Lady Griz face high-scoring offenses this week

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The Montana women's basketball team will continue its Big Sky Conference schedule this week when it hosts Sacramento State and Portland State at Dahlberg Arena.

They are the final January home games for the Lady Griz, who play at Montana State next week, then make the Southern Utah-Northern Arizona road trip to close out the month.

Montana will face Sacramento State at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Portland State on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Fans attending Thursday's game are encouraged to wear white. Saturday is Staff Appreciation Day. All UM staff and their immediate family get free admittance.

Coverage: Both games this week will air locally on KMPT (AM 930), with Tom Stage and Dick Slater. The games can be watched on Pluto TV (channel 237) or through WatchBigSky.com.

Synopsis: On the surface, Sacramento State and Portland State would appear to be two very different types of opponents.

The Hornets don't mind playing with a small lineup and want to use all 94 feet of the court to cause their unique brand of chaos. Indeed, Montana had 42 turnovers last season in its two losses to Sacramento State.

The Vikings, on the other hand, start three players six feet or taller and play a long-limbed zone that slowly convinces an opponent that maybe hoisting 3-pointers is the path of least resistance.

And that played right into Montana's weakness last year, which was outside shooting. The Lady Griz shot 27.4 percent in their 20-point home loss to the Vikings, 28.6 percent in their 23-point road loss.

Their methods may be different, but some of the end results are the same. They are two of the three highest-scoring teams in the Big Sky, Portland State topping the league at 76.5 points per game, Sacramento State ranking third at 72.2.

And they also both give up more points than almost anyone else. The Hornets are allowing 83.4, the Vikings 74.4.

And all those numbers are at odds with Montana, which is averaging 60.7 points -- and has scored 54 or fewer in three of its last five games, two of which were wins -- while allowing 62.1, which sets the stage for this week's intriguing matchups.

Where they stand: Montana is 7-8 overall and sitting alone in second place in the league standings at 3-1. The Lady Griz split on the road last week, winning 54-43 at North Dakota on Thursday and falling 68-50 at Big Sky leader Northern Colorado on Saturday.

Sacramento State, picked ninth in the preseason coaches' poll, is 3-11, with just two Division I wins. The Hornets are 1-2 in the Big Sky, with a home win over Idaho last Thursday and losses to Portland State, on the road, and Eastern Washington, at home.

Portland State has won five of six to improve to 8-6 overall. The Vikings' five-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday when Idaho shot its way to a 101-90 win on the road. Portland State opened league with home wins over Sacramento State and Eastern Washington.

Montana notes:

* At 7-8, Montana has already matched last season's total number of victories, which came with 23 losses.

* The Lady Griz snapped a 20-game road losing streak on Thursday with its 54-43 victory at North Dakota, which also snapped the Fighting Hawks' 11-game home winning streak and Montana's four-game losing streak to North Dakota.

* The 43 points Montana allowed to North Dakota were the fewest points given up to a Division I opponent since defeating Portland State 72-31 at home on Jan. 29, 2015.

* Montana did not block a shot on last week's road trip, the first time that's happened in back-to-back games since December 2016, against Colorado State and Idaho State.

* Montana took the lead for good against North Dakota with a 3-pointer from Emma Stockholm on the first possession of the second quarter. Overall the Lady Griz led for more than 31 minutes, which adds to the quality of the road win.

* Montana was +9 on the boards against North Dakota, a team that has only been outrebounded four times in 15 games this season. The only team to out-rebound the Fighting Hawks by a wider gap was Baylor, which leads the nation in rebounding margin (+18.3).

* Caitlin Lonergan, in just her second collegiate game, led Montana with 12 points. McKenzie Johnston added nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.

* Preseason All-Big Sky selection Lexi Klabo led the Fighting Hawks with 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Her teammates went 7 for 30.

* Thursday was Mekayla Isaak's 100th career game played. She celebrated in her usual way: five rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes.

* The win snapped Montana's five-game losing streak to North Dakota in Grand Forks.

* Montana won despite shooting 31.7 percent. The last time the Lady Griz shot that poorly and still won was ... well, just the previous week. They shot 31.6 percent in their overtime home win over Northern Arizona. The last time on the road: a 70-64 overtime win at Seattle on 29.9 percent shooting.

* In Saturday's loss at Northern Colorado, Montana fell behind 15-1 and never recovered. The Lady Griz never led in the game. It was the second time that's happened this season. Montana also never led in its 70-55 home loss to Gonzaga.

* Montana allowed Northern Colorado to shoot 45.5 percent, the third-highest total it's allowed this season, behind Marquette (.493) and Seattle (.456).

* Four UNC starters scored in double figures, with a reserve coming off the bench to add eight.

* Montana made just a pair of 3-pointers against Northern Colorado, matching a season low. The Lady Griz also had season lows in field goal attempts (50) and rebounds (28).

* The 23-point deficit Montana faced against Northern Colorado was its second largest of the season. The Lady Griz trailed by 29 against Marquette.

* McKenzie Johnston had the team's top efficiency rating in both games last week. For the road trip she averaged 11.5 points on 64.3 percent shooting, plus 3.0 steals and 2.0 assists.

