On February 3rd, both Griz basketball teams faced off against Eastern Washington. The ladies played away at E. Washington in Resses court at 3:00 pm and the Men played their Nike seven generation (N7) game by hosting E. Washington in Dahlberg arena /Robin Selving court at 7 pm.
This was the first time the Griz had faced E. Washington and despite the tight game both teams played, the Eagles walked away with the win. This will also be the second year that the Griz has won their turquoise Nike N7 jersey which is made possible by Lyle Omeasoo, who was born on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. The color Turquoise symbolizes friendship and fellowship in Native American Cultures. The N7 jersey represents multiple Indigenous people in Montana including the Selis(Salish), Ksanka (Kootenai), and Qlispe (Kalispel).
LADY GRIZ REVIEW
First Quarter
The lady Griz had a slow start to the game. They had a bit of trouble putting points on the board, but they gained some momentum with around three minutes to go. They kept a steady lead of three until around minute 1:24 where E. Washington took the lead by one point. It was a tight first quarter, and neither team was ahead by much at any point. E. Washington did take the first quarter though, with the score going into the second quarter being 15-12.
Second quarter
The ladies came out strong at the start of the quarter by matching E. Washington with every point they got and they stayed consistent in the flow of the game. Around halfway through the quarter, the Griz started to drop off on their offense and have a harder time on defense. Aaliyah Alexander and Jamie Loera proved to be a threat on offense but the Griz defense struggled to adjust. E. Washington ran away with the score a little bit, ending the second quarter with a lead of 10. The score leading into halftime was 32-22.
Third quarter
The Griz came back from half a little bit jumbled and couldn’t seem to find a rhythm on offense or defense. They played a 2-3 zone for defense but E. Washington found a way through it. Halfway through the quarter, the Griz found themselves on a hot streak when Mack Konig made a 3-pointer with four minutes and 35 seconds to go. After that, the Griz cut the point deficit to eight by the end of the quarter. The score going into the fourth quarter was 50-42.
Fourth quarter
The Griz kept their momentum going from the third quarter, making the fourth their best yet. They honed down on defense and put E. Washington into a dry spell for nearly seven minutes. The Griz were only a point away from tying the game up but E. Washington made three out of four free throws putting them five points ahead. It got tight at the end and Mack Konig had kept everyone’s hopes up by getting the Griz to one point away once again with less than a minute to go. The ladys put up a fight, but E. Washington made their last few free throws putting them 5 points ahead of the Griz. The final score of the game was 61-56.
Field Goal: Griz-33.3% Eagles-38.6%
Three points: Griz-26.5% Eagles-26.3%
Turnover: Griz-13 Eagles-10
Rebounds: Griz-37 Eagles-37
GRIZ GAME REVIEW
First half
The Griz came out hot getting seven points within the first 5 minutes. Eastern Washington clapped back, not being that far from the Griz at any point. After the first 10 or so minutes The Griz fell off their hot streak for a little bit letting E. Washington take the lead. The Griz didn’t let this stand for long and took the lead back eventually by a point. The Griz fouled early in this game but cooled off but they didn’t stay cool for long fouling again and letting Washington take the lead by two with free throws. Washington went on a little bit of a hot streak after that and expanded their lead with three more points leaving the Griz 5 points behind. The Griz got fouled with about 20 seconds to go and Dischon Tomas cut the gap to 3 points. The final score for the first half was 30-33
Second half
Montana came out with the same energy that they had in the first half and tied with Washington within two minutes of the half. Dischon Tomas gave the lead back to the Griz after going to the line three times and only missed one out of four of his shots. Soon after that, the Griz found their flow on offense but they were having trouble stopping E Washington on defense. E. Washington took back the lead and extended it to nine at around minute 14:33, but the Griz didn’t let this happen for long after having a 7-point run bringing them back to almost tying E. Washington . The Griz lost their hot streak but had good passes and shots that just barely bounced out of the basket. With four minutes to go Dischon Tomas once again brought the Griz out of trouble after taking the lead from E. Washington back to single digits after they held an 11-point lead for a minute. The Griz tried to hang on but E. Washington took the win ending the game with the final score being 78-65
Field Goals: Griz-34.4% Eagles-47.9%
Three points: Griz- 23.3% Eagles- 33.3%
Free throw: Griz- 82. 4% Eagles- 79.4%
