Season-high scoring performances by Johanna Closson, Tam Guardipee and Sarah Ena helped the Lady Griz basketball team freeze the Gauchos, 88-70, in the first game of the Holiday Classic. It was Montana's sixth straight victory before a season-high turnout of 4,035 fans at Dahlberg Arena.
“It was a great one,” said Montana coach Robin Selvig, who had seven players score eight or more points, including four in double figures.
The Lady Griz (9-3) shot a season-best 57.4 percent from the floor (31 for 54). They were especially hot in the second half, nailing 17 of 25 attempts.
“I was sitting down there thinking, ‘God I hope they don't get 100 points,' ” Gauchos coach Mark French said. “I really couldn't say what happened to us defensively. We looked slow, we looked lethargic.
“But as always Robin's teams are so disciplined and smart with the basketball. Our pressure didn't phase them one iota. They got the ball in the frontcourt and did what they wanted to do with it.”
Closson tallied a team-high 20 points, 13 coming in the first half. Guardipee added 15 and Ena 13 in 10 minutes off the bench. Together the trio hit 16 of 20 shots and made 15 of 16 free throws.
“Everybody had a great night tonight,” said Closson, who thrived at the 4 spot filling in for Britney Lohman. “That's what you want going into a tournament like this and heading to conference.”
Selvig is sitting Lohman for the Holiday Classic after she was charged with DUI on Dec. 20 in Missoula. But her absence, and the fact team leader Mandy Morales was limited to 18 minutes of action because of blisters on her feet, didn't shake the Lady Griz in the least.
“We've obviously had little adversity things going on and everyone stepped up,” Selvig said. “When it comes their time to play, they're playing. A lot of kids are doing well.
“We've made a lot of progress and we're going to have to keep making some because our league is a bugger.”
Selvig is optimistic Morales will be available to play Sunday against Mississippi (5-5). Despite her foot problems, she still managed 10 points and a team-high five assists Friday.
“I thought she played real well,” Selvig said. “She's got orthotics now and they have different tape jobs going to try and keep her squared away and not get the thing hurt again. Plus she hasn't been able to practice for a month, so her feet aren't as tough.”
UC SANTA BARBARA (70)
Mins FG-A FT-A Reb PF A Pts
f-Wilson 16 3-5 1-2 2 2 2 8
c-Suderman 19 3-7 2-2 4 3 0 8
g-Warren 23 4-6 1-1 1 3 0 9
g-Ononiwu 17 0-4 0-0 2 4 1 0
g-Gibbons 31 0-7 0-0 3 2 0 6
Gnekow 6 0-2 0-0 0 1 0 0
Franey 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Pedersen 19 2-5 0-0 3 3 5 6
Williams 26 12-16 0-1 8 2 1 28
Brown 21 3-6 1-1 5 2 1 7
Goble 8 0-2 0-0 2 1 0 0
Johnson 12 2-2 0-0 1 1 2 4
Totals 200 29-62 5-7 31 24 18 70
MONTANA (88)
Mins FG-A FT-A Reb PF A Pts
f-Closson 26 8-10 3-4 4 0 1 20
f-Conway 20 0-1 0-2 6 0 0 0
c-Guardipee 24 6-8 3-3 3 1 2 15
g-Morales 18 4-7 1-1 3 1 5 10
g-Rogers 29 2-9 2-2 1 2 1 8
Cote 25 4-9 1-1 3 2 4 9
Stender 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Ena 10 2-2 9-9 4 0 3 13
Linford 7 0-1 0-2 2 0 0 0
Tolbert 10 2-3 0-0 2 2 2 4
Beck 23 3-4 3-4 1 1 2 9
Robison 4 0-0 0-2 0 1 0 0
Totals 200 31-54 22-30 29 10 20 88
Halftime score: Montana 39, UCSB 28.
3-point goals: UCSB 7-20 (Williams 4-6, Pedersen 2-4, Wilson 1-2, Gibbons 0-6, Gnekow 0-1, Ononiwu 0-1), UM 4-12 (Rogers 2-5, Closson 1-1, Morales 1-3, Beck 0-1, Cote 0-2).
Turnovers: UCSB 21 (Gibbons 4), UM 15 (Morales 5).
Blocked shots: UCSB 3 (Pedersen 3), UM 3 (Beck 2).
Steals: UCSB 9 (Gibbons 3), UM 12 (Closson 3, Conway 3).
Officials: John Weeks, Connie Perkins, Shawn Cather.
Attendance: 4,053.
UC Santa Barbara
vs. Mississippi
Saturday, 7 p.m., Dahlberg Arena (7,321)
Tickets: $5 general admission, $6-13 for reserved, children 12 and under free in general admission with a paying adult.
Internet: Live stats at montanagrizzlies.com.
Records: UC Santa Barbara is 4-6. Mississippi is 5-5.
Last outing: UC Santa Barbara lost to Montana, 88-70. Mississippi lost to North Carolina State, 80-71.
Series: First meeting.
Up next: Mississippi plays Montana in the Lady Griz Holiday Classic Sunday at 7 p.m. at Dahlberg Arena. UC Santa Barbara visits Long Beach State on Thursday.
Probable starters
UC Santa Barbara
2-Whitney Warren, 5-8, jr. 2.6 ppg
3-Chisa Ononiwu, 5-7, sr. 11.1 ppg
5-Jessica Wilson, 5-10, sr. 11.1 ppg
10-Kat Suderman, 6-4, jr. 7.3 ppg
11-Sha'Rae Gibbons, 5-7, jr. 10.4 ppg
Mississippi
10-Carla Bartee, 6-1, sr. 12 ppg
11-Shantell Black, 5-4, so. 10.6 ppg
14-Liz Robertson, 5-10, so. 7.4 ppg
20-Kayla Melson, 5-8, fr. 8.8 ppg
35-Shawn Goff, 6-3, jr. 12.7 ppg
Montana never trailed against the Gauchos (4-6). Closson set the tone early, scoring eight points to help her team build a 10-2 lead.
Santa Barbara cut its deficit to five, 31-26, with three minutes left in the half. Then Montana turned up the heat with its 2-3 zone defense, forcing three straight turnovers.
Montana led at the break, 39-28. Santa Barbara had 12 turnovers in the first half and the Lady Griz held a 9-0 edge in points from the free-throw line.
“They just wanted the ball more than we did,” French said. “So you had a nine-hour bus rude. I'm sure every one of the Montana players had issues. That's what life is.”
The Lady Griz buried the Gauchos with a 15-7 run to start the second half. Guardipee spearheaded the surge with seven points.
“We focused on pass-and-catch and rebounding,” said Guardipee, whose team out-boarded Santa Barbara in the second half, 17-9. “Coach just said, ‘Keep up the defense and keep going at them.' ”
Notes: Freshman post Dvera Tolbert saw her first action in four games for Montana coming off an injury. She finished with four points, two rebounds and two assists ... Santa Barbara's starting five scored just 25 points, but Meagan Williams came off the bench to score 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting.
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