HAVRE, Mont. – (24) Lady Argo basketball spent much of their game against (17) Montana State University – Northern playing catchup from a rough first quarter and despite narrowing the margin to one points in the third quarter, ultimately lost 72-64.
A UGF comeback effort was necessary after the Skylights hit 64 percent of their shots in the first quarter and took a 24-6 lead. The Lady Argos spent the rest of the half trying to make the deficit workable and were able to bring MSUN's lead down to ten heading into the locker room.
"They were on fire at the beginning of the game. Everything they threw up went in," head coach Bill Himmelberg said. "I'm a little disappointed that we started out that way, but I'm really proud of the way our girls fought back."
That comeback continued in the start of the third quarter with two big 3-pointers from junior guard Morgan Grier helping to cut into the lead. A field goal from junior forward Nneka Nnadi with just under five minutes left in the quarter brought the Lady Argos within one but the next few minutes suggested most of the team's energy was used up in the comeback effort.
MSU-Northern brought the lead back to 10 early in the fourth quarter and simply made enough shots down the stretch to hang on for the eight-point win.
"We couldn't quite get over the hump. It was just too big of a hole," Himmelberg said.
UGF featured a balanced scoring attack once it got through the first quarter with four of the team's five starters scoring in double digits. Leading the way in scoring was senior guard Erin Legel who finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. She also hit 12 of her 12 free throw attempts.
Nnadi, Grier, and sophomore guard Stephanie McDonagh all score 10 for the Lady Argos. The team also received a strong contribution off the bench from junior Kalani Ulafale who continues to improve after two and half years off knee surgeries and rehab. In her seventh game since returning, Ulafale scored a career high of seven points.
The loss ends the team's four game winning streak and drops the Lady Argos from tied for second in the Frontier Conference with Carroll College to tied for third with MSU-Northern. UGF's record now stands at 18-9 (9-6) but the team has a chance to move back up the standings when the face (15) Carroll at home on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m.
