MISSOULA, Mont.—The Utah Valley University women's basketball team dropped its first contest of the 34th Annual Lady Griz Holiday Classic against Montana 68-44 at Dahlberg Arena on Friday night.
 
Mariah Seals led the Wolverines (5-7) with 12 points while Rebecca MaWhinney added nine and Rhaiah Spooner-Knight finished with eight. Karlee Norris led Utah Valley on the boards with ten while Spooner-Knight pulled down nine. Georgia Agnew found her first minutes of the season after recovering from an injury and added five points.
 
Late in the first half, the Lady Griz (6-4) used a 16-0 run over almost seven minutes to secure the victory. At the break, Montana led 34-21.
 
"They just jumped out on us and hit a lead early, and on the road it's difficult to fight your way back," head coach Cathy Nixon said.  "We didn't have a particularly good shooting night, shooting 23.1 percent from the field, and they were quick offensively. That's Division I basketball on the road sometimes."
 
Austin Peay (3-8) defeated St. Louis in the earlier matchup on Friday, setting up the Billikens to see the Wolverines on Saturday.
 
"St. Louis is a good team, they run a good offense and they are a good matchup for us, but we will need to play well to beat them," Nixon said.  "I scheduled this tournament so we can simulate the WAC tournament, so hopefully our girls can come out tomorrow with good energy and resolve."
 
The Wolverines (5-7) will continue to play in the Holiday Classic Saturday evening against St. Louis (4-6) at 5:30 p.m. MT in Dahlberg Arena.