MISSOULA, Mont. – Louise Forsyth scored a career-high 29 points as Idaho (6-16, 5-8) fell to Montana (15-8, 8-6) 76-73 Thursday night at Dahlberg Arena.
The Montana Grizzlies squeaked out a back-and-forth affair over the Idaho Vandals. Getting a huge defensive stop in the final seconds and hit clutch free throws as the Vandals desperation three at the horn fell short and the Griz were able to escape with a win.
Neither team held a lead of over five points as the game saw 21 lead changes and 15 ties.
"I thought it (the game) was pretty even," head coach Jon Newlee said. "We went cold from three in the second half and that really hurt us. We had great looks, unfortunately, didn't knock them down."
The Vandals made just one of their 17 3-point field goal attempts in the second half, after making 7 of 17 in the first half.
"I wasn't thrilled with our execution down the stretch," Newlee said. "We got some big stops when we needed it just couldn't hit the big shot that we needed. I'm proud of our effort, we got to learn from it and move on."
The Vandals committed just four turnovers all game, tying a season-low. Despite forcing 15 Montana turnovers the Vandals could only turn those into 13 points.
The Vandals shot just 36.2 percent from the floor while Montana shot 48.2 percent.
The Griz outrebounded the Vandals 45-30.
Louise Forsyth continued her hot streak, scoring a career-high 29 points on 11-21 shooting.
"Lou came in and was just firing from the get-go and did a great job of shot selection tonight," Newlee said. "I thought she took some great shots and some great dekes, she had an outstanding game tonight."
Beyonce Bea recorded her fourth double-double of the season scoring 13 points and pulling down 13 rebounds.
Sydney Gandy added 15 points, three rebounds, and three assists.
The Vandals will return to ICCU Arena on Feb. 19 to host the Eastern Washington Eagles at 1 p.m. The game will be a part of a double-header with the Vandal men following the women's game with a 3:30 p.m. tip.
Follow the Vandals all season long on Twitter and Instagram, @VandalsWBB fans can also listen over the airwaves with the Voice of the Vandals, Doug Taylor, on the Vandal Radio Network and GoVandals.com/Listen.
