Lady Griz top Vikings, win Big Sky title
3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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The University of Montana women???s basketball team won its third straight Big Sky Conference regular-season championship and its 22nd regular-season conference title overall with a 70-60 victory over Portland State Saturday afternoon at Dahlberg Arena. The game, which showcased teams with similar 14-1 league records, drew 6,734 fans, the largest home crowd since Montana brought in 7,413 for its NCAA tournament game against Louisiana Tech in 2004.
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With the outright Big Sky title, the Lady Griz earn hosting rights for the Big Sky tournament, which will be held next Thursday through Saturday at Dahlberg Arena. The tournament will open Thursday with No. 3 Montana State facing No. 6 Northern Arizona at 5:30 p.m. and No. 4 Idaho State facing No. 5 Sacramento State at 7:30 p.m.
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No. 1 Montana and No. 2 Portland State get byes to the semifinal round. The Vikings will face the highest remaining seed at 5:30 p.m. Friday; the Lady Griz will face the lowest remaining seed at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
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Saturday???s championship will tip off at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast regionally on Altitude. The winner of that game will receive the Big Sky Conference???s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
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In Saturday???s clash of teams that hadn???t lost since January, Montana scored eight of the second half???s opening 10 points to break away from a 33-33 halftime tie. The Lady Griz hit six of 11 3-point shots in the second half and led by at least five points the final 12 minutes of the game.
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On Senior Day, Montana???s senior backcourt of Sonya Rogers and Mandy Morales led the Lady Griz to victory. Rogers matched a career high with six 3-pointers, going 6-for-8 from deep, to score a game-high 22 points.
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Morales finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, her third double-double of the season and the 12th of her career.
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Sophomore Sarah Ena also finished with a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end. It was Ena???s third straight game with a double-double and the fourth of her career.
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Portland State???s Claire Faucher, who had a triple-double in PSU???s win at Montana State Thursday, had 20 points and nine assists, though struggled to a 1-for-10 effort from 3-point range.
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Kelsey Kahle had 11 points but was limited to 24 minutes with foul trouble.
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When Portland State handed Montana its only Big Sky loss of the season, 72-62, at Portland on January 29, the Vikings went 8-for-21 (.381) from 3-point range while holding the Lady Griz to 1-for-14 (.071).
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On Saturday, Montana went 8-for-20 (.400), Portland State went 5-for-23 (.217).
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Morales scored 34 points in the first meeting, with no other UM player scoring more than six.
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Both teams made first-half runs Saturday before finishing deadlocked at the break.
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The Vikings went up eight midway through the first half, taking a 25-17 lead when Kahle converted a three-point play inside off an assist from Faucher.
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Montana answered by scoring the next 13 points to go up 30-25. Rogers started the run with a 3-pointer and finished it with a jumper in the paint at the 5:20 mark.
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Rogers??? second 3-pointer of the first half put Montana up five, 33-28, but Portland State scored the half???s final five points to make it 33-33.
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Katia Hadj-Hamou hit a 3-pointer on PSU???s final possession for the half???s final points.
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The Lady Griz shot 45.5 percent in the first half and turned the ball over just three times. Rogers had 10 of her points by half.
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The Vikings shot 41.4 percent in the first half and turned the ball over six times, finishing with a 20-16 advantage on the boards.
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Ena and Faucher traded jumpers in the opening minute of the second half to keep the score tied, then Rogers and Morales hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Montana a lead it would keep the rest of the game.
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The Lady Griz used the 3-point shot every time the Vikings closed the gap in the second half.
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When Faucher brought PSU within three, 46-43, with just over 13 minutes remaining, Morales and Rogers connected once again on back-to-back threes to make it a nine-point game, 52-43.
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A three-point play by sophomore Stephanie Stender inside gave Montana what would be its largest lead of the game, 12 points at 57-45, with nine minutes remaining.
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A Faucher fastbreak basket at the 3:15 mark pulled Portland State back within six, 59-53. Rogers answered with a 3-pointer on Montana???s next possession to push the lead back to nine.
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Kahle scored four straight points to make it a five-point game, 62-57, with just over two minutes remaining. Once again Rogers was there, hitting her sixth and final 3-pointer to make it 65-57 and put an end to the Vikings??? rallies.
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Montana held the high-scoring (72.0 points per game for the season entering the game) Vikings to 27 second-half points on 32.3 percent shooting.
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After losing at Portland State in January, the Lady Griz closed the regular season with nine straight wins to finish 15-1 in Big Sky Conference play and 26-4 overall.
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Saturday???s loss ended Portland State???s winning streak at seven. The Vikings finished with a 14-2 Big Sky record and closed the regular season 21-8.
