Tonight, womens all-star teams from Montana and Wyoming will play each other in an annual game of hoops. Wyoming has won three of the last four but Montana leads the overall series--which is in its twelfth year--by four.
The Montana team will feature five Division I players, including future Lady Griz Ali Hurley. The Billings Gazette has a profile on Hurley, along with her thoughts on coming to UM and playing in the all-star game.
While it's not completely official, both Anthony Johnson and his wife Shaunte Nance-Johnson will be playing hoops for the University of Montana next year.
It's been a long trip to this level for both of them, especially for Anthony. At one point, he was completely out of organized basketball; then he met Shaunte. For their incredible story, read this article in the Tacoma Weekly.
At Stadium [High School], Johnson wasn’t much of a standout on the court or in the classroom. As a senior, he averaged just more than 12 points per game while the Tigers went 6-15 and finished in seventh place in the Narrows League Bay Division. Not exactly the kind of performance that gets you noticed at the next level.
On his report cards, things were even worse. Not showing up for class on a regular basis, Johnson saw his cumulative grade-point average during his time in high school come out as a 1.6. Needless to say, there weren’t a lot of opportunities awaiting him after graduation.
In 2005, though, while he was spending the year at home helping his mom and brother around the house, the most important event of his life happened. He started dating Nance. After that, things just started to change for him.
Not sure what he was doing or could do with his life, Nance was there as someone who believed in him. She pushed him to become better not only as a basketball player but as a person as well.
“She noticed something in me,” Johnson said. “She figured in her mind that I could play college basketball while at the time I was ready to give it up.”
Nance, then playing basketball on a full-ride scholarship to Northwest Nazarene University (NNU), watched Johnson play at the YMCA and knew that his time on the hardwood wasn’t over.
“He had an amazing shot, it was something I envied,” Nance said. “His dedication to the game was a big thing. I knew once he put his mind to it, the sky was the limit for him.”
And it was. Anthony was further motivated by his freshman season at Yakima Valley Community College—Shaunte got him a tryout there— where he averaged 18.3 points per game on 57.6 percent shooting. The next season, he was NWAAC east region MVP as he led his 7-man team to a conference title.
Look for Robin at about the :45 mark.
It wasn't just the wins. It was the way the Lady Griz played the game that drew outstanding support from the community.
The way the Griz played and the atmosphere this past weekend made those two games some of the best Griz sporting events I've ever attended. Honestly, they're up there with the Stanford upset, "The Zoo" night and Bagley's catch against EWU. The actual number of people was great—4,265 for the Portland State game and 5,016 for MSU—but it doesn't do an ounce of justice to what it was like in the D on Friday and Saturday night.
The Lady Griz were having fun and so were the fans. There were times when the Lady Griz would make a series of hustle plays—someone would dig out a rebound then kick it out for a dagger three from Cote, Mandy would give a little shimmy and knock one down right in someone's grill, Ena would bang her way to the rim before getting the hoop and the harm—and the whole crowd would stand and cheer in agreement that what they were seeing was amazing. That's how they played: filled to the brim with confidence and completely devoid of all selfishness. They supported one another and wore the Lady Griz uniform with pride.
The Lady Griz put on a show and gave the fans a good deal of entertainment, but when Lady Griz needed something themselves, the fans provided it. The fans didn't only respond to great plays, they helped cause them. When the Griz needed a stop or a run, they were there. They were there because they knew the Lady Griz would respond. When the Lady Griz were down, there was no doubt they'd make a run; whenever there was an opening, they'd stomp their collective foot on the chest of the opponent as they buried any doubt over the final outcome.
But it wasn't all like this. It wasn't all smooth. No one knows if they needed it but Coach Selvig kept them grounded. I'm damn-near 100% convinced that the reason he walks with a small limp is because he stomps so much.
There was a time in the MSU game when the Lady Griz were up comfortably by somewhere around 15 and Sonya Rogers made an ill-advised pass into the post on a fast break. It was picked off and as Sonya hustled back on defense, Robin stared into her back and screamed "SONYA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!" It was terrifying. Sitting front row in the student section, his scream and stare were so intense I almost felt like I messed up. But these girls are tough. They don't get flustered, they don't think it's all a show. They know they screwed up and do not want to do it again.
There are so many things that went into this amazing season that's it's impossible to accurately describe even 1/8th of what it was like. For those of you who missed it, I'm sorry.
I'm also sorry for giving very little recognition to this great team here on The Grizzoulian. They should've gotten many more entries than the few written about them.
The Montana Lady Griz will face the Vanderbilt Commodores (23-8) in the NCAA Tournament's opening round. The game will be played in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Vanderbilt comes into the game ranked 21st in the latest coaches' poll. They are coming off a loss to Tennessee in the SEC Championship game. In the regular season, they finished 11-3, third behind LSU and Tennessee.
