Post by griz on Mar 14, 2011 12:50:21 GMT -5
montanagrizzlies.com/news/index.aspx?n=2011/96/9708&m=0
Lady Griz earn Big Sky championship
Lewis and Clark, meet the Lady Griz.
It may be a bit hyperbolic, but you could say there hasn't been a group of people travel from Missoula to Portland with more purpose than when a few folks in fur hats and canoes did it more than 200 years ago.
Portland State's Courtney VanBrocklin (23) drives against Montana's Stephanie Stender (30) and Lexie Nelson (3) during the first half of the Big Sky women's basketball championship game in Portland, Ore., on Saturday.
Photo by Greg Wahl-Stephens/Associated Press The Montana women's basketball team completed a remarkable journey of its own Saturday, upsetting top-seeded Portland State 62-58 to win the Big Sky Conference tournament.
The victory in front of a full house at the Stott Center broke a five-game losing streak against the Vikings and earned the Lady Griz a trip to the NCAA tournament. The pairings will be announced Monday at 5 p.m. MDT on ESPN.
"As a team, we were playing our best basketball," said tournament MVP Stephanie Stender, still gripping the net from the postgame celebration. "Everyone knew their role. We did it. We did what we were supposed to do. We did exactly what we came here to do."
To reach the Big Dance, fourth-seeded Montana (18-14) had to wade through (Idaho State) Bengals, (Northern Colorado) Bears and finally Vikings in the space of three days.
In the championship, sophomore Kenzie De Boer hit the biggest two free throws of her young career with six seconds remaining to give UM a four-point lead and secure the victory.
De Boer, another all-tournament selection, tied Stender for team honors with 11 points. The guard from Lynden, Wash., was quick to deflect praise to her teammates.
"Our team played awesome," she said. "This was a complete team effort."
Coach Robin Selvig, who will make his 19th trip to the NCAA tourney, was understandably proud of his team's composure down the stretch.
"There was no panic," he said. "That's one thing different than maybe early in the year with having a young team and freshmen panic. There just wasn't any. We had great leadership out of the older kids, and that's what it takes to come in and win a game like this on the road."
Indeed, the Lady Griz found a way to erase a six-point deficit with eight minutes remaining by holding potent PSU scoreless over the next six and half minutes.
As she did throughout the tournament, Stender provided the shot heard 'round the Stott, burying a monster 3-pointer to knot the score at 52-52 with six minutes to go. Stender's bucket came off an assist from fellow senior Sarah Ena, who then scored the next eight points for UM as the Lady Griz forged a 60-54 lead with 45 seconds left.
Ena, who finished with 10 points, was perfect in four trips to the free-throw line during that span.
"When I stepped to the line, it wasn't about me, it was about the girls on this team," said Ena, one of three UM seniors and the final Lady Griz named to the all-tournament team. "I wanted to make sure we made it back to the Dance one more time before Jessa (Loman Linford), Steph and I graduate."
The NCAA berth means that Ena will play in her 125th career game as a Lady Griz, breaking a school record held by Marti Leibenguth (1984-88) and Sonya Rogers (2005-09).
"When you're in a big spot, you just think about how much you love your teammates, coaches and the program," she said. "It just gives you that extra push and extra composure when you need to hit those (free throws) down the stretch."
UM's defensive effort in all three games drew rave reviews from its fallen foes, particularly PSU coach Sherri Murrell.
"They flew around a lot better than I have seen them," she said. "They wanted to win tonight. I'm not discounting that we wanted to win, but they played harder than we've seen them play all year."
Montana held the Vikings 11 points below their season scoring average, one night after keeping Northern Colorado nearly 20 points below its average output.
"(PSU) is explosive because they want to go fast and they can go fast," Selvig said. "But I think they maybe got only two transition (baskets). They can put runs together, but we were able to not let them get the big runs."
After getting off to a quick 7-0 lead, Montana held a slim advantage most of the first half, including a 31-30 edge at the break.
Another Lady Griz youngster, sophomore Alyssa Smith, scored the first seven points of the second half - her only points of the game - to help UM build a 38-32 lead.
The Vikings stormed back and appeared on the verge of taking control after Karley Lampman drilled a 3-pointer for a 49-46 lead. League MVP Eryn Jones, who led all scorers with 19 points, then stole a pass, dribbled in for a layup and was fouled. She converted the free throw to give PSU it's largest advantage of the game, 52-46.
But Montana, behind Stender, Ena and Co., came right back.
"Unfortunately, they had an answer for each one of our runs," Murrell said. "When you have two great teams going at it, that is what's going to happen. I thought we were going to get it rolling there, but they had an answer.
"We ran into a very hot, very, very driven Montana team," she added. "They came to this tournament to play and they showed a lot of heart and grit. I have to commend them. We did it last year (winning) three games, and it's not easy."
Portland State (20-11) is guaranteed a berth in the WNIT. Those pairings will be announced later this week.
For the Lady Griz, however, it's off to bigger and better things.
"It's exciting to get together and see who you play," Selvig said. "We will look forward to it. We'll throw up some pretty good defense, and approach the game trying to figure out what we need to do to get a win."
NOTES: There is a decent chance Montana could be sent to Spokane for its first-round game, something Selvig is hopeful will happen. "We'd get a ton of fans, that's for sure," he said. "It would be a great thing for us." ... The Lady Griz victory avenged the team's 62-47 loss to PSU in the semifinals of the 2010 league tourney. ... Stender snagged a team-high four steals and six rebounds against the Vikings. It was the second straight day the 5-foot-11 guard led UM on the boards. ... Aside from the three Lady Griz, other members of the all-tournament team included PSU's Jones and Kelli Valentine, and Eastern Washington's Tatjana Sparavalo.
