BIG SKY: CSUN FALLS SHORT WOMEN'S FINAL: MONTANA 66, CSUN 53.

Byline: Chris Branam Staff Writer

MISSOULA, Mont. - They had been here before, in a hostile environment against a heavy favorite in a high-pressure situation.

This was Colorado State all over again for the Cal State Northridge women's basketball team. And in the end, the feeling was the same, too.

The underdog Matadors battled top-seeded Montana for two-thirds of the Big Sky Conference women's tournament final, but the Grizzlies used a late run to win the title 66-53 Saturday afternoon and advance to the NCAA Tournament in front of 3,890 at Dahlberg Arena.

Second-seeded CSUN (18-10) has little hope of a postseason bid. Its role was reversed last year; Northridge won the tournament title and went to Fort Collins, Colo., to play the fifth-ranked Rams in front of a packed arena of rabid fans.

The Matadors made a game of that one, too, before wilting late.

``(We) battled hard,'' CSUN coach Frozena Jerro said. ``This is a tough place to come and play. We almost got out of here with one, we just didn't have enough to sneak through.''

CSUN shot out of halftime with fresh legs and more passion than Montana (22-8) and went on a 10-0 run to lead 31-23. Spurred on by the crowd, the Grizzlies came back with an 8-0 run to tie it 31-31 with 14 1/2 minutes left.

The lead changed five times in the next nine minutes. Montana took the lead for good at 48-47 after a jumper by tournament MVP Linda Weyler with 5:34 left, and the Grizzlies outscored the Matadors 11-3 in the next four minutes.

``They made an awesome run toward the end,'' Jerro said. ``We didn't have enough to stop it.''

Fatigue might have set in at that point. The Matadors entered the tournament with nine available players, and backup forward Myesha Saleem went out in the first half with a mild concussion. Two starters - forward Lynda Amari and center Keisha Harris - were in foul trouble in the last 14 minutes.

CSUN also shot poorly - 34 percent. Senior forward Neda Milic, an all- tournament selection, had 12 points, but she only made 4 of 10 shots. No other players scored in double-figures for Northridge.

Weyler had 21 points and 12 rebounds. Lauren Cooper, an all-tournament pick, had seven points and a game-high 15 rebounds for Montana.

Northridge, which held Montana to 33 percent shooting from the floor, had a three-game winning streak snapped.

``As a team, we overcame a lot,'' said senior guard Jamilah Jones, who briefly quit the team in late January. ``A lot of us, we didn't think we'd make it this far.''