Griz Recap: Griz, Lady Griz win in Bozeman

Men's Basketball

The Montana men's basketball team improved to 9-1 in Big Sky Conference play after beating Montana State 67-58 in Bozeman on Saturday. The win keeps the Griz tied with Weber State at the top of the conference, while Montana State dipped to fourth in the conference with a league record of 6-5.

Sophomore guard Kareem Jamar led all scorers with a game-high 21 points from 8 of 15 shooting from the field to boost the Grizzlies to a win. Jamar was three points shy of his individual game-high this season.

The Grizzlies led 37-28 at the end of the first half and never looked back, beating the Bobcats in the important conference game. Defending the perimeter was key for Montana, who held the Bobcats to 0 of 8 shooting from 3-point range during the first half.

Forward Derek Selvig chipped in 15 points along with five rebounds during the win. Junior guard Will Cherry also hit double digits for the night, scoring 11 points.

Jordan Allou led the Bobcats, going a perfect 5 for 5 from the field for 15 points against the Griz.

The Griz will travel to Greeley, Colo., to play the University of Northern Colorado on Thursday.

Women's Basketball

The Lady Griz capitalized on four 3-pointers in the last four minutes of play to capture a 61-54 victory against Montana State in Bozeman on Saturday. The road win boosted Montana (13-9 overall, 6-9 BSC) to third place in the conference.

Forward Katie Baker led the Lady Griz with 19 points while also picking up nine rebounds.

Alyssa Smith again proved her value to the team, scoring 11 points and seizing nine rebounds. Smith's three late 3-pointers sparked the late scoring siege that the Lady Griz used to fuel the win.

Montana State's Ashley Albert had 19 points to lead the Bobcats, who led the game at the end of the first half 31-28. The loss dropped Montana State to a 7-4 record in league play.

The Lady Griz will host Sacramento State on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena.

Indoor Track

Montana's indoor track and field teams earned three new Big Sky Conference Championship qualifications when they competed at the Idaho Indoor Open in Moscow, Idaho on Friday and Saturday. Of the 24 competing Griz athletes, eight won events.

Freshman Dylan Hambright qualified on the men's side in the 400-meter by posting a time of 48.73 seconds, a time that earned him second overall at the meet. Other solid performances came from Lee Hardt, who won the high jump with a 6-8 leap; Kaleb Horlick, who was second in the pole vault; and Jordan Collison, who earned a second-place finish in the 3,000.

The women's team won seven individual events. Event winners included Anika Green in the 60-meter, Ani Haas in the 800-meter and Keli Dennehy in the 3,000-meter. Junior Lindsey Hall won two individual events, the 60-meter hurdles and long jump. Also winning two events for the women's team was junior Kourtney Danreuther in the 400 and 200-meter.

After a productive weekend for both Montana teams, they are both hoping to peak at the indoor Big Sky Conference Championships, which take place in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Feb. 24-25. Two regular season meets remain for the Grizzlies, who will travel to Bozeman on Feb. 10 and 17.

Women's tennis

The UM women's tennis team fell short against the New Mexico Lobos in Bozeman this weekend with a score of 5-2.

New Mexico won four out of six singles points while also winning the doubles point in the non-conference match.

Sophomore Ashley Mackey beat New Mexico's Kristin Eggleston in singles, winning in three sets.

Senior Lauren Gibson added the other singles victory for Montana when she defeated Michaela Oldani, 6-3, 7-5. Gibson also teamed up with junior Heather Davidson to win the only Montana doubles match for the weekend.

Montana will play three meets in three consecutive days starting with the University of Portland on Feb. 10, Portland State on Feb. 11, then finally ending its trip against Seattle on Feb. 12. All matches will take place in Portland, Ore.

austin.schempp@umontana.edu