BILLINGS, Montana — In the second game of a small two-game tournament at Montana State Billings, the Grizzlies bounce back after a tough loss yesterday to win 67-52 against Montana State Billings. The bounce-back win puts the Grizzlies at a record of 4-2 with two final preseason games before the conference starts at the beginning of December.
In today's game, the Grizzlies came out fast and strong in the first half, taking a large 16-point lead going into halftime. In the first half, the Grizzlies were able to score 41 of their 67 total points while shooting 50% from the floor and 60% from behind the 3-point line. The Grizzlies made 15 of their 30 shots in the first half while also making 3 out of the 5 3-pointers they attempted. The Grizzlies' strong shooting performance, along with some tough defense, allowed the Grizzlies to jump out to their large first-half lead.
In the second half, the Grizzlies' offense slowed down slightly as they only scored 26 points. Montana State Billings was able to hold back the Grizzly offense compared to the first half, but it was nowhere near enough as the Grizzlies' defense held tough throughout today's entire game, holding the Montana State Billings offense to 52 points during the game. A huge part of the Grizzlies' ability to hold MSU Billings to only 52 points was their ability to hold MSU Billings to a field goal percentage of 35.8%. With this strong defense, the Grizzlies were able to hold onto their first-half lead and carry it into a win in today's game.
Individually, for the Grizzlies, they were led by Elaina Watson, Kiiyani Anitielu, and Taejhuan Hill. Watson had an outstanding game as she led the Grizzlies in shooting, scoring 19 points on 5-9 shooting while also going 9-12 from the free throw line. Anitielu and Hill followed close behind, both scoring double-digit points with Anitielu scoring 13 and Hill scoring 11. Along with the scoring from Anitielu and Hill, they collected 9 rebounds and 6 assists between the two of them. On top of the scoring by all three of these individuals, they also led the Grizzly defense, collecting 5 of the Grizzlies' 8 steals in the game. Both Anitelu and Hill collected 2 steals while Watson collected 1, giving the Grizzlies the spark they needed both offensively and defensively to take today's win.
Looking deeper into the play of Taejhuan Hill, she played an outstanding two-game tournament in Billings, Montana, as she was selected for the All-Tournament team for her play. Over the two games, Hill averaged 13 points, 10 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 assists while shooting 11-21 from the floor. The two-game stretch by Hill continued her great play early this season, making her All-Tournament team selection well deserved.
Up next for the Grizzlies will be a quick road trip to Texas for two games in Canyon, Texas, next weekend. They will play West Texas A&M and Texas Permian Basin to close out their preseason schedule before RMAC conference play starts at the beginning of December. The Grizzlies' first game in Texas will be against West Texas A&M next Friday, November 28th, at 2 PM MST. The game against West Texas A&M will be a great test for the Grizzlies as West Texas A&M is currently 4-1 on the young season and is riding a 4-game winning streak. The Grizzlies will look to end West Texas's winning streak by continuing their great play early this season, taking a huge win next week against West Texas A&M.
