BUTTE — For the first time in over four decades, the Montana Tech women's basketball team stands atop the Frontier Conference tournament mountain.
And did the Orediggers did it in pretty remarkable fashion.
Brooke Badovinac scored a go-ahead triple with 20 seconds remaining — capping off a double-double 21-point, 10 rebound performance — to finish off a furious 19-point comeback as the second-seeded Orediggers toppled top-seeded Dakota State (S.D.) 76-72 on Monday at the Butte Civic Center to claim their first conference crown since 1983.
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"I'm kind of speechless, I'm emotional," said Badovinac, a Butte Central product, after the game. "In my hometown right now, this is so big."
The win earned Tech an automatic berth the NAIA women's national tournament. The Orediggers will find out their seeding on Thursday.
The Trojans (26-5) bolted to a 24-5 lead less than six minutes into the game before the Orediggers settled in a started chipping away, narrowing the gap to 31-17 after one quarter and 46-37 at halftime. Tech then cut the lead to 61-56 after three quarters, setting the stage for Badovinac's big-time shot in front of a raucous hometown crowd.
Liv Wangerin added 16 points for the Orediggers, Halle Haber had 15 and Hadley Humphreys scored nine.
Cierra Watkins led Dakota State with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Bria Wasmund added 15 points and seven boards while Frontier MVP Tabor Teel finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