The last time the Griz made the tournament, which was following the 2004-2005 season, they also faced Vanderbilt in the opening round. The 12-seed Lady Griz lost 67-44 to the 5th-seeded Commodores.
More on the Lady Griz later.
Tonight, the Lady Griz face a dangerous Portland State team who beat them by 10 less than a week ago. Lady Griz will play the second game tonight at about 7:45 with Montana State and Northern Colorado playing in the first at 5:30.
Mandy Morales sprained an ankle in the last game so this should be interesting. I'll be there, hope everyone else can make it out.
Apologies for the poor image quality.
Saturday night, the Lady Griz blew the Bengals out by 22 at Dahlberg Arena. After the victory, it looks like the conference winner will have to win the championship on the same court. With the win over ISU, the Lady Griz's magic number is one with only three to play. A victory in any of the Lady Griz's final three games (@NoCo, @EWU, @PSU) means the conference tourney will be played in Missoula.
Here's an interesting tidbit on what Selvig & Co. used as motivation going into the game. From the Missoulian:
Doma, who entered the game needing 26 points to pass Montana assistant coach Shannon (Cate) Schweyen as the Big Sky's career scoring queen, finished with her lowest points total (12) of the season. She didn't score at all in the 10 minutes Lohman was assigned to her in the first half.[...] “A lot of her shots weren't falling that maybe might have other nights, but it was nice to hold her to 12. Shannon (Schweyen) has the conference record right now so we were like, ‘We can't let (Doma) beat Shannon's record in our house.' We were talking about that before the game and used that as a little energy.”
Here's some audio from my post-game interview with Coach Selvig.
Stuck between an overtime win with fellow conference-frontrunner Portland State and next weekend’s looming rivalry game with Montana State, Saturday night’s matchup against Eastern Washington was the definition of a trap game. The Lady Griz won 77-59, but it wasn't without a little bit of trouble.
In the first seven minutes, I believe the Lady Griz were shooting somewhere around 25 percent from the field. At that 13:00 mark, the Lady Griz were down 18-6.
Then a 3-pointer by senior guard Laura Cote sparked a 11-2 run in which she hit another jumper while Johanna Closson knocked down a pair of shots from beyond the arc. After another Closson 3-pointer put the Lady Griz ahead 22-20 at the 5:46 mark, the Lady Griz didn't trail again.
I got a chance to speak with Coach Selvig and Britney Lohman after the game. They left a similar impression: the Lady Griz play with a perfect balance of confidence and respect for the opposition.
I first asked Lohman what coach Selvig says coming into games like the one against the Eagles (who have yet to win a conference game). Her response: "It's a big game no matter who we're playing." When asked about falling down early, said the shots just weren't falling but everyone was confident they'd make their run.
Selvig, almost the same thing: "We make every game the biggest we got." Also: "Our girls play with a lot of confidence."
Perfect mentality.
It's the Colts-Pats, Pats-Cowboys, Cowboys-Packers of the Big Sky Conference. I wish there were roman numerals for BSC championships so I could label this Big Sky Championship game XX and 1/2. Damn, isn't over-hyping regular season games spectacular?
Nonetheless, this game should be enjoyable. Last season, the Lady-Griz lost a single game during the conference's regular season and ran away with the regular season title. At this point in the season, things are a little more interesting, especially with the schedule ahead.
From Montanagrizzlies.com:
After Saturday night's three league games, the first half of Big Sky play will come to an end. With just two home games and six road games over the back half of the conference schedule, Montana and Northern Arizona will face the toughest stretch over the final five weekends leading up to the 2008 Big Sky Conference Tournament.Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington both have six of their final eight at home, Portland State and Idaho State have five, Weber State has four and Montana State and Sacramento State three.
Now the big question, go to the Lady Griz game or listen to the fellas? As of 5:42, I'm undecided.
Even though last night's men's effort was absolutely wretched, there were two positives to emerge. One of them was an absolute trouncing of NAU by the Lady Griz.
I'd say it's damn near impossible to start a game better than the Lady Griz started last night. Twelve minutes in, the Lady Griz were up 24-0. Not only is that on pace to pitch a shut-out, but also to score about 85-90 points. Both the offense and defense were there. The Lady Griz led 44-14 at half en route to a 77-55 win. Here's Britney Lohman on the win:
“We came out with a vengeance tonight,” said Lohman, who matched her season high with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting. “It was tough to lose to them (last season) on our home floor in front of our fans, especially in the conference tournament.“Tonight we were going to send a message of how we're going to play this year and not be scared of a team that handed it to us last year.”
I have no doubt that Lohman, who led the LG with 18 points, was not only vengeful over last season's loss, but her recent legal troubles as well. Lohman and Johanna Closson combined to score the Lady Griz's first 22 points, each netting 11.