* For as efficient and consistent as she was in November and December, Jace Henderson is in a midseason funk. She is just 4 for 19 in Montana's last three games.

* Montana has been outshot in three of its four Big Sky games but is still 3-1. ... The Lady Griz have shot 70 percent or better from the line in eight of their last 10 games.

* Montana's bench has outscored its opponent's reserves the last eight games and is +59 in four Big Sky games.

Five things to know about Sacramento State:

1. The Hornets' wins this season have come on the road at UC Riverside, which is 4-12, at home against Antelope Valley, an NAIA program, and surprisingly last Thursday at home against Idaho, 79-64, a game the Hornets led 28-9 after one quarter, 45-21 at the half.

2. Sophomore Hannah Friend, a transfer from Delaware, has made a big impact in her first season. She is averaging a team-leading 18.4 points and has led the Hornets in scoring nine times this season, with 34 coming against UC Riverside, 32 against Antelope Valley and 29 against Idaho.

3. Sacramento State ranks 348th out of 349 Division I teams in points allowed (83.4/g) and 343rd in field goal percentage defense (.463). Only San Jose State, led by former Hornet coach Jamie Craighead, is allowing more, at 84.3.

4. According to Jeff Sagarin's ratings, Sacramento State has played the nation's 36th-toughest schedule this season. The Hornets have played road games at Kentucky, West Virginia, Arizona State and UC Davis, and have faced Miami in Puerto Rico.

5. Sacramento State is coached by Bunky Harkleroad, who is in his fifth season. One of his five freshmen on this year's team is Tiana Johnson, who last winter was a senior at Flathead High in Kalispell. She has played in two games this season, totaling eight points.

History: Montana leads the all-time series 36-6, but Sacramento State swept the teams' games last season for the first time and is 5-4 against the Lady Griz in their last nine meetings. Montana was 21-0 at home against Sac State before falling 73-60 last winter.

Bonus history note: In last season's 30-point loss at Sacramento State, McKenzie Johnston had 11 assists and just a single turnover, a ridiculous stat line considering the Lady Griz finished the game with 19 assists and 25 turnovers.

Montana-Sacramento State insider:

The Hornets are still the Hornets, but consider the team you'll see on Thursday a slightly tamed-down version of what you've come to expect. The pressing is still there, the 3-point shooting is still there, but they are not done at quite the intensity as in past years.

Sacramento State has cracked 80 points this season just twice, only one more time than Montana. The Hornets don't lead the Big Sky in 3-pointers attempted and are forcing only 16.4 turnovers per game, barely one more per game than Montana.

"Sac is a lot more patient this year than they've been in the past," said UM coach Shannon Schweyen. "They are a little less aggressive on their pressing and not as chaotic as they've been with the constant doubling and trapping. They are a little more conservative this year."

Montana lost at home to Sacramento State last season 73-60 as the Hornets hit 11 3-pointers and forced 17 Lady Griz turnovers. Sac State led by 18 points early in the fourth quarter in a game that wasn't as close as the final score may suggest.

In the rematch in California, Montana trailed by one three minutes into the second quarter, but the Hornets steadily pulled away from there, winning 99-69. They scored 23 in the first quarter, 29 in the second, 23 in the third and 24 in the fourth.

Montana answered with 38.8 percent shooting, good last season for the Lady Griz but well below what Sac State was allowing. And then there were the 25 turnovers.

"We handled things better at home than we handled down there," said Schweyen. "With them it comes down to basically shooting the ball, and we got good shots.

"We've got to take care of the ball, and transition defense is always big against them. They always have the ability to go off and make all those threes, because they are going to get them, whether it's man or zone."

The Hornets actually have a decent body of work through three league games. They led at Portland State by four with 18 seconds left but gave up a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws in the final second to lose 74-73.

In Thursday's home win over Idaho, the Hornets shot 50.9 percent and went 9 for 20 from the arc. Even Saturday's home loss to Eastern Washington was a six-point game going into the final minute.

"To go to Portland and play them like that is impressive, but it's the Idaho win that really stands out," said Schweyen. "It was one of those games when they're making everything.

"You just have to hope they miss a little bit, because they are really good at penetrating and kicking and finding."

Five things to know about Portland State:

1. The Vikings, who were coming off a 91-52 road loss at Gonzaga at the time, are 5-1 since the return of junior guard Ashley Bolston, who was voted preseason All-Big Sky. She needed just three games back in uniform before she was putting up 32 points on Mississippi.

2. Portland State, the No. 7 seed, made a strong run at last year's Big Sky tournament at Reno, knocking off No. 10 Northern Arizona in the first round, No. 2 North Dakota in the quarterfinals and falling to No. 6 Idaho State 54-50 in the semifinals.

3. Portland State's three leading scorers and leading rebounder all transferred into the program. Bolston (21.3 ppg) began her career at Washington State, Sidney Rielly (20.0 ppg) at Santa Clara, Kiana Brown (11.2 ppg) at Eastern Washington and Humboldt State and Courtney West (7.2 rpg) at Southern Oregon.

