By AUSTIN SMITH
The Lady Griz had their cake and ate it too (along with 2,500 fans) when they beat the Idaho Vandals 59-56 Friday evening, the first round of the 33rd Annual Lady Griz Classic. To commemorate Coach Selvig’s 800th win from a couple weeks ago, UM staff wheeled out a giant cake during pre-game and served up slices for free throughout the night.
The two teams remained neck-and-neck until the final minutes of the first half when senior forward Jordan Sullivan nailed four of seven three pointers and tallied 16 points before the whistle.
Ten minutes into the second half the Vandals surged back to within one point of the Griz on the shoulders of Alyssa Charlston, Idaho’s senior point guard that ended the game with 12 points and nine rebounds.
The lead remained contested as the clock wound down – Lady Griz senior Kellie Cole had found her shooting rhythm and Christina Salvatore’s three point accuracy actually put Idaho ahead with two minutes left.
One of three Lady Griz to score in double digits, Carly Selvig tied the board at 56 with a little over one minute left. The Vandals went back to Salvatore for her range, but her miss and Sullivan’s defensive rebound set up Cole’s long range game-winner with 16 seconds left on the clock.
Sullivan scored a game-high 16 points and added five rebounds, while Cole and Selvig combined for 27 points and 13 rebounds.
Montana will face UC Irvine Saturday evening around 8p.m. for the Classic title; Idaho takes on Appalachian State at 6p.m. in the consolation round.
GAME STATS (PDF) CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE