Lady Griz Holiday Classic preview
12/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Christmas break at the University of Montana provides students with an opportunity to run home, gorge themselves with good food and, for the members of the women??s basketball team, work off some of the calories with their own Holiday Classic Tournament.
The Lady Griz generally burn more than just calories in the tournament, however, as they have won 22 championships in the tournament??s 25-year history. In fact, the team??s waltz to the tournament title has become somewhat of a formality to Montana fans.
Even national powerhouses, such as the undefeated Florida State team that fell to the Lady Griz in the 2004 championship game, have realized how unfriendly Missoula??s Adams Center can be during the holiday season.
Partially because of UM??s home dominance, and partially because the tournament is hosted in the middle of the wind-blown Montana winter, tournament organizers have been forced to recruit nation-wide to find competitive teams willing to make the journey to Missoula.
The geographically polarized field of the 2005 tournament is a perfect example of the diverse opponents that the Lady Griz have been simultaneously forced and blessed to face on a yearly basis.
This year??s tournament field features an impressive University of North Carolina-Asheville (7-2) program that will kick off the tournament by facing an experienced North Dakota State (5-5) team on Wednesday, Dec. 23 in the 5:05 p.m. afternoon game.
This year??s young Montana (8-2) team, which has only one senior on the roster, will then face an even younger team, at 7:35 p.m., in slumping New Orleans (2-8). The Privateers?? roster consists of just five sophomores and seven freshmen.
The Lady Griz have been led, so far this season, by senior wing Katie Edwards and a young duo of Billings natives in sophomore Dana Conway and freshman Many Morales.
Edwards has taken on much of the team??s offensive workload, and is averaging a team-high 14.7 points per game, despite making an uncharacteristically low 34 percent of her shots. The captain is also hitting a career-low 20 percent of her three-point tries, and has attempted twice as many as any other Grizzly.
While being the focus of opponents?? defenses may be the cause of Edwards?? struggles, Conway and Morales have been more than happy to put up the shots available because of that focus.
The pair of guards have averaged a combined 24.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, and have made 45% of their three-point attempts on the season.
Conway has played in all 10 games for Montana on the season, and has started nine. While Morales?? season has been cut to five games so far because of injuries, the Lady Griz hope that her extended health will help her gel with Conway, Edwards and the rest of the team in time for the tournament.
UNC-Asheville appears to be the Lady Griz??s stiffest competition in this year??s tournament, as their only two losses on the season have come to impressive opponents in the University of North Carolina and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
The Bulldogs are led by two gun-slinging guards in senior Kristal Hood and sophomore Ashton Barton, as well as Stacy Sheppard, the team??s star young post.
Hood, the team??s starting point guard, is a defensive specialist with a lethally efficient shot. She leads the team in assists, steals and is the second-leading scorer at 11.9 points per game. Hood has hit on over 40 percent of her shots on the season, and has made nearly 46 percent of her three-point attempts.
Barton, a smooth-shooting young wing, leads the team with 13.8 points per game and has made an absurd 56 percent of her field goal attempts on the season, including 46 percent from three-point territory. Her hot shooting has been an unexpected boost for the Bulldogs after she missed most of her freshman season with an ankle injury.
Sheppard, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, is the force inside that keeps UNC-Asheville??s opponents from smothering the team??s shooters. While she is the team??s only true post, Sheppard has proven capable of anchoring the Bulldogs, and is a constant threat to post a double-double. She is averaging 7.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game on the season.
While North Dakota State lacks the impressive record of UNC-Asheville, they have battled through a much tougher non-conference schedule and have emerged with two very impressive victories against Georgetown on a neutral floor and Alabama at home.
The Bison are also led by a pair of guards in senior Katie Lorenz and sophomore Lisa Bue, as well as junior center Danni Heintzelman.
Lorenz has suffered the same senior sorrows as the Lady Griz??s Edwards, and leads the team with 14.2 points per game despite making just 35 percent of her shots and leading the team in turnovers.
Bue has stepped up her production during Lorenz??s struggles, but has done so in an unusual way for a smaller guard. Having made just one of 11 three-point attempts on the season, the 5-foot-8 guard has become known for her post-up game and rarely shoots from outside the key.
In an even more unusual reversal, the 6-foot-1 Heintzelman has become one of the Bison??s most reliable outside threats by making nearly 47 percent of her long-range shots on the season. The junior, known for her consistency, has maintained her offensive post arsenal, however, and remains the backbone of the Bison offense.
New Orleans has struggled to find an identity during a season that was turned upside-down early by Hurricane Katrina, and appears to be the competitive runt of the tournament.
The only Privateer to find a consistent scoring touch on the season has been dangerously-athletic sophomore forward Ashley Sentimore. At 6-foot-1, Sentimore is the size of most centers, and yet she boasts the athletecism and quickness necessary to switch between the wing and the post. She is UNO??s leading scorer on the season with 12.3 points per game, and is their second-leading rebounder with 6.6 per game.
The rest of the Privateer??s have played musical chairs; both in terms of minutes played and games started. Guards Le??Della English and Jada Frazier and 6-foot-3 freshman Talishia Young have all garnered steady minutes, but only English has maintained a starting role for the entire season.
