The Oregon women's basketball team couldn't seem to buy a basket against Montana on Thursday, trailing by 19 points with 16 minutes left. But the Ducks rallied within six late, testing the poise of the Lady Griz in front of 2,040 fans at McArthur Court.
In the end Montana passed the test with senior leadership from Mandy Morales and Britney Lohman. The duo combined for the final eight Lady Griz points in a 60-52 nonconference win.
“We came on the road and it's a great environment here, good crowd, and I'm proud. We came out and took charge of the game and that was great.”
Montana (4-2) was in control almost the entire way, using balanced scoring and a 2-3 zone defense that gave Oregon fits. Morales finished with 14 points, followed by Lohman and Lauren Beck with 11, Sarah Ena 10 and Sonya Rogers eight.
Equally important to the outcome was Oregon's ice-cold shooting. The Ducks (3-3) hit just 19 of 63 shots, including 4 of 18 from 3-point range.
“They just struggled and we did a great job defensively taking away their strengths,” said Selvig, whose team was finishing up a five-game stint away from home. “... They finally adjusted and did better for how we were playing the zone, but we for the most part didn't have to come out of it.”
The Lady Griz played some of their best basketball of the season in building a 32-17 halftime lead. Montana's 13-for-30 shooting wasn't especially impressive, but the Lady Griz helped cause Oregon's nightmarish 6-for-33 shooting and 12 turnovers.
Montana's scoring balance was another first-half highlight. Beck and Ena led the way with seven points apiece, followed by Morales with six and Lohman and Rogers four.
The Lady Griz built their biggest lead, 41-22, on an Ena layup with 15:48 left. The Ducks then switched from man to zone defense and started hitting their shots, sparking a 14-5 run that cut Montana's lead to 46-36 at 8:19.
The Lady Griz went back on top by 14, then the Ducks rallied again. Six unanswered points pulled Oregon within eight, 52-44, with 3:43 left.
Lohman hit a pair of free throws to make it 54-44 before Oregon went on an 8-4 run to make it 58-52 with 23 seconds left. Morales scored Montana's final six points, four coming at the line, and Beck had a defensive rebound late that helped seal the win.
“We just needed to stay strong,” Selvig said. “They didn't really put together any runs until late. I took timeouts for us to maintain our composure and for us to stay strong.
“Mandy was strong the whole game, and they worked her the whole game. But we got solid play out of everyone.”
Selvig said any road win over a Pac-10 team is a big win for his program. He could not remember a time when Montana had ever before beaten Oregon at the famed McArthur Court.
Montana will play its first home game in three weeks on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Boise State. Selvig will be feted for his 700th victory.
Notes: Lohman led the Lady Griz in rebounds with nine, followed by Beck with seven ... Morales tallied a game-high four steals as Oregon turned the ball over 23 times ... Montana hit 39.6 percent of its shots (21 for 53). Oregon shot 30.2 percent (19 for 63) ... Micaela Cocks paced the Ducks with 11 points.
MONTANA (60)
Mins FG-A FT-A Reb PF A Pts
f-Ena 29 3-8 4-6 6 4 1 10
f-Lohman 36 4-8 2-2 9 3 2 11
f-Beck 28 4-8 1-2 7 4 2 11
g-Morales 40 5-13 4-5 2 1 7 14
g-Rogers 40 3-8 2-3 1 0 1 8
Nance-Johnson 10 0-2 2-2 0 1 0 2
Loman Linford 11 1-3 0-2 2 2 0 2
Stender 2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 2
Robison 4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 200 21-53 15-22 31 15 13 60
OREGON (52)
Mins FG-A FT-A Reb PF A Pts
g-Cocks 40 3-11 4-4 7 2 0 11
g-Saffold 25 4-13 1-2 7 1 0 9
c-Manou 11 0-2 1-2 3 1 1 1
f-Holliday 12 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
f-Johnson 20 2-9 1-1 7 4 4 6
Thomas 22 0-2 0-0 1 1 1 0
Kenyon 23 1-5 0-0 3 2 1 2
Canepa 16 4-8 1-1 3 2 1 9
Ironmonger 14 2-5 2-2 10 2 2 6
Gaynor 17 3-8 0-0 0 3 2 8
Totals 200 19-63 10-12 46 18 12 52
Halftime score: Montana 32, Oregon 17.
3-point goals: UM 3-12 (Beck 2-4, Lohman 1-1, Morales 0-4, Rogers 0-3). OR 4-18 (Johnson 1-5, Cocks 1-7, Gaynor 2-4, Kenyon 0-1, Thomas 0-1).
Turnovers: UM 14 (Lohman 3, Ena 3, Morales 3). OR 23 (Manou 6).
Blocked shots: UM 6 (Beck 2, Morales 2). OR 6 (Johnson 2).
Steals: UM 10 (Morales 4), OR 7 (Holliday 2).
Officials: Scott Yarbrough, Jay Schumaker, Mark Munoz
Attendance: 2,040
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