by Zachary Knecht
Featured Image: Photo by Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Weber State Montana Recap
Another poor offensive performance leaves the Weber State Wildcats in the dust, losing in Montana to the Lady Grizzlies 65-48 Saturday. The ‘Cats fail to hit the 50-point mark for the third time against conference opponents, drowning in the Big Sky standings.
The Wildcats (5-20) stay firmly in last in the Big Sky (1-12), still looking for the ever-elusive first road game of conference play; the Lady Grizzlies (13-12) get back in the win column, putting pressure on the top conference teams (9-5).
Team Leaders
Top to bottom, this Weber State roster struggled to produce all day. Coming off the bench, Laura Taylor led the team in points with ten and was the only Wildcat to surpass the double-digit mark. She added six rebounds and a steal to her stat line but struggled to get going from three, hitting two of her eight attempts.
The Daryn Hickok-Jadyn Matthews duo couldn’t find their groove against Montana, combining for 14 points on seven of 21 shooting. Their collective 16 rebounds were enough to help Weber State win the rebounding battle, but their lack of production was the kiss of death for their offense.
The Lady Grizzlies were led by their two top-scoring options of the season: Carmen Gfeller and Sammy Fatkin. Their stars combined for 33 points, putting away the ‘Cats again as they did back in January. They shot decently, converting 39.3% of their attempts from the field, but struggled in their three-point shots, going two for 12.
Dani Bartsch supplied plenty of their boards, rebounding the ball 14 times on the day despite not scoring any points. She stole the ball three times with one block to top off her impressive defensive effort. Mack Konig had an impressive day passing the ball, dishing out eight assists in the contest.
Cause for Concern
The lack of efficient shooting continues to plague Weber State’s offense. The ‘Cats only managed to convert one-third of their shots from the field, hitting a measly 21.1% from three. They even struggled at the free-throw line, banking in only ten of their 15 tries, with their two stars being held from getting to the line all game. These hiccups kept WSU from taking advantage of the seventh-ranked Big Sky defense of Montana (67.8 PPG), holding them to a whimpering 15-point first half.
The Wildcats also were dominated in the turnover category. Weber State turned the ball over 17 times against Montana, with the Lady Grizzlies only giving it up eight times, proving detrimental in the ‘Cats’ road effort. While the Wildcats turned the ball over less than their season average (18.7), their lack of ball security keeps this offense from doing major damage.
Solid Defensive Effort
Although the offense was anything but impressive for the Wildcats, their defense looked solid in the loss against Montana. The Lady Grizzlies have the second-ranked offense in the Big Sky, scoring 72.9 points against conference opponents, so it was an impressive performance for Weber State to maintain on defense. Much of this was due to their rebounding. The ‘Cats snagged 40 boards over the 35 of Montana, playing physically throughout the four quarters. This physical play did bite them, though, allowing the Lady Grizzlies to get to the free-throw throw line 20 times in the game.
What’s to Come
The Wildcats return to the Dee Events Center to face off against the Sacramento State Hornets Thursday night.
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| Weber State Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| Daryn Hickok, F | 8 | 8 | 1 | 4-12 | 0-2 | 32 |
| Jadyn Matthews, F | 6 | 8 | 1 | 3-9 | 0-0 | 34 |
| Ava Williams, G | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 29 |
| Kaiija Lesane, G | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1-5 | 0-2 | 17 |
| Aaliyah Ellis, G | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1-5 | 0-2 | 17 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Laura Taylor, G | 10 | 6 | 0 | 3-9 | 2-8 | 30 |
| Emri Lovell, G | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 9 |
| Vicky Parra, F | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 9 |
| Nakilah Johnson, G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 2 |
| Amelia Raidaveta, F | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Tamalii Fonoti, C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Charlotte Hegvold, G | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 14 |
| Team Total | 48 | 40 | 8 | 17-51 | 4-19 |
| Montana Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | MIN |
| Carmen Gfeller, F | 18 | 4 | 0 | 7-17 | 0-6 | 27 |
| Sammy Fatkin, G | 15 | 1 | 2 | 4-9 | 2-6 | 31 |
| Mack Konig, G | 12 | 1 | 8 | 4-12 | 2-7 | 32 |
| Gina Marxen, G | 11 | 6 | 1 | 3-6 | 3-6 | 28 |
| Dani Bartsch, F | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 33 |
| Bench | ||||||
| Libby Stump, G | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1-6 | 0-1 | 17 |
| Haley Huard, G | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 14 |
| Katerina Tsineke, G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Alex Pirog, F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Lisa Kiefer, F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 |
| Keeli Burton-Oliver, F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 10 |
| Lauren Dick, G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 |
| Team Total | 65 | 35 | 11 | 20-56 | 8-28 |