By JOEL CARLSON for GoGriz.com
Montana will host San Diego at Dahlberg Arena Monday night at 7 p.m. in the round of 32 of the National Women’s Invitation Tournament it was announced Thursday night.
The Lady Griz (23-10) advanced out of the round of 64 with a 90-78 victory over Washington State Wednesday at Dahlberg Arena. The Toreros (23-8) defeated Cal Poly Thursday night 82-59 to move on.
Tickets for Monday’s game will go on sale Friday at 8:30 a.m. In addition, the Adams Center ticket office will be open Saturday from 1-5 p.m. for walk-up sales.
Season-ticket holders have until 5 p.m. Saturday to purchase their seats before they are released to the general public.
The Grizzlies had an energetic crowd of 2,125 at Wednesday’s game.
San Diego, which is enjoying its third straight 20-win season under ninth-year coach Cindy Fisher, is playing in its third straight WNIT and is in the postseason for the seventh time in program history. USD advanced to the WNIT semifinals two years ago.
The Toreros, of the West Coast Conference, opened the season 15-0 and were ranked No. 24 in the nation in early January. San Diego, picked second in its league’s preseason poll, went 11-7 in conference play to finish tied for fourth in the WCC behind Gonzaga, BYU and Pacific.
San Diego had five opponents in common with Montana in 2013-14. The Toreros defeated Northern Colorado 69-56, Idaho 74-64, Weber State 75-55 and UC Irvine 79-55 as part of their perfect start to the season. In league play USD split with Portland, falling 72-51 and winning 59-52.
In Thursday’s win over Cal Poly, San Diego jumped out to a 50-33 halftime lead and cruised to a 23-point victory. The Toreros shot 53.6 percent and got a 30-point game from senior guard Amy Kame, who leads the team in both scoring (17.0/g) and assists (3.9/g).
Monday night will be the first meeting between Montana and San Diego.
Montana Sports Information
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