Bulldog Women Claim Late Night Victory Over No. 4 Dordt

UMW Sports Press Release SIOUX CITY, Iowa— After a two and a half hour delayed tip-off, the Montana Western Women’s Basketball team defeated the No. 4 ranked and No. 2 seeded Dordt University (Iowa) 89-79 in a game that lasted through early Wednesday morning. The Bulldogs advance to the quarterfinals to take on the No. 3 ranked and No. 1 seeded Thomas More (Ky.) (29-3).

“We knew it was going to be really hard, which it should be this time of the year. A ton of respect for Dordt after watching film on them these few days. We knew it was going to be hard for us to stop them, but sometimes offense wins games and tonight that was the case.” Head coach Lindsay Woolley said after the win.

How It Happened

The two teams traded the lead through the start of the contest as no team led more than six points at any time in the first two quarters.

Dordt’s Bailey Beckman made a layup to stretch the Defenders’ first quarter lead to five at 12-7 with five minutes left in the first quarter. Jordan Sweeney answered by draining her first of five threes in the matchup to cut back into the lead.

Dordt ended the first quarter going on a 7-0 run to go into the second quarter up 22-17 on the Bulldogs.

Brynley Fitzgerald’s three-point play with just under five minutes left in the half tied the game at 29. The two teams continued on to trade back and forth before the Defenders claimed a 41-39 lead heading into the second half.

UMW found their stride in the third quarter on their way to a 10-point lead and scoring from behind the arch four out of five trips down the floor. Isabella Lund converted her three into a four-point play after sinking a long three and sinking a shot from the charity stripe.

The Defenders chipped away at the Bulldogs lead in the last two minutes of the third quarter and closed the gap to four points at 65-61.

Just seconds into the fourth quarter, Dordt hit a three to cut into the lead once again at just one point. Fitzgerald answered by hitting back-to-back threes to boost the Bulldogs to a 71-66 lead with 6:49 on the clock.

Following a field goal from Shainy Mack, Montana Western held onto a nine-point lead with under three minutes remaining in the game. Despite the lead, Dordt used a quick 5-0 scoring run to cut it back within just four points.

UMW’s Joelnell Momberg sealed the deal after she hit a deep three with under a minute in the game and the Bulldogs claimed victory just after midnight at 89-79.

“It was a great win for us. It was a battle and like coach said they were a very talented team offensively. We kind of made some adjustments on defense throughout the game and battled it out. Us being connected as a team helped us come out on top. Credit to our upperclassman and the leadership they showed. The maturity helped us a lot. It was a great team win and we are back at it tomorrow.” Sophomore guard Joelnell Momberg said after the win.

Notables

• The Bulldogs advance to the quarterfinals again for the first time since they won a title in 2019.

• UMW shot a season high of 61.5 percent from the field and 62.5 from the arc. They also hit 15 threes and were 76.9 percent from the charity stripe.

• The Bulldogs were an impressive 80 percent from the field in the second half.

• Jordan Sweeney led all scorers with 24 points while Brynley Fitzgerald followed with 22 points of her own. Both had career nights as Sweeney hit a career high five three pointers and Fitzgerald totaled a career high seven assists.

• Shainy Mack was 5-6 from the field and added 13 points and an assist.

• Emily Cooley came off the bench and added nine points, had two rebounds, and two assists.

Up Next

The Bulldogs will turn around and play tomorrow Wednesday, March 15 at 7PM MST against the No. 3 ranked and No. 1 seeded Thomas More (Ky.). The Saints captured the national championship last season over Dordt University and are an overall 29-3 on the season. Thomas More enters the matchup after they defeated the No. 5 seed Cumberlands (Ky.) 91-61 this evening.