Lady Griz earn Big Sky championship
Lewis and Clark, meet the Lady Griz.
It may be a bit hyperbolic, but you could say there hasn't been a group of people travel from Missoula to Portland with more purpose than when a few folks in fur hats and canoes did it more than 200 years ago.
Portland State's Courtney VanBrocklin (23) drives against Montana's Stephanie Stender (30) and Lexie Nelson (3) during the first half of the Big Sky women's basketball championship game in Portland, Ore., on Saturday.
Photo by Greg Wahl-Stephens/Associated Press The Montana women's basketball team completed a remarkable journey of its own Saturday, upsetting top-seeded Portland State 62-58 to win the Big Sky Conference tournament.
The victory in front of a full house at the Stott Center broke a five-game losing streak against the Vikings and earned the Lady Griz a trip to the NCAA tournament. The pairings will be announced Monday at 5 p.m. MDT on ESPN.
"As a team, we were playing our best basketball," said tournament MVP Stephanie Stender, still gripping the net from the postgame celebration. "Everyone knew their role. We did it. We did what we were supposed to do. We did exactly what we came here to do."
To reach the Big Dance, fourth-seeded Montana (18-14) had to wade through (Idaho State) Bengals, (Northern Colorado) Bears and finally Vikings in the space of three days.
In the championship, sophomore Kenzie De Boer hit the biggest two free throws of her young career with six seconds remaining to give UM a four-point lead and secure the victory.
De Boer, another all-tournament selection, tied Stender for team honors with 11 points. The guard from Lynden, Wash., was quick to deflect praise to her teammates.
"Our team played awesome," she said. "This was a complete team effort."
Coach Robin Selvig, who will make his 19th trip to the NCAA tourney, was understandably proud of his team's composure down the stretch.
"There was no panic," he said. "That's one thing different than maybe early in the year with having a young team and freshmen panic. There just wasn't any. We had great leadership out of the older kids, and that's what it takes to come in and win a game like this on the road."
Indeed, the Lady Griz found a way to erase a six-point deficit with eight minutes remaining by holding potent PSU scoreless over the next six and half minutes.
As she did throughout the tournament, Stender provided the shot heard 'round the Stott, burying a monster 3-pointer to knot the score at 52-52 with six minutes to go. Stender's bucket came off an assist from fellow senior Sarah Ena, who then scored the next eight points for UM as the Lady Griz forged a 60-54 lead with 45 seconds left.
Ena, who finished with 10 points, was perfect in four trips to the free-throw line during that span.
"When I stepped to the line, it wasn't about me, it was about the girls on this team," said Ena, one of three UM seniors and the final Lady Griz named to the all-tournament team. "I wanted to make sure we made it back to the Dance one more time before Jessa (Loman Linford), Steph and I graduate."
The NCAA berth means that Ena will play in her 125th career game as a Lady Griz, breaking a school record held by Marti Leibenguth (1984-88) and Sonya Rogers (2005-09).
"When you're in a big spot, you just think about how much you love your teammates, coaches and the program," she said. "It just gives you that extra push and extra composure when you need to hit those (free throws) down the stretch."
UM's defensive effort in all three games drew rave reviews from its fallen foes, particularly PSU coach Sherri Murrell.
"They flew around a lot better than I have seen them," she said. "They wanted to win tonight. I'm not discounting that we wanted to win, but they played harder than we've seen them play all year."
Montana held the Vikings 11 points below their season scoring average, one night after keeping Northern Colorado nearly 20 points below its average output.
"(PSU) is explosive because they want to go fast and they can go fast," Selvig said. "But I think they maybe got only two transition (baskets). They can put runs together, but we were able to not let them get the big runs."
After getting off to a quick 7-0 lead, Montana held a slim advantage most of the first half, including a 31-30 edge at the break.
Another Lady Griz youngster, sophomore Alyssa Smith, scored the first seven points of the second half - her only points of the game - to help UM build a 38-32 lead.
The Vikings stormed back and appeared on the verge of taking control after Karley Lampman drilled a 3-pointer for a 49-46 lead. League MVP Eryn Jones, who led all scorers with 19 points, then stole a pass, dribbled in for a layup and was fouled. She converted the free throw to give PSU it's largest advantage of the game, 52-46.
But Montana, behind Stender, Ena and Co., came right back.
"Unfortunately, they had an answer for each one of our runs," Murrell said. "When you have two great teams going at it, that is what's going to happen. I thought we were going to get it rolling there, but they had an answer.
"We ran into a very hot, very, very driven Montana team," she added. "They came to this tournament to play and they showed a lot of heart and grit. I have to commend them. We did it last year (winning) three games, and it's not easy."
Portland State (20-11) is guaranteed a berth in the WNIT. Those pairings will be announced later this week.
For the Lady Griz, however, it's off to bigger and better things.
"It's exciting to get together and see who you play," Selvig said. "We will look forward to it. We'll throw up some pretty good defense, and approach the game trying to figure out what we need to do to get a win."
NOTES: There is a decent chance Montana could be sent to Spokane for its first-round game, something Selvig is hopeful will happen. "We'd get a ton of fans, that's for sure," he said. "It would be a great thing for us." ... The Lady Griz victory avenged the team's 62-47 loss to PSU in the semifinals of the 2010 league tourney. ... Stender snagged a team-high four steals and six rebounds against the Vikings. It was the second straight day the 5-foot-11 guard led UM on the boards. ... Aside from the three Lady Griz, other members of the all-tournament team included PSU's Jones and Kelli Valentine, and Eastern Washington's Tatjana Sparavalo.