Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Montana
Wildcats fall to Grizzlies
1/16/2011 2:42:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Wildcats fall to Grizzlies, 57-52, in Big Sky action
Jan. 15, 2011
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| OGDEN, Utah - In the end it comes down to putting the ball in the basket. For the Weber State University women's basketball team, the inability to do that consistently was the difference on Saturday afternoon. Despite a game-high 19 points from sophomore guard Megan Patterson and 13 points from sophomore forward Amanda Hughes, the Wildcats fell 57-52 to the University of Montana in Big Sky Conference action at the Dee Events Center. "It's really frustrating (to have good shots not fall," Patterson said. "You're trying to help your team out, and you're taking the right shots, they're just not falling. As a shooter, you learn you've just got to shoot your way out of it." |
Weber State trailed by 10 points late in the second half before surging forward to tie the game up at 49-49 on a Patterson 3-pointer with 68 seconds left.
Patterson scored seven of the final 10 points of the game for the Wildcats, including two long-distance shots and a free-throw.
"I just felt like we were going on a run, and I started to feed off of it," Patterson said.
Weber State shot just 17-of-56 from the field (30.4 percent), despite getting numerous quality looks at the basket.
"I thought we played a much better second half than we did in the first half," Weber State coach Carla Taylor said. "We had a chance to win the game down the stretch, and that's all you can ask of your team. You've got to credit Montana. They made tough shots down the stretch and we didn't.
"Us putting ourselves in a position to win the game and then not being able to capitalize on possessions; that was the difference between winning and losing."
Montana took a 44-34 lead with 7:23 left, ending a drought for both team of nearly six minutes.
The Wildcats made their comeback charge behind Patterson and Hughes, riding a 15-5 scoring surge to knot the game at 49-all.
The Grizzlies' Katie Baker scored a layup with 38 seconds left to make it 51-49, and Montana made six free throws in the final 18 seconds to secure the win.
Patterson's 19 points are her third-highest point total of the season and she also pulled down five rebounds. Hughes had 13 points, her fourth-highest total of the year, along with a career-high six steals.
Senior forward Caitlin Anderson missed a double-double by one point, finishing with a season high-tying 11 rebounds and nine points. Junior center Mikell Woodfield added seven rebounds, and freshman point guard Justine Johnson had six points, four assists and five steals.
Weber State (0-2 Big Sky, 4-10 overall) returns to action on Monday when the Wildcats face the Big Sky Conference-leading Montana State Bobcats at 7 p.m. at the Dee Events Center.
