Explosive Game Earns UM Lady Griz Star Player of the Week Honor

It would be hard to pick a more important, meaningful game during the regular season than this to put on such a performance.

Griz Nation congratulations to University of Montana Lady Griz basketball standout Carmen Gfeller. Sports Information Director Joel Carlson reports that the junior forward has been named the ROAR Organic Big Sky Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, which was announced (today) Tuesday.

Her numbers were pretty modest after the first game of the week, a lopsided win vs. Southern Utah Thursday night. It was the remarkable effort she put forth on Saturday against arch rival Montana State that made her so deserving. Joel Carlson describes it as, "A game that will reside forever in Lady Griz lore."

After tallying just two points after the first quarter against the Bobcats, Carmen erupted for 15 points in the second quarter, then matched her 17 first-half points in the second half, on her way to a number that will currently rank among the highest single-game scoring performances in Montana Lady Griz basketball history. She finished with 34 points, the most by a Lady Griz player in over six years.

More significantly, it ended a seven-game losing streak to MSU, including three consecutive losses at home. Gfeller was having none of four home losses in a row in front of a raucous Lady Griz crowd of 4,059. Those 34 points were the second-most ever scored against Montana State by a Lady Griz player.

The Lady Griz conclude their regular season on the road, at Northern Colorado Wednesday (tomorrow), starting at 6:00 p.m., followed by a visit to Sacramento State Friday at 8:00 p.m.

All Montana Lady Griz games can be heard on KMPT Radio in Missoula and around the world on the station website Listen Now player.