by Lindsey Branch
HAVRE, Mont. – The Montana Western women’s basketball team won today’s road matchup with the MSU-Northern Skylights by a final score of 76-67. They are now 15-2 on the season.
“Tough place to play against a very well-prepared opponent. I sound like a broken record but in the third quarter, our bench came in and gave us a huge lift to finish the quarter. They were super active defensively and hit some timely shots to extend the lead.” Head Coach Lindsay Woolley stated.
How It Happened
Despite trailing early in the first quarter, the Bulldogs hit 5 of 9 shots to take a lead over the Skylights at 14-12 with 3:06 on the clock. UMW followed up with a solid defensive stand to hold the Skylights to score just three points on their next five possessions of the quarter. With the score 19-15 going into the next 10 minutes, MSU-Northern rattled off seven unanswered points on the Bulldogs to take the lead over UMW 22-19. Jordan Sweeney broke the stretch with a layup to cut the Skylights lead to one with just over seven minutes to play in the half. Shainy Mack and Joelnell Momberg drained three straight three-pointers on consecutive possessions to give the Bulldogs a five-point lead with 3:29 left in the quarter. The Bulldogs gained their largest lead thus far over the Skylights at 36-29 heading into the break after hitting six of 12 shots from the arc in the half.
Leading by six, Momberg sparked the Bulldogs as she grabbed a steal early in the third quarter that led to success on the next five of six Bulldog possessions. The Bulldogs were able to gain some breathing room with a lead of 17 points following a contested layup made by Brynley Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald capped off the quarter after draining a three-pointer from the top of the arc to give the Bulldogs a 64-47 lead heading into the final 10 minutes. Payton Hagy, Kyla Momberg, and Sweeney knocked down three consecutive three-pointers on the first four possessions of the final quarter, stretching the UMW lead to 22 points. The Skylights worked to chip away at the Bulldog lead before the end of regulation, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs held tightly to finish out on top 76-67.
“It was great to get a win, especially on the road! We focused on getting it done on the defensive end and bringing that energy over to our offense, which got us going.” Sophomore Joelnell Momberg said after the win.
Notables
- The No. 18 ranked Bulldogs are now 15-2 overall and have not lost a game since Dec. 1 against the No. 11 ranked Carroll College.
- UMW shot a season high 48.0 percent from the three-point line after they hit 12 of 25 shots from the arc.
- The Bulldogs tied their lowest free throw percentage on the season shooting just 50 percent from the line.
- Joelnell Momberg led the Bulldogs with 16 points, shooting four for six from the arc.
