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Defense, Desire Lift Msu Into Title Game Against Griz

Associated Press

Big Sky women

Defense and desire made the difference as Montana State advanced to the Big Sky Conference women’s basketball title game with a 59-55 victory over Boise State Friday night.

MSU plays Montana today at 6 p.m. PST, with an NCAA Tournament berth on the line.

“All week we said that team defense would make the difference,” said MSU coach Judy Spoelstra.

Neither team had an especially hot shooting night, but third-seeded Montana State forced 22 turnovers by No. 2 Boise State (16-11).

“It was a total team effort,” said Sam Fluss, who finished with 18 points, including two free throws with 9 seconds left. “We executed our offense and crashed the boards. We came out and played hard.”

Montana State (15-12) led by as much as 38-31 with 15:43 left.

Montana St. 59, Boise St. 55

MONTANA STATE (15-12)

Nickelson 0-5 1-2 1, Beil 4-10 4-9 12, Wheeler 1-5 2-3 4, Svendsen 2-7 2-4 6, S. Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Brown 0-2 0-0-0, Bowman 2-4 2-2 6, Hommes 2-5 2-2 6, N. Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Fluss 5-9 6-6 18, Wood 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 19-54 19-28 59.

BOISE STATE (16-11)

Loveall 3-4 0-0 6, Brydges 0-5 0-0 0, Guild 0-3 0-0 0, Lewis 2-4 0-2 6, Schultz 9-23 8-9 28, Berg 2-5 0-0 4, Pierson 0-0 0-0 0, Perry 1-5 0-0 2, M. Smith 2-2 5-7 9. Totals 19-51 13-20 55.

Halftime-Montana St. 28, Boise St. 25. 3-point goals- Montana St. 2-6 (Fluss 2-5, Brown 0-1), Boise St. 4-14 (Lewis 2-4, Schultz 2-8, Berg 0-2). Fouled out-Brydges. Rebounds-Montana St. 38 (Beil 8), Boise St. 39 (Loveall 10). Assists-Montana St. 9 (Nickelson 2), Boise St. 7 (Lewis 3). Total fouls-Montana St. 20, Boise St. 20. A-5,148.

Montana 72, Eastern Wash. 45

E. WASHINGTON (12-15)

Smith 2-6 2-2 6, Missal 3-7 0-3 6, Napier 6-13 3-3 15, Watterson 1-4 0-0 2, Sutter 1-4 0-0 2, Schwenke 0-5 2-2 2, Laky 1-2 2-2 4, Bailey 1-3 0-0 3, Graber 1-3 0-0 3, Hollingbery 1-1 0-0 2, Sloan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-49 9-12 45.

MONTANA (24-6)

Langton-Schlimgen 3-8 2-5 8, Morast 3-8 3-4 9, Hinrichs 5-6 6-6 16, Koss 5-5 3-3 13, Brooks 3-13 0-0 6, Sisco 3-5 2-5 8, McElmurry 0-2 3-4 3, Sather 1-1 0-0 2, Bieber 1-1 3-4 5, Sackman 0-1 0-0 0, Kipp 1-3 0-1 2. Totals 25-53 22-33 72.

Halftime-Montana 36, E. Washington 23. 3-point goals-E. Washington 2-16 (Graber 1-1, Bailey 1-2, Schwenke 0-5, Watterson 0-2, Sutter 0-2, Smith 0-2, Napier 0-1, Laky 0-1), Montana 0-6 (Brooks 0-3, Sisco 0-1, McElmurry 0-1, Langton-Schlimgen 0-1). Fouled out-Missal. Rebounds-E. Washington 26 (Misal 5), Montana 45 (Langton-Schlimgen 9). Assists-E. Washington 7 (Napier, Sutter 2), Montana 14 (Brooks 5). Total fouls-E. Washington 26, Montana 15. A-5,331.