MISSOULA -- Senior leader Dani Bartsch will be relied on heavily for the Montana women's basketball team this season.
The versatile, scrappy Helena native showed she's up to the task in her team's first home game Sunday afternoon. Bartsch scored a game-high 19 points and hit two crucial triples early in the fourth quarter in sparking her team past NAIA Southeastern University, 72-60, in front of 1,890 fans.
"We made too many mistakes but I'm proud of our kids," said UM coach Brian Holsinger, whose team committed 18 turnovers but shot 48.1 percent from the floor (26 for 54) with 13 triples.
"We've had injuries and people in and out of practice -- no serious ones thank goodness -- so Dani had a good week of practice and she starts to look like herself and shoot it."
Bartsch, respected for her fierce competitiveness and hustle, has dealt with a variety of health issues over the past few seasons (foot, shoulder, knees). It may take her a few more weeks to feel back to normal after missing some preseason workouts, but she showed Sunday she's on the right track after being held scoreless in Montana's opener at Gonzaga.
People are also reading... 2024 election results for Missoula County and Montana Utah developer who ignited community backlash charged with wire fraud Feds seek forfeiture of old Missoulian building, former developer faces new fraud charges Business Buzz: New restaurant, new bakery, winter market Recap: Here's how Election Day 2024 unfolded in Montana Missoula area state House election results 'Missoula Mugs' goes dark after sheriff stops publishing booking photos Community Medical Center announces new CEO City, county to consider spending open space money to preserve ranch Shootouts and chopper assaults? The real story of livestock police beyond 'Yellowstone' Missoula area state Senate preliminary election results 'It makes you wonder': Missoulians react to 2024 election UPDATED: Fielder wins PSC District 4 race Business Buzz: Arlee restaurant closes, new businesses open in Missoula Glacier park ranger involved in Tim Sheehy's gunshot debacle comes forward
Montana (1-1) had its hands full with Southeastern in the first half, emerging with a 33-27 lead. Bartsch led the Lady Griz with 4-for-4 shooting, including 2-for-2 from three-point range.
Montana owned a 26-10 edge on the boards at intermission but couldn't pull away from the Fire, who forced 12 turnovers and hit 5 of 13 shots from behind the arc. In defense of the Lady Griz, they were playing just their second game of the season and Southeastern had six games under its belt, including five wins.
Key to the outcome was Montana's ability to weather the storm in the fourth quarter. The Lady Griz led by as many as 16 points in the third before the Fire stormed back behind 7-for-13 shooting in the period.
Montana's lead was cut to 49-48 early in the fourth frame and it was at that point Bartsch took the reins. She hit two straight 3-point shots to stretch the Lady Griz lead to 55-48 and it kickstarted a 10-0 run.
This story will be updated
Bill Speltz is Missoulian sports editor. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @billspeltz
0 Comments Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Bill Speltz
Sports Editor
Author email Follow Bill Speltz Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today