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MISSOULA, Mont. - Northern Colorado battled tough in the first half, but the Montana women's basketball team used two big scoring runs to open the second half and defeat the Bears 65-54 on Friday evening.

The Bears (9-11, 2-5 Big Sky) are now 0-7 all-time in Missoula as the Lady Griz move to 10-9 overall and 5-2 in Big Sky action. NC has also tied its longest losing streak of the season at three games

Junior guard Courtney Stoermer scored in double figures for the 17^th time this season, leading the team with 13 points, while junior forward Lara Merritt tallied double figures for just the second time this year as she scored the first six points of the second half for the Bears and ended the game with 10. Freshman forward Lauren Oosdyke led the team and tied for game-high honors with eight rebounds. Stoermer also led the team with three assists and four steals.

"It's not just that they (UM) turned up their defense in the second half, it's also that we weren't very aggressive and weren't quick on the trigger," said head coach Jaime White. "I thought at the end we stepped up and hit some shots and were more aggressive. Montana had eight blocks and I thought it made us think twice before shooting the ball. I thought we did a good job inside and on the press late. We need to attack the basket a little bit harder tomorrow night against Montana State."

Montana was led by senior forward Sarah Ena with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Kenzie De Boer came off the bench to score 11 and Jessa Linford added 10. Lauren Beck led the team with three assists and three steals, while Shadra Robison had three blocked shots.

The Bears shot .356 from the floor and just .240 from three-point land, while the Lady Griz shot .420 from the field and .500 (3-of-6) from the arc. UM also hit 20-of-32 free throws, while NC hit 6-of-10.

Senior guard Whitley Cox scored just nine points on the evening, stopping her double-figure scoring streak at 16 games. It was the longest active streak in the Big Sky Conference and the longest on the team this season. Stoermer also had a 15-game streak snapped two weeks ago.

In the first half there were 13 lead changes and seven ties as no team scored more than six straight nor led by more than four. Stoermer led the team with 10 points, while Cooper had four rebounds, while Ena led the Lady Griz with the same totals. The Bears did not attempt a free throw in the first half as UM was called for just three fouls.

The last time the Bears did not attempt a free throw in a half came back on Nov. 18, 2008 against Florida State in the Cancun Tournament.

Montana used a 14-2 and 12-1 runs in the second half to take a 19-point lead at 59-40. Trailing 63-44, the Bears used a 10-0 run to cut the deficit back to nine off the strength of the press defense but it was too little, too late as NC lost 65-54.

The Bears will now head across the state of Montana to play at Montana State on Saturday evening. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. The Bobcats fell 76-64 to Northern Arizona in Worthington Arena on Thursday evening and are now 9-11 on the season and 2-5 in Big Sky play.