BUTTE, Mont. – The Lady Argo offense was rolling against Montana Tech, finishing with five scorers in double-digits and the season's highest point total on their way to an 89-75 victory.
Scoring was abundant from opening tip and while both teams shot a good percentage in the first ten minutes, the Lady Argos, at times, couldn't miss. That shooting continued in the second half, as UGF went into the locker room having hit six of nine 3-point attempts and making 54 percent from the field.
Of the Lady Argos 49 first half points, 21 were scored by senior guard Erin Legel. She proved why she was named a Pre-Season All-American with efficient scoring from both inside and outside the 3-point arch.
"She had a great night, tonight and really led our offensive," head coach Bill Himmelberg said of Legel. "She was just outstanding."
Legel's efforts led the Lady Argos to a 16 point lead heading on the locker rooms at the half. That lead didn't seem safe, however, early in the third quarter. A barrage of made 3-pointers from the Orediggers closed the gap to five after four minutes of second half play. UGF fought back though, getting to the free-throw line with regularity and receiving big minutes off the bench from sophomore Molly Herron.
Herron was part of a great overall effort from UGF bench players throughout the night. She combined with senior point guard Elyce Donaldson, and junior forward Kalani Ulafale for 21 bench points for team that often relies on its starters for the bulk of its scoring.
"Molly played great for us the other night against LC State and she did the same tonight as did Elyce," Himmelberg said. "We knew we were going to need out bench more as we got deeper into conference play and they have really stepped up in the last few weeks."
As the bench continued to contribute, and the starters continued to convert from long range, the UGF lead sprung back up to 16 early in the fourth quarter. While it would ebb and flow from there, the team finished out strong for a 14 point win.
"It's easy to have a letdown after we played LC tough two nights ago and fall into the trap game, but I didn't think our girls did that," Himmelberg said. "I think we've continued to get better every time we come out."
Legel finished as the team's leading scorer with 28 points off of eight of 12 shooting, including four of six from three. She also led the team with three assists and added four rebounds and three steals to her total.
The next highest scorer for UGF was forward Nneka Nnadi, who scored less than a point below her Frontier Conference leading average of 16.64 ppg. Donaldson scored a new career high, with an 11 point effort that needed only four shot attempts to be reached. The team's other two double-digit scorers were sophomore Stephanie McDonagh with 12, and junior Morgan Grier with 10.
Overall the team finished with shooting percentage of 51 from the floor and a blistering 72 percent from three.
With the win, the Lady Argos remain tied for third place in the Frontier Conference with a record of 16-8(7-5). Their next test will be a road game against Rocky Mountain College on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m.
