BUTTE, Mont. - St. Thomas (0-3) found itself the victim to a terrific second half by Montana Tech (4-1).  Trailing at the half, the Diggers outsocored the Bobcats 46-29 to claim the victory by the score of 83-73.  Wilisha Griner led all Bobcats with 19 points and six rebounds.

Despite the disappointing result, the Bobcats had their best offensive outing of the season.  With only two players returning from last year's team, the first half of the game showed signs that this new group is starting to gel together.  The ball flowed and the team executed with rhythm.  Player movement allowed St. Thomas to establish an inside-out game.  If Griner and Supavadee Kunchuan weren't making field goals, they were drawing contact and earning points at the charity stripe.  When the team wasn't getting points from down low, they came in the form of Katie Rienas three-pointers or Desanta' Franklin-Jordan midrange jumpers.  Additional buckets were fueled by disruptive turnovers converted into fastbreak layups. It was this kind of effort that built the Bobcats a 44-37 lead at the half.

The second half featured more of the growing pains demonstrated in the Bobcats first two games.  They offense lacked flow, the ball stopped moving, and, outside of Griner, they were not able to establish a real low post presence.  The Diggers came out of intermission inspired.  Their backcourt, led by Sammy McGree's 22 points, pushed the pace.  Her running mate, Calle Remsen, complimented her efforts with an effective perfomance down low.  By the end of the third, Tech had completed a 29-17 run to enter the fourth with a 66-61 lead.  The fourth quarter totals were not as lopsided, but the Diggers still outscored St. Thomas 17-12 in the final frame.

In addition to Griner's performance, Franklin-Jordan had a solid outing with 17 points on 7-12 shooting.  Rienas chipped in with 12 points, shooting an efficienct 3-6 from behind the arc.  Samara Auguste also got involved on multiple fronts.  She finished with nine points, five assists, and two steals.  Lacey Houston came in off the bench and was a perfect 4-4 from the field for eight points.

St. Thomas concludes its Montana road trip with another match-up against Montana Western.  On Wednesday, the Bulldogs beat up the Bobcats by the score of 70-57.  St. Thomas will be looking to reverse that outcome.  Tip-off is set for 4 P.M. E.T. at Straugh Gymnasium in Dillon, Montana.