MISSOULA — The Montana Lady Griz trailed by 14 points entering the fourth quarter and crawled back within two in the final minute, but the deficit was too great to overcome in a 61-59 loss to Northern Colorado on Monday at Dahlberg Arena.
It was the final game of the regular season for both teams. The Lady Griz closed their schedule with an 8-21 overall record and a 5-13 mark in Big Sky play.
UM will now head to the Big Sky Conference tournament, which tips off Saturday in Boise, Idaho. The league will announce the official tournament pairings on Tuesday.
The Lady Griz outscored the Bears 23-11 in the fourth quarter. A layup by Avery Waddington after a UNC turnover pulled Montana within 59-57 with 32 seconds left. Mack Konig made a steal on the ensuing possession but Jocelyn Land was subsequently unable to convert.
Neenah George then hit two foul shots to put the Bears up by four. Waddington scored for the Lady Griz to beat the buzzer and close the scoring.
Land and Abby Shubert each scored 19 points to pace Montana. Waddington finished with eight points and seven rebounds. Land led with eight boards.
Julia Riley's 15 points paced Northern Colorado (22-9, 13-5 Big Sky). Tatum West added 13 points and Gabi Fields chipped in 10 for the Bears.
