Senior Sydney Gatson tallied a season-high 14 points while freshman Jessica Voisard grabbed a contest-high 10 rebounds but Montana shot 54.4 percent from the field as the Lady Griz defeated the Sacramento State women’s basketball team, 76-50, in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday evening at Dahlberg Arena. Sacramento State is now 1-18 overall and 1-5 in the Big Sky while Montana improved to 16-4, 5-0.
Gatson, a native of Concord, Calif., was the only Hornet to score in double figures after going 5-for-7 from the field and a career-best 4-of-4 from the three-point line. It marked the first time Gatson tallied double-figures in scoring this season. Voisard, who returned to action against Montana State after a concussion, also recorded a season-high four blocked shots. Junior Samania Black also added a team-high four assists.
Julie Deming led Montana with a contest-high 23 points after going 9-of-12 from the field. Katie Edwards (18) and Juliann Keller (13) also scored in double figures for the Lady Griz.
In the first half, Montana took an early 9-2 lead at the 15:38 mark before Sacramento State went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to two (9-7) with 14:27 remaining. The Lady Griz increased their lead to a period-high 16 (27-11) at the 8:34 mark until the Hornets finished the half by outscoring Montana (19-12) to cut the deficit to nine (39-30) at halftime.
In the second half, Montana opened the period with an 11-2 run to make it 50-32 (15:14). Sacramento State never dropped the margin below 20 after the 10:49 mark as Montana led by as many as 28 (72-44) with 1:51 remaining.
Overall, Sacramento State went 19-for-49 (.388) from the floor while Montana ended the contest shooting 31-for-57 (.544). The Hornets finished with a season best from behind the arc by shooting 8-for-15 (.533).
Sacramento State will next host Northern Arizona on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 7:05 p.m. in the Hornets Nest.