I wasn't able to make it to Saturday's Lady Griz game because my ride back to Seattle was leaving Friday morning but going off the Missoulian article, the ladies are pretty much a better, bizarro version of the men's team.
While the men have lost three straight, Saturday's LG win made it three in a row—all withough star Mandy Morales. On top of that, the Lady Griz made 11 of their last 15 shots to close out the game while the men finish off games like a drunken idiot trying to make the last cup on his fifth game of beer pong.
Sonya Rogers led the Lady Griz with 16 points, 9 of them scored in the final five minutes.
The Lady Griz won for the fourth time in five games with a 87-52 victory over Cal State Northridge. The Missoulian article compares the win to a Globetrotters game as the Lady Griz shot 60% i the first half and were up by 30 at the break.
Here's forward Britney Lohman on the game and playing without guard Mandy Morales:
“It's really great for us to be able to utilize some of our other offensive threats,” said forward Britney Lohman, who tallied eight points and seven rebounds Saturday. “Laura Cote steps up, Lauren Beck steps up in areas where sometimes they're backing (Morales) up and might not get to showcase some of the stuff they have to offer.“It's really great for our confidence as a whole. When Mandy is tired she doesn't have to play 36 minutes a game. She can come out and rest her foot because other people will be there.”
This is what good teams do to bad teams. They don't let an 0-7 team come in and improve to 1-7. They don't even give them a sniff of it. They beat them by 30+.
The Lady Griz didn't crack the women's top 25 but they did receive a few votes.
Others Receiving Votes
DePaul 75, Middle Tenn. St. 71, Notre Dame 57, Auburn 41, Wisconsin 32, Mississippi 31, Xavier 30, Marquette 30, Georgia Tech 30, Wyoming 26, USC 17, BYU 17, Oklahoma State 16, Bowling Green 16, UCLA 12, New Mexico 12, Western Kentucky 11, Temple 7, TCU 7, Nebraska 7, Montana 7, Marist 7, Iowa State 6, Minnesota 5, Kentucky 5, Gonzaga 4, Boise State 3, Old Dominion 3, Texas Tech 3, Tulane 2, Ball State 1, Hartford 1, Utah 1, Wisc. Green Bay 1.
It's going to be a good season for hoops.
With just about the entire team returning, and all of the starters, it's no surprised that the Lady Griz were picked by both the media and the coaches. Rankings below are from The Missoulian.
Coaches' Rankings
The men's and women's basketball teams host their annual open scrimmage tonight in Dahlberg Arena. The men's scrimmage start at 6 while the Lady Griz will follow at 8.
From The Missoulian:
“We're excited to be able to get out in front of some people,” second-year coach Wayne Tinkle said. “We've been going at it hard for about a week and a half, so it will be nice to have a little more of an open environment and let the guys get some of the nerves out.“It'll give us a starting point so we can continue to correct mistakes and get the guys better as we move forward.”
“I think the ladies are always excited for this scrimmage,” 30th-year coach Robin Selvig said. “It's nice to get in front of some people.
“We have quite a bit of our stuff in so it should be a good gauge of where we are. The freshmen have been learning quickly so we should be able to put together a decent performance.”
I'm really looking forward to getting to my first solid look at this team. I hope to have some detailed impressions up tonight.
Robin Selvig has announced this year's schedule. It's not stacked with big, well-known names but that doesn't mean there isn't some quality in lesser known opponents.
Montana will face four teams that made the 2007 NCAA tournament (Boise State, Gonzaga, Mississippi and Idaho State) ... The Lady Griz will also face two teams that advanced to the 2007 WNIT (UC Santa Barbara and WNIT champion Wyoming) ... UM will play six of its first seven games on the road, then have nine straight home games extending from Dec. 8 to Jan. 12 ... The Lady Griz Holiday Classic will feature a three-team, three-day round robin format with one game each day ... The Holiday Classic's three teams (Montana, UC Santa Barbara and Mississippi) have made 43 NCAA tournaments between them, with the Lady Griz and Rebels playing in 16 each and the Gauchos 11 ... Montana's Big Sky Conference schedule has the Lady Griz playing six of its eight first-half league games at home, then six of eight in the second half on the road ... With Northern Colorado filling the role of "lone wolf" in the Big Sky schedule, the travel partners that existed before UNC's arrival (Northern Arizona/Sacramento State; Idaho State/Weber State; Portland State/Eastern Washington; Montana/Montana State) are back in effect.
There aren't any big names from major conferences but the schedule is solid. All the major contributors are back from a team that rolled through most of the season before stumbling in the Big Sky Tournament. Wins over tournament teams bode well for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if the Lady Griz somehow come up short again.
