Lady Griz open long road trip at Utah State
11/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The University of Montana women???s basketball team will open a nine-day, three-game road trip with a matchup against Utah State Saturday night at Logan, Utah. The Lady Griz (1-2) and Aggies (0-2) will tip off at 7 p.m. at USU???s Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Montana will fly from Salt Lake City Sunday morning to Cancun, Mexico, to participate in the Caribbean Challenge. The Lady Griz will face Purdue (3-0) Thanksgiving night and James Madison (0-1) on Friday, Nov. 26.
Live coverage: Saturday???s game will be broadcast on 107.5 FM in the Missoula area with Tom Stage (play-by-play) and Dick Slater (color). The game will also be streamed on the station???s website, energy1075.com.
Utah State???s website, UtahStateAggies.com, will have live stats. Video coverage of the game is also available for $9.95 through a link on the USU women???s basketball schedule page.
Seasons to date: Montana is 1-2 after picking up its first victory of the season Wednesday in its home opener. The Lady Griz dropped both of their games in California last weekend to open the season, 52-34 at UC Riverside and 74-54 at Cal State Bakersfield.
Wednesday Montana had eight different players score at least eight points in a 91-45 victory over Montana-Western at Dahlberg Arena.
Utah State is winless through two games. The Aggies lost their home opener last Friday to NCAA Division II Dixie State, 71-67, a game USU led 19-2. Utah State lost at North Dakota State Monday, 86-64.
Where it all began: Montana coach Robin Selvig made his coaching debut when he took the Lady Griz to play at Utah State Dec. 1, 1978. The game ended as a forgettable 70-49 loss. Since that loss Selvig has managed to go 741-219.
De Boer returning, Atkinson practicing: Sophomore Kenzie De Boer, who was the team???s third-leading scorer as a true freshman last winter, is expected to make her season debut Saturday night after missing the season???s first three games with a broken finger on her shooting hand.
Junior Misty Atkinson, who has played in just 23 games in an injury-riddled career, practiced this week for the first time this season after beginning the season with another shoulder injury.
De Boer, who averaged 9.4 points last year, should provide immediate help both offensively and defensively. At 5-11, she provides perimeter size and scoring and is a valuable defensive presence.
???We have three seniors, then a bunch of sophomores and freshmen playing right now, so getting Kenzie???s experience back will be nice,??? Selvig said.
???She???s a good-sized perimeter player who can handle, shoot and create and get to the hole off the dribble.
???Defensively she???s active and long. She was a good defender for us as a freshman last year.???
De Boer traveled with the team to California last weekend and had the first DNP (I) (did not play, injured) of her life.
???Last weekend was hard, because I???ve never missed a game at any point in my life in any sport,??? she said. ???It was difficult watching from the bench, especially when we were struggling and I couldn???t do anything about it.???
More on Utah State: The Aggies returned two starters from last year???s team that went 13-17 and finished seventh in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) at 5-11. USU was picked eighth out of nine teams in this year???s preseason coaches??? poll.
Senior guard Amber White, a second-team All-WAC selection as a junior after leading the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game, is one of the team???s returning starters.
Sophomore Banna Diop, a 6-6 center who has started both games this season, was named to the WAC???s all-freshman team a year ago. She has just one blocked shot this year despite averaging over 21 minutes per game.
The Aggies have allowed their first two opponents to shoot 49.5 percent. USU has also been out-rebounded by seven boards per game, including a 46-34 deficit against Dixie State.
Coach Raegan Pebley is 71-132 in her eighth season.
History: Montana leads the all-time series with Utah State, 5-2. The teams played five times between 1978-79 and 1984-85, then played a more recent home-and-home series.
The Lady Griz won a tight 71-70 decision at Logan to open the 2005-06 season, then won 86-56 at home in 2006-07.
The last time out: After shooting just 28 percent and turning the ball over 46 times in its losses to UC Riverside and Cal State Bakersfield, Montana shot 48 percent to roll to a 91-45 victory against outmanned Montana-Western Wednesday night at Dahlberg Arena.
The Lady Griz, who forced 40 turnovers, had a double-digit lead before the game was three minutes old and led 49-22 at the half.
Sophomore Katie Baker, who shot 5 for 17 and totaled 11 points in last weekend???s two games, scored 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting. She also added five rebounds, four assists and two steals in just 20 minutes.
???We obviously had them overmatched, but we still shot the ball well,??? Selvig said. ???Anytime you struggle shooting the ball for a couple of games, it???s nice to come back and make some shots. That was good.
???Every game now is important just for the game experience for the kids. Win or loss, we need to get better every time out. The things we emphasized we wanted to get better at (against Montana-Western), we did.???
Lady Griz notes: After two games in Cancun next week, Montana will play eight of its next nine at home between Dec. 2 and the first round of Big Sky Conference games in early January. ... Sophomore Katie Baker had a career-high four assists and sophomore Alexandra Hurley matched a career high with 10 points Wednesday. ... Sophomore Alyssa Smith has gone 6 for 7 from 3-point range the last two games and is 7 for 9 for the season. ... Freshman Torry Hill scored a season-high 11 points Wednesday on 5-of-8 shooting. She also added three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 19 minutes. ... Freshman point guard Lexie Nelson had one assist and seven turnovers last weekend in California. Against Montana-Western she finished with four assists and no turnovers.
