Lady Griz continue nonconference schedule with three regional opponents
12/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
After a seven-day break from games, the University of Montana women's basketball team will return to the court to face three northwest opponents in six days. The Lady Griz (3-1) will host Portland (2-4) on Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m., then travel to Moscow, Idaho, to face the Idaho Vandals (3-2) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before returning to Missoula to host Gonzaga (3-1) next Friday night at 7:05 p.m.
Last week Montana opened with three wins in four games. After defeating Montana-Western in their home opener, 68-49, the Lady Griz traveled to California. Montana lost at Long Beach State, 61-53, before winning the Four Points LAX Turkey Shootout with wins over East Carolina, 71-63, and host Pepperdine, 61-51.
Lady Griz on the Radio: All three of Montana's games this coming week will be broadcast on KLCY radio (930 AM). Tom Stage calls the action, beginning with a pregame show that starts 20 minutes prior to tipoff. Dick Slater provides the color commentary.
Montana on the Web: Lady Griz fans who cannot make the Montana home games can follow the action live at MontanaGrizzlies.com. Live GrizTracker stats will be available for all this year's home games, plus there is a link to listen to the KLCY broadcast.
MontanaGrizzlies.com is also the best site for the latest information on the Lady Griz, from weekly releases to game recaps, plus box scores, stats and player and coach information.
Sunday is Poster Day: Fans attending Sunday's game against Portland will have the opportunity to get the 2004-05 Lady Griz schedule poster signed by the players following the game. Tables will be set up on the floor at the conclusion of the game for the autograph session.
The Opponents
Portland: The Pilots are 2-4 on the season after dropping Thursday night's home game against Air Force, 68-61. UP's two wins on the season came against Portland State, 84-51 and 66-59. Portland has other losses to Oregon, 63-46, Cal Poly, 55-51, and Brigham Young, 70-35.
The Pilots have three starters and eight letterwinners returning from last year's team that went 14-15 and finished fourth in the West Coast Conference with an 8-6 mark.
UP was picked for eighth place out of eight teams in this year's preseason WCC poll.
Five-eleven senior Jamie Medley is averaging a team-high 12.4 points per game and shooting .500 from the field, while 6-2 senior Ashlee Orndorff is averaging 11.2 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds per game.
Portland is coached by Jim Sollars, who is 267-256 in his 19th year.
The Series: Montana and Portland will be meeting for the 10th straight season on Sunday, with the Lady Griz holding an 8-5 overall advantage in a series that dates back to 1988-89. Montana has won two straight and four of the last five meetings and has a 4-2 edge in matchups at Missoula.
Ten of the last 11 meetings have been decided by 11 points or less.
In last year's meeting the Lady Griz shot 53.8 percent in the first half to jump out to a 35-25 halftime lead on their way to a 66-55 victory. Jody McLeod had 15 points and 14 rebounds in the road win.
Idaho: The Vandals are currently 3-2 and will face Eastern Washington on Sunday before hosting Montana on Wednesday. UI opened the season with home wins over Utah Valley State, 62-59, and Boise State, 81-78 in overtime, before playing in last weekend's Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu. Idaho lost to then-No. 3 Georgia, 77-55, defeated California, 82-72, and lost to Utah, 57-50, in the tournament.
The Vandals, who went 22-7 last year, 13-5 in Big West play to finish second, return four starters and seven letterwinners.
Idaho is led by 5-11 junior Emily Faurholt, who is averaging 19.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Faurholt was the 2004 Big West Player of the Year and an honorable mention all-American and led the nation in scoring as a sophomore at 25.4 points per game.
Sophomore point guard Leilani Mitchell is averaging 20.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and over four steals per game and was named to the Rainbow Wahine all-tournament team. Mitchell was the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year a year ago.
The Vandals are coached by Mike Divilbiss, who is 46-44 in his fourth year.
The Series: Montana leads the all-time series with Idaho, 30-6. The last meeting came on Nov. 30, 2000, when the Vandals won at home, 73-68. The Lady Griz won the last matchup at Missoula, 79-62, on Nov. 19, 1999.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs, who were picked to win their conference, are currently 3-1 and will play this weekend at Arizona State's tournament before playing at Montana next Friday. Gonzaga has wins over Utah Valley State, 87-41, Providence, 85-38, and Eastern Washington, 72-51, and a road loss at New Mexico, 76-54.
At Eastern Washington on Tuesday, the Zags and the Eagles were tied at the half, 23-23, before Gonzaga shot 56.5 percent in the second half to roll to the victory.
