The boys broke a tie early in the fourth quarter and posted a 93-88 victory at Sheridan College. Kirsten Tilleman gave the girls a reprieve as the 6-foot-1 Bozeman standout scored in the final seconds to produce overtime and Montana went on to win 79-70.
The Montana boys scored 35 points in the first quarter and led by as much as 20 points in the second quarter. But they found themselves locked in a 78-78 tie in the fourth quarter. Butte's Brandon Boltz then scored six straight points, Browning's D.J. Fish added a basket and Missoula Sentinel's Andy Garland hit two free throws for an 88-80 lead.
Montana had four players in double figures led by Cole Conway's 16 points, 11 of which came in the first quarter. Garland had 14, Casey Rogers of Billings West chipped in 12 and Grant Fink of Helena tallied 11.
Wyoming, which fueled its comeback by making 17 3-pointers, got 19 points from Rob Johnson of Tongue River and 18 from Austin Koefed of Evanston. Cheyenne Central's Jason Moyte added 14 and Jared Anderson of Buffalo had 10.
“Overall, both teams played well,'' Dreikosen said. “It was a good game. They got a few open threes and we had a hand in their face on a few and they still made them. They can all shoot. It was hard to stay ahead trading threes for twos.''
Montana rushed out to leads of 26-8 and 49-29 before Wyoming sliced the margin to 54-44 at the halftime. Koefed's basket capped a 13-3 run in the third quarter that gave Wyoming its first lead at 59-57.
A 3-pointer by Moyte gave Wyoming its last lead at 72-71 early in the fourth quarter.
The victory raised Montana's series lead to 41-24.
Montana 79, Wyoming 70 OT: Despite having five Division I recruits on the roster, Montana had to scramble after leading for the first 37 minutes of the game.
Wyoming, which trailed by as much as 14 points, finally took its first lead (59-58) on a basket by Dani White. A free throw by Kristen Scheffler gave Wyoming a 67-65 lead with 17 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Tilleman scored to send the game into the extra session.
Coach Brian Henderson said Tilleman was supposed to look first for Lady Griz recruit Ali Hurley.
“Tilleman gave us a big lift with the play she made,'' Henderson said. “We wanted to look for Hurley coming off a screen. I told Kirsten if it wasn't there to rip it and go to the basket. It worked perfectly.''
Montana scored the first four points in overtime and finally pulled away in the final three minutes. Torrie Cahill of Miles City led Montana with 19 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line. Anaconda's Hurley added 15, including six in overtime. Hurley missed her first seven free throws, but made six of eight in overtime.
Overall, however, Montana had a horrible night at the line, making just 25 of 56 attempts. Wyoming wasn't much better, going 16-of-33. Wyoming had five players foul out and finished the game with four players.
Montana, which increased its series lead to 14-9, bolted to a 19-5 lead in the first quarter and led 28-14 in the second. Tilleman, who finished with 14 points, made a basket to close the third quarter to make it 52-40.
Dani White led Wyoming with 17. Laura Quist added 14 and Scheffler had 11.
White, Scheffler and Chelsey Lybeck led Wyoming's comeback. White, who drilled three 3-pointers, scored seven points in the fourth quarter. Scheffler had nine and Lybeck scored all five of her points in the period.
“I'm really proud of our kids,'' said Wyoming coach Frank McCarthy. “We were down the whole game. Their size kind of wore us down. We didn't gave up and outscored them 27-15 in the fourth quarter. It was a gutsy performance. Our goal was to have a chance at the end and that's what we had.''
GIRLS
Montana 79, Wyoming 70
Montana 19 16 17 15 12 - 79
Wyoming 9 15 16 27 3 - 70
MONTANA - Kalli Stanhope 1 0-1 3, Laramie Schwenke 1 0-2 2, Torrie Cahill 4 11-17 19, Brianne McClafferty 3 0-0 7, Sage Indendi 1 1-2 3, Jeni Guertin 3 3-6 9, Ali Hurley 4 7-16 15, Rachel Pauli 1 1-4 3, Kirsten Tilleman 6 2-7 14, Joey O'Neill 2 0-1 4. Totals: 26 25-56 79.
WYOMING - Dani White 6 2-3 17, Kristen Scheffler 4 1-2 11, Laura Quist 5 3-7 14, Jannel Scheuerman 1 0-0 2, Kelsey Scott 2 2-5 6, Ericka Stender 2 2-4 6, Kendahl Avery 0 2-4 2, Chelsey Lybeck 1 3-6 5, Cassie Carlson 3 1-2 7. Totals: 24 16-33 70.
3-point goals - Montana 2 (Stanhope, McClafferty), Wyoming 6 (White 3, Scheffler 2, Quist). Total fouls - Montana 23, Wyoming 39. Fouled out - Stanhope, Guertin; Scott, Stender, Avery Lybeck, Carlson.
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