The Lady Griz generally burn more than just calories in the tournament, however, as they have won 22 championships in the tournament??s 25-year history. In fact, the team??s waltz to the tournament title has become somewhat of a formality to Montana fans.
Even national powerhouses, such as the undefeated Florida State team that fell to the Lady Griz in the 2004 championship game, have realized how unfriendly Missoula??s Adams Center can be during the holiday season.
Partially because of UM??s home dominance, and partially because the tournament is hosted in the middle of the wind-blown Montana winter, tournament organizers have been forced to recruit nation-wide to find competitive teams willing to make the journey to Missoula.
The geographically polarized field of the 2005 tournament is a perfect example of the diverse opponents that the Lady Griz have been simultaneously forced and blessed to face on a yearly basis.
This year??s tournament field features an impressive University of North Carolina-Asheville (7-2) program that will kick off the tournament by facing an experienced North Dakota State (5-5) team on Wednesday, Dec. 23 in the 5:05 p.m. afternoon game.
This year??s young Montana (8-2) team, which has only one senior on the roster, will then face an even younger team, at 7:35 p.m., in slumping New Orleans (2-8). The Privateers?? roster consists of just five sophomores and seven freshmen.
The Lady Griz have been led, so far this season, by senior wing Katie Edwards and a young duo of Billings natives in sophomore Dana Conway and freshman Many Morales.
Edwards has taken on much of the team??s offensive workload, and is averaging a team-high 14.7 points per game, despite making an uncharacteristically low 34 percent of her shots. The captain is also hitting a career-low 20 percent of her three-point tries, and has attempted twice as many as any other Grizzly.
While being the focus of opponents?? defenses may be the cause of Edwards?? struggles, Conway and Morales have been more than happy to put up the shots available because of that focus.
The pair of guards have averaged a combined 24.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, and have made 45% of their three-point attempts on the season.
Conway has played in all 10 games for Montana on the season, and has started nine. While Morales?? season has been cut to five games so far because of injuries, the Lady Griz hope that her extended health will help her gel with Conway, Edwards and the rest of the team in time for the tournament.
UNC-Asheville appears to be the Lady Griz??s stiffest competition in this year??s tournament, as their only two losses on the season have come to impressive opponents in the University of North Carolina and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
The Bulldogs are led by two gun-slinging guards in senior Kristal Hood and sophomore Ashton Barton, as well as Stacy Sheppard, the team??s star young post.
Hood, the team??s starting point guard, is a defensive specialist with a lethally efficient shot. She leads the team in assists, steals and is the second-leading scorer at 11.9 points per game. Hood has hit on over 40 percent of her shots on the season, and has made nearly 46 percent of her three-point attempts.
Barton, a smooth-shooting young wing, leads the team with 13.8 points per game and has made an absurd 56 percent of her field goal attempts on the season, including 46 percent from three-point territory. Her hot shooting has been an unexpected boost for the Bulldogs after she missed most of her freshman season with an ankle injury.
Sheppard, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, is the force inside that keeps UNC-Asheville??s opponents from smothering the team??s shooters. While she is the team??s only true post, Sheppard has proven capable of anchoring the Bulldogs, and is a constant threat to post a double-double. She is averaging 7.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game on the season.
While North Dakota State lacks the impressive record of UNC-Asheville, they have battled through a much tougher non-conference schedule and have emerged with two very impressive victories against Georgetown on a neutral floor and Alabama at home.
The Bison are also led by a pair of guards in senior Katie Lorenz and sophomore Lisa Bue, as well as junior center Danni Heintzelman.
Lorenz has suffered the same senior sorrows as the Lady Griz??s Edwards, and leads the team with 14.2 points per game despite making just 35 percent of her shots and leading the team in turnovers.
Bue has stepped up her production during Lorenz??s struggles, but has done so in an unusual way for a smaller guard. Having made just one of 11 three-point attempts on the season, the 5-foot-8 guard has become known for her post-up game and rarely shoots from outside the key.
In an even more unusual reversal, the 6-foot-1 Heintzelman has become one of the Bison??s most reliable outside threats by making nearly 47 percent of her long-range shots on the season. The junior, known for her consistency, has maintained her offensive post arsenal, however, and remains the backbone of the Bison offense.
New Orleans has struggled to find an identity during a season that was turned upside-down early by Hurricane Katrina, and appears to be the competitive runt of the tournament.
The only Privateer to find a consistent scoring touch on the season has been dangerously-athletic sophomore forward Ashley Sentimore. At 6-foot-1, Sentimore is the size of most centers, and yet she boasts the athletecism and quickness necessary to switch between the wing and the post. She is UNO??s leading scorer on the season with 12.3 points per game, and is their second-leading rebounder with 6.6 per game.
The rest of the Privateer??s have played musical chairs; both in terms of minutes played and games started. Guards Le??Della English and Jada Frazier and 6-foot-3 freshman Talishia Young have all garnered steady minutes, but only English has maintained a starting role for the entire season.
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