idaho (17-5, 8-1 BSC) on Saturday.
