BUTTE -- The 16th-ranked Montana Tech women's basketball team got the 2026-27 season started off on the right foot, cruising to a 91-57 win over Hope International Saturday night inside Valley Bank Arena.
Halle Haber led the Orediggers (1-0) with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Olivia Nielson and
Brooke Badovinac joined her in double figures, scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Haber scored seven of her 16 in the first period as the Orediggers ripped off an 11-0 run to begin the game and held the lead at 19-10 after 10 minutes of play.
Tech pushed the lead to as many as 24 in the second and took a 42-20 lead into halftime.
Hot shooting pushed the Orediggers to the blowout win in the second half. Tech was 10-for-15 from 3-point territory as a team in the game's final 20 minutes, and nine different Orediggers made 3s in the half.
Chloe Larsen, the University of Montana transfer, had nine points to go along with team-bests in rebounds (8), assists (5), and steals (5) in her Montana Tech debut.
Oaklie Jackman, another Oredigger transfer from Big Bend Community College in Washington, also scored nine points.
Montana Tech will head to Caldwell, Idaho next weekend for The College of Idaho's Caldwell Classic, which begins Friday at noon with a ranked tiled against the No. 22 Yotes.
Visit Montana Tech athletics' home online, GoDiggers.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news and coverage of the Orediggers. Give Montana Tech athletics a like on Facebook, and follow the Orediggers on X and Instagram at @DiggerAthletics.
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