The Bulldogs went 18-12 last year, including a 60-52 victory over Montana, and finished second in the West Coast Conference with a 10-4 mark. Gonzaga was four points away from making the NCAA tournament, falling 61-58 to Loyola Marymount in the championship game of the WCC tournament.
The Zags are led by 6-1 senior Ashley Burke and 5-6 senior Shannon Mathews. Both were All-WCC as juniors.
Gonzaga is coached by Kelly Graves, who is 55-66 in his fifth year.
The Series: Montana leads the all-time series with Gonzaga, 15-6, though the Bulldogs have won four of the last five meetings. Those five meetings have been decided by a total of 23 points.
The Lady Griz have gone 9-1 at home against Gonzaga.
Last year Julie Deming scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but Montana was held to 30.4 percent shooting and Gonzaga won at home, 60-52.
Another Tough Non-Conference Schedule Awaits Montana: Like they did last year, the Lady Griz will face another loaded non-conference schedule in 2004-05. In the preseason RPI rankings, Montana's non-conference schedule ranked No. 42 nationally, just behind Oklahoma's.
While none of the Lady Griz's non-conference opponents currently reside in the top 25, two opponents (Miami and Utah) are among teams receiving votes in this week's poll.
Lady Griz Win Pepperdine Tournament: Montana came back to win the Four Points LAX Turkey Shootout last weekend at Pepperdine, defeating both East Carolina and Pepperdine, after opening its California trip with a loss at Long Beach State.
In the tournament opener, the Lady Griz shot 57.1 percent in the first half to jump out to a 42-31 halftime lead, then held on in the second half for a 71-63 victory.
Freshman Johanna Closson came off the bench to hit 7-of-11 shots and score a team-high 21 points.
In the title game against Pepperdine, Montana found itself in an early 11-2 hole, but fought back to within two at the half, 31-29. The Lady Griz then held the Waves to 20 second-half points to win 61-51. Montana closed the game on a 13-0 run over the final 5:13.
Tyler Named MVP, Keller Also Honored: Senior Hollie Tyler was named the MVP of the Four Points LAX Turkey Shootout last weekend after averaging 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game as Montana defeated East Carolina and Pepperdine to win the tournament title. Tyler rallied the Lady Griz from an early deficit in the title game, scoring Montana's first 12 points to overcome an 11-2 hole.
Senior Juliann Keller was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game in the two wins. She also shot 56.3 percent from the field.
Tyler, Edwards Move Up Career Lists: Senior Hollie Tyler currently ranks No. 7 on the UM career scoring list with 1,314 points. She is 82 points from moving all the way up to the No. 3 spot. With 16 blocks through four games this season, Tyler has 225 for her career, which ranks No. 2 all-time at Montana. She is 12 behind Lisa McLeod's (1985-89) record of 237 blocks.
With eight 3-pointers this season, junior Katie Edwards has moved past Cheryl Keller and into fourth place on the 3-point field goal list with 125 makes. She is 12 makes away from moving into second place, overtaking Shannon Cate and Carla Beattie.
For a complete list of players currently on their way up the career charts, see page four.
Last Year: Montana had another successful season in 2003-04, going 27-5, winning its 18th regular-season conference championship in the last 24 years and advancing to its 15th NCAA tournament.
The Lady Griz went 25-4 during the regular season, winning their final 15 regular-season games. That streak included a perfect 14-0 run through the Big Sky Conference. After defeating Eastern Washington, 81-54, and Idaho State, 66-62, to win the league's postseason tournament, Montana was awarded the No. 12 seed in the Mideast Region of the 2004 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship.
The Lady Griz hosted No. 5 seed Louisiana Tech in a first-round matchup at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula. The Lady Techsters defeated Montana, 81-77, in front of 7,413 fans.
An excellent season brought many personal accolades. Brooklynn Lorenzen was named the Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player, and Julie Deming and Hollie Tyler were named to the All-Big Sky Conference team. Coach Robin Selvig was named the BSC's co-Coach of the Year.
Montana played in front of an average of 4,210 fans to rank No. 22 in the nation in home attendance.
A History of Success: The University of Montana Lady Griz have had one of the most successful Division I women's basketball programs in the nation over the last quarter century. From 1980-81 through 2003-04, a period of 24 complete seasons, the Lady Griz accumulated 570 wins, had 23 winning seasons and 22 20-win seasons.
Also during that time Montana advanced to 19 national tournaments and won 18 conference championships and 15 postseason conference championships.
