Lindsey Branch, UMW Sports Information
The Montana Western women's basketball team (6-3) defeated the Benedictine-Mesa (1-7) Eagles today 83-66 in the opening matchup of the Cactus Classic.
The Bulldogs were hot from the arc, going 10-20 from the three-point line.
"The team did a great job of battling through adversity and keeping their composure. It was a great test for us," Head Coach Britt Cooper said.
How It Happened
Leading from the get-go, the Bulldogs rode behind four threes from Joelnell Momberg to a 44-31 halftime lead. UMW also combined for a 66.7 shooting percentage across the first two quarters.
Benedictine got scoring off in the second half, combining their run from the previous half for a 9-0 scoring run on UMW. Shainy Mack broke the streak but BU added another five points to the board.
A layup from Maddy Moy coupled with a triple from Kyla Momberg got UMW back in the groove and up 51-41.
UMW rode a 9-0 stretch from the third into the fourth as they pushed their lead to 15 at 68-53. The Bulldogs went on to outscore the Eagles 19-13 in the final frame and hit on 8-10 opportunities from the charity stripe.
Notables
UMW combined for 10 threes in the matchup, with three players hitting for more than two.
As a team, the Bulldogs scored 22 points off of turnovers and shot 57.4 percent from the field. They also were an impressive 50 percent from the arc, a stark different from the Eagles who hit just 6-21 from the three-point line.
Jordan Sweeney led on the day with 23 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. She was also perfect from the free throw line, going 6-6 on the day.
Joelnell Momberg hit four of nine from the arc and a team second-best of 16 points.
Mack (11 pts) and Payton Hagy (10 pts) also hit double digits with Hagy going perfect on the day.
Up Next
Montana Western returns to the court tomorrow with a matchup against RV The Master's University at 12 p.m.
