DILLON, Mont. – An 11-point lead almost slipped away from the (24) Lady Argos, but a big performance from junior Morgan Grier, particularly in overtime, helped UGF hang on for an 84-79 win over the University of Montana Western.
Grier was part of a strong first half effort for UGF that saw the team take a nine-point lead into the locker room. At the break the two teams seemed to be following much the same pattern as their last two games which resulted in a nine point UGF win in December, and an eight point UGF win in January.
Western ditched that script in the second half, however, in favor of a plot that featured better Bulldog play and an added dose of drama. To get to the drama, Western shot its way to a 19-9 third quarter led by reserve Frankie Bignell. Her efforts, while effective, could've been even worse without two big threes from UGF senior Erin Legel that accounted for nine of the Lady Argo's nine third quarter points.
With game now within anyone's reach, the drama truly began as play evened out and regulation ended in a deadlock.
During overtime's first possession, sophomore guard Stephanie McDonagh completed an and-one situation to put UGF up three. But just seconds later she picked up her fifth foul, leaving the game as then the team's leading scorer with 17 points. That's when Grier truly took over and scored the Lady Argo's next seven points. By the time she hit her second of two free throws with two minutes remaining, UGF led by two scores.
The final two minutes consisted of some flawless Lady Argo free throw shooting an a few key defensive stops by UGF including a steal from Nneka Nnadi with a 1:14 left and a block from Kalani Ulafale with 57 second left.
In the end, the Lady Argo's 85 percent shooting from the free-throw line may have been the biggest difference. The team hit 19 of 23 attempts in the second half and overtime while the Bulldogs went to the line less often only converged on eight of 15.
With her seven overtime points, Grier finished as the game's leading scorer with 23 points along with six rebounds. Legel's three threes and 10 free throws, including a perfect six for six in the final minute and a half, led to her 21 points along with a team leading four assists.
UGF's leading scorer on the season, junior Nneka Nnadi, finished with under her Frontier Conference leading averages of 16 ppg, but she did come away with her second double-double of the year, with 12 points and 10 boards.
The win, coupled with losses by MSU-Northern and Carroll College, boosts UGF into a tie for second place in the Frontier Conference standings with a record of 18-8(9-5). That placement will get tested, however, as those two teams are the Lady Argo's next to opponents. They will visit (17) MSUN on Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. before hosting (13) Carroll College on Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m.