Last week Montana opened with three wins in four games. After defeating Montana-Western in their home opener, 68-49, the Lady Griz traveled to California. Montana lost at Long Beach State, 61-53, before winning the Four Points LAX Turkey Shootout with wins over East Carolina, 71-63, and host Pepperdine, 61-51.
Lady Griz on the Radio: All three of Montana's games this coming week will be broadcast on KLCY radio (930 AM). Tom Stage calls the action, beginning with a pregame show that starts 20 minutes prior to tipoff. Dick Slater provides the color commentary.
Montana on the Web: Lady Griz fans who cannot make the Montana home games can follow the action live at MontanaGrizzlies.com. Live GrizTracker stats will be available for all this year's home games, plus there is a link to listen to the KLCY broadcast.
MontanaGrizzlies.com is also the best site for the latest information on the Lady Griz, from weekly releases to game recaps, plus box scores, stats and player and coach information.
Sunday is Poster Day: Fans attending Sunday's game against Portland will have the opportunity to get the 2004-05 Lady Griz schedule poster signed by the players following the game. Tables will be set up on the floor at the conclusion of the game for the autograph session.
The Opponents
Portland: The Pilots are 2-4 on the season after dropping Thursday night's home game against Air Force, 68-61. UP's two wins on the season came against Portland State, 84-51 and 66-59. Portland has other losses to Oregon, 63-46, Cal Poly, 55-51, and Brigham Young, 70-35.
The Pilots have three starters and eight letterwinners returning from last year's team that went 14-15 and finished fourth in the West Coast Conference with an 8-6 mark.
UP was picked for eighth place out of eight teams in this year's preseason WCC poll.
Five-eleven senior Jamie Medley is averaging a team-high 12.4 points per game and shooting .500 from the field, while 6-2 senior Ashlee Orndorff is averaging 11.2 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds per game.
Portland is coached by Jim Sollars, who is 267-256 in his 19th year.
The Series: Montana and Portland will be meeting for the 10th straight season on Sunday, with the Lady Griz holding an 8-5 overall advantage in a series that dates back to 1988-89. Montana has won two straight and four of the last five meetings and has a 4-2 edge in matchups at Missoula.
Ten of the last 11 meetings have been decided by 11 points or less.
In last year's meeting the Lady Griz shot 53.8 percent in the first half to jump out to a 35-25 halftime lead on their way to a 66-55 victory. Jody McLeod had 15 points and 14 rebounds in the road win.
Idaho: The Vandals are currently 3-2 and will face Eastern Washington on Sunday before hosting Montana on Wednesday. UI opened the season with home wins over Utah Valley State, 62-59, and Boise State, 81-78 in overtime, before playing in last weekend's Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu. Idaho lost to then-No. 3 Georgia, 77-55, defeated California, 82-72, and lost to Utah, 57-50, in the tournament.
The Vandals, who went 22-7 last year, 13-5 in Big West play to finish second, return four starters and seven letterwinners.
Idaho is led by 5-11 junior Emily Faurholt, who is averaging 19.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Faurholt was the 2004 Big West Player of the Year and an honorable mention all-American and led the nation in scoring as a sophomore at 25.4 points per game.
Sophomore point guard Leilani Mitchell is averaging 20.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and over four steals per game and was named to the Rainbow Wahine all-tournament team. Mitchell was the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year a year ago.
The Vandals are coached by Mike Divilbiss, who is 46-44 in his fourth year.
The Series: Montana leads the all-time series with Idaho, 30-6. The last meeting came on Nov. 30, 2000, when the Vandals won at home, 73-68. The Lady Griz won the last matchup at Missoula, 79-62, on Nov. 19, 1999.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs, who were picked to win their conference, are currently 3-1 and will play this weekend at Arizona State's tournament before playing at Montana next Friday. Gonzaga has wins over Utah Valley State, 87-41, Providence, 85-38, and Eastern Washington, 72-51, and a road loss at New Mexico, 76-54.
At Eastern Washington on Tuesday, the Zags and the Eagles were tied at the half, 23-23, before Gonzaga shot 56.5 percent in the second half to roll to the victory.
The Bulldogs went 18-12 last year, including a 60-52 victory over Montana, and finished second in the West Coast Conference with a 10-4 mark. Gonzaga was four points away from making the NCAA tournament, falling 61-58 to Loyola Marymount in the championship game of the WCC tournament.
