Lady Griz, Vikings meet for NCAA tournament spot
3/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 12, 2011
No. 4 Montana and No. 1 Portland State will meet Saturday at 3 p.m. (MT) in the Big Sky Conference tournament championship game at PSU's Stott Center in Portland, Ore. This is the fourth straight year the Lady Griz and Vikings are meeting in the tournament.
The winner of Saturday's game will receive the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which opens Saturday and Sunday, March 19-20, at first-round sites.
It's likely the winner will be sent to Spokane, Wash., for an NCAA tournament first-round game next Saturday at Gonzaga's McCarthey Athletic Center.
Coverage: The game is being broadcast regionally on Altitude. The game can be heard locally on 107.5 FM with Tom Stage (play-by-play) and Dick Slater (color).
Links through the Tournament Central page at GoViks.com provide access to live video streaming through America One and live stats.
How they got here: Montana made it from Thursday's quarterfinals, Portland State needed just a semifinal win Friday.
The Lady Griz topped No. 5 Idaho State, 66-53, Thursday, then upset No. 2 Northern Colorado, 55-46, Friday night in the semifinals.
The Vikings earned a bye to the semifinal round.
PSU was tied with No. 6 Eastern Washington, which had upset No. 3 Montana State in the quarterfinals, at the half Friday, 26-26, but Portland State shot 68.0 percent (17 for 25) in the second half to pull away for a 72-63 victory.
Why Montana is here: Defense. The Lady Griz shot better than 40 percent in both of their tournament victories, but it's been their shutdown defense that has led to their quarterfinal and semifinal wins.
In Thursday's victory over Idaho State, Montana limited to Bengals to eight points the final 15:03 of the first half to build a 32-16 halftime lead. ISU would finish with 53 points, almost 14 below its season average of 66.7.
In Friday's victory over Northern Colorado, Montana fell behind 17-7 in the game's opening nine minutes, then held the Bears without a field goal the final 10:52 of the first half to take a 25-20 halftime lead. UNC would finish with 46 points, almost 20 below its season average of 65.8.
Why Portland State is here: The Vikings average 69.0 points per game on 40.6-percent shooting and have one of the Big Sky's most balanced offensive attacks.
Big Sky Conference MVP Eryn Jones leads the team in scoring at 14.1 points and has 146 assists (4.9/g). Courtney VanBrocklin averages 13.7 points and 6.1 rebounds, Kelli Valentine averages 10.9 points and 6.0 rebounds.
All three shoot better than 41 percent.
In Friday's win over EWU, VanBrocklin scored 17, Jones 16 and Valentine 15, while ever-present 3-point threat Lexi Bishop added 11.
More history being made: Montana is playing in its 23rd straight Big Sky Conference tournament. This is the program's 29th straight postseason conference tournament dating back to the days of the women's Mountain West Conference in the early and mid 80s.
With two wins at this tournament, Montana has improved its record to 36-8 in its 23 Big Sky tournament appearances.
Saturday is Montana's 17th appearance in the 23 Big Sky Conference tournament championship games. The Lady Griz are 14-2 in previous championship game appearances.
Montana is 1-2 in championship games on the road. The Lady Griz won at Boise State, 82-67, in the 1992 tournament, lost at Montana State, 64-57, at the 1993 tournament and lost at Idaho State, 68-59, at the 2001 tournament.
Montana vs. Portland State: The Lady Griz have had the upper hand in the series from a historical perspective, with a 37-15 advantage, but the Vikings have turned that around in recent years.
PSU has won the last five meetings since the start of last season, including a 62-47 victory in last year's semifinals at Cheney, Wash.
The Vikings won this year's meetings by scores of 70-65 at Missoula and 53-47 at Portland.
The teams have met five times in the Big Sky tournament:
1998-99: PSU 64, UM 51 (semifinals at Northridge, Calif.)
2001-02: UM 86, PSU 52 (quarterfinals Ogden, Utah)
2007-08: UM 94, PSU 80 (semifinals at Missoula, Mont.)
2008-09: UM 69, PSU 62 (championship at Missoula, Mont.)
2009-10: PSU 62, UM 47 (semifinals at Cheney, Wash.)
Program heavy on championship experience, players not so much: Montana may be playing in its 17th tournament championship game in 23 seasons today, but for most of the Lady Griz players it will be a new experience.
Only senior Sarah Ena has a start in a championship game to her credit from when she took the floor against the Vikings in the 2009 title game.
Ena has played in two championship games, the aforementioned game with PSU and the 2008 championship game against Montana State.
Seniors Stephanie Stender and Jessa Loman Linford both played in those games as well, but neither played in a starting role.
Ena matches career record: Senior Sarah Ena is playing in her 124th career game today. That matches the program record which was established by Marti Leibenguth (1984-88) and Sonya Rogers (2005-09).
