KIRKLAND, Wash. – Lady Argo basketball's starters combined for enough points to beat The Evergreen State College, scoring 58, but an extra 29 points from the UGF bench made it a comfortable 87-57 win over the Geoducks. The win puts the 18th ranked UGF team at 7-0 on the season, the best start in program history.
UGF got the ball into the paint early and often against the Geoducks with the team's first 12 points coming from close range. The score was close through the first quarter with an even offense leading to a 20-14 lead after the first 10 minutes.
As they did against Northwest University the previous night, the Lady Argos broke it open in the second quarter. Junior guard Stephanie McDonagh was on fire from the field, scoring 8 of her 23 points in the second period with a combination of accurate mid-range jumpers and drives into the lane that got her to the free-throw line.
"Steph really had a big night for us. She shot really well from the field and as always played good defense," UGF Head Coach Bill Himmelberg said. "She has come through for us all season."
Combining with McDonagh's offense was a stellar defensive effort from the Lady Argos in the 2nd quarter. TESC managed just 10 points in the period while UGF forced them into 6 of their 20 total turnovers.
Despite an 18 point lead heading into the locker room at the half, UGF didn't take their foot off the petal extending the lead to 29 points by the end of third quarter. McDonagh continued to get to the line with regularity in the third quarter and was supplemented by scoring from junior guard Molly Herron and freshman guard Jenna Randich.
As the third quarter turned into the fourth, the Lady Argo bench got more and more time, but the team still managed to maintain the lead. Randich, with 9 points and 3 assists, and redshirt-junior Kallee Wilson with 8 points and 8 rebounds were the best of the UGF reserves.
McDonagh finished with a game leading 24 points off of 6-7 shooting from the field and a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line and adding 6 rebounds and 2 assists to her totals. Also perfect from the charity stripe and second in score for the Lady Argos was senior preseason All-American Nneka Nnadi. Nnadi shot 4-7 from the field and 6-6 from the line, scoring 14 points after a 23 point performance the previous night.
Continuing to prove she's more than a quality defender is junior Molly Herron. Herron averaged 2.5 ppg in 2015-16 but has doubled the average so far this season, finishing with 8 points against the Geoducks with a shooting percentage of 57.
Senior center Whitney George added 4 blocks to her season total. She finished her junior season ranked 2nd in the NAIA Division I in blocks per game (3.324) and currently ranks 13th so far this year.
The Lady Argos will come back to Montana for road exhibition games against the University of Montana on Nov. 15 and then Montana State University on Nov. 20, before returning to NAIA play for the Rotary Classic in Jackson, Tenn., on Nov. 25-26.