The Zags are led by 6-1 senior Ashley Burke and 5-6 senior Shannon Mathews. Both were All-WCC as juniors.
Gonzaga is coached by Kelly Graves, who is 55-66 in his fifth year.
The Series: Montana leads the all-time series with Gonzaga, 15-6, though the Bulldogs have won four of the last five meetings. Those five meetings have been decided by a total of 23 points.
The Lady Griz have gone 9-1 at home against Gonzaga.
Last year Julie Deming scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but Montana was held to 30.4 percent shooting and Gonzaga won at home, 60-52.
Another Tough Non-Conference Schedule Awaits Montana: Like they did last year, the Lady Griz will face another loaded non-conference schedule in 2004-05. In the preseason RPI rankings, Montana's non-conference schedule ranked No. 42 nationally, just behind Oklahoma's.
While none of the Lady Griz's non-conference opponents currently reside in the top 25, two opponents (Miami and Utah) are among teams receiving votes in this week's poll.
Lady Griz Win Pepperdine Tournament: Montana came back to win the Four Points LAX Turkey Shootout last weekend at Pepperdine, defeating both East Carolina and Pepperdine, after opening its California trip with a loss at Long Beach State.
In the tournament opener, the Lady Griz shot 57.1 percent in the first half to jump out to a 42-31 halftime lead, then held on in the second half for a 71-63 victory.
Freshman Johanna Closson came off the bench to hit 7-of-11 shots and score a team-high 21 points.
In the title game against Pepperdine, Montana found itself in an early 11-2 hole, but fought back to within two at the half, 31-29. The Lady Griz then held the Waves to 20 second-half points to win 61-51. Montana closed the game on a 13-0 run over the final 5:13.
Tyler Named MVP, Keller Also Honored: Senior Hollie Tyler was named the MVP of the Four Points LAX Turkey Shootout last weekend after averaging 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game as Montana defeated East Carolina and Pepperdine to win the tournament title. Tyler rallied the Lady Griz from an early deficit in the title game, scoring Montana's first 12 points to overcome an 11-2 hole.
Senior Juliann Keller was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game in the two wins. She also shot 56.3 percent from the field.
Tyler, Edwards Move Up Career Lists: Senior Hollie Tyler currently ranks No. 7 on the UM career scoring list with 1,314 points. She is 82 points from moving all the way up to the No. 3 spot. With 16 blocks through four games this season, Tyler has 225 for her career, which ranks No. 2 all-time at Montana. She is 12 behind Lisa McLeod's (1985-89) record of 237 blocks.
With eight 3-pointers this season, junior Katie Edwards has moved past Cheryl Keller and into fourth place on the 3-point field goal list with 125 makes. She is 12 makes away from moving into second place, overtaking Shannon Cate and Carla Beattie.
For a complete list of players currently on their way up the career charts, see page four.
Last Year: Montana had another successful season in 2003-04, going 27-5, winning its 18th regular-season conference championship in the last 24 years and advancing to its 15th NCAA tournament.
The Lady Griz went 25-4 during the regular season, winning their final 15 regular-season games. That streak included a perfect 14-0 run through the Big Sky Conference. After defeating Eastern Washington, 81-54, and Idaho State, 66-62, to win the league's postseason tournament, Montana was awarded the No. 12 seed in the Mideast Region of the 2004 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship.
The Lady Griz hosted No. 5 seed Louisiana Tech in a first-round matchup at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula. The Lady Techsters defeated Montana, 81-77, in front of 7,413 fans.
An excellent season brought many personal accolades. Brooklynn Lorenzen was named the Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player, and Julie Deming and Hollie Tyler were named to the All-Big Sky Conference team. Coach Robin Selvig was named the BSC's co-Coach of the Year.
Montana played in front of an average of 4,210 fans to rank No. 22 in the nation in home attendance.
A History of Success: The University of Montana Lady Griz have had one of the most successful Division I women's basketball programs in the nation over the last quarter century. From 1980-81 through 2003-04, a period of 24 complete seasons, the Lady Griz accumulated 570 wins, had 23 winning seasons and 22 20-win seasons.
Also during that time Montana advanced to 19 national tournaments and won 18 conference championships and 15 postseason conference championships.
Lady Griz Basketball Locker Room Unveiling - 5/1/26
Friday, May 01
Griz Track & Field - Montana Open Highlights - 4/25/26
Friday, May 01
Griz Softball vs. Idaho State Game-Winning Hit - 3/25/26
Friday, May 01
Griz Softball Championship Series Promo
Friday, May 01