4. After opening league with home wins over Sacramento State and Eastern Washington, Portland State lost on Saturday to Idaho, 101-90. The Vandals, behind Mikayla Ferenz's 39 points, hit 15 3-pointers, shot 59.0 percent and never trailed.

5. Despite last season's strong finish to the season and four returning starters, plus another who started more than half the team's games, the Vikings were picked sixth in the preseason coaches' poll, eighth in the media poll. Portland State is under third-year coach Lynn Kennedy.

History: Portland State may have swept the teams' games last season but Montana leads the all-time series 46-18. The Lady Griz own a 26-5 advantage over the Vikings in games played in Missoula, through three of PSU's wins at Dahlberg Arena have come in the previous eight seasons.

Montana-Portland State insider:

It's no surprise that Montana struggled offensively last year. The Lady Griz shot 35.1 percent for the season, the lowest percentage for Montana since shooting 33.9 percent in 1977-78.

And no team gave Montana more fits than Portland State, which held Montana to 27.4 percent shooting in the Vikings' 64-44 win in Missoula and 28.6 percent in their 68-45 victory in Portland.

The Lady Griz only turned the ball over 24 times in the two games combined, well under their season average of 15.0, which means one thing. Montana simply struggled to shoot it.

Montana took 15 more shots than Portland State in the two games but still lost by a combined 43 points.

"They are big and they have length, so every shot is contested," said Schweyen. "It's tough to get good shots against their zone. If you're going to beat them, you're going to have to knock down some perimeter shots."

Montana went 9 for 36 from the arc in the two games and even struggled from the line, hitting just 10 of 25.

This year the Lady Griz have the threat of an inside game, which Montana did not have much of last season. The Lady Griz have Jace Henderson and now Caitlin Lonergan doing work in the paint.

Henderson ranks second on the team in scoring (8.8/g) and first in rebounding (7.5/g). In three games since becoming eligible, Lonergan is averaging 7.7 points on 53.3 percent shooting and 4.7 rebounds.

"You have to have a combination of an inside and outside game if you're going to be successful against them," said Schweyen. "With the emergence of our inside game this season, it should be a different story."

Portland State had just a pair of Division I wins through mid-December, but it's been a different story since the return of Bolston. She scored 17 against both Northwest University and UC Irvine in her first games back and has scored 22 or more in three of four games since.

Through six games played she is averaging 21.3 points, which would be the equivalent of Montana getting Kayleigh Valley back in the lineup. In addition to her scoring, Bolston is a 6-foot-2 menace on the defensive end.

"They are a completely different team with her. She is a marquee player," said Schweyen. "She makes what they do defensively much better, just because of her size. She is a big body at the top of their zone."

Montana has this: After shooting 17.9 percent and scoring just 13 points in the first half against Portland State in the teams' most recent game last February, the Lady Griz went 13 for 35 in the second half and mostly matched the Vikings' scoring.

"The first half there was horrendous," said Schweyen. "The second half we got back into it and played well. We had a lot more active cutting against their zone. We got active and it was effective. We didn't just settle for outside shots."

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* As was predicted in the preseason polls, Northern Colorado is atop the league at 4-0 after winning on the road at Eastern Washington and Idaho, then picking up home wins last week over Montana State and Montana.

It will be a revealing two weeks for the Bears coming up. They play at Weber State and Idaho State this week, then make the trip to North Dakota next week.

* Montana, at 3-1, is alone in second place, but Weber State and Portland State, both 2-1, are tied with the Lady Griz in the loss column.

* After opening its league schedule with convincing home wins over Southern Utah and Northern Arizona, Montana State dropped both ends of the Northern Colorado-North Dakota trip last week. The Bobcats made 34 3-pointers in their two home wins. On the road they made half that many.

* Weber State is a Northern Arizona rally on Thursday away from being 3-0. The Wildcats led 40-29 at the half at Flagstaff, by eight early in the fourth quarter and by three going into the game's final minute. The Lumberjacks won it 76-75 on a Kenna McDavis basket with 18 seconds left.

* Mikayla Ferenz scored 39 points in Idaho's 101-90 win at Portland State on Saturday. That was impressive, as was the fact the Vandals had two other players score 22 or more points as well. Geraldine McCorkell added 23, Taylor Pierce 22. And Isabelle Hadden chipped in 10 off the bench.

* After opening league with a home loss to Weber State and a road loss at Southern Utah, Idaho State returned to form with its 75-55 victory at Northern Arizona on Saturday. The Bengals had four players in double figures and held the Lumberjacks to 28.3 percent shooting.

* In its loss to Montana on Thursday, North Dakota scored 43 points. Two days later, the Fighting Hawks held a 39-22 halftime lead on Montana State. UND out-rebounded the Bobcats by 16 and took 20 more free throws.

Thursday's games: Sacramento State at Montana, Portland State at Montana State, North Dakota at Idaho State, Northern Colorado at Weber State

Non-Montana game to monitor: Northern Colorado at Weber State. The Wildcats had no answer for the Bears last season, giving up 88 points in the teams' game in Odgen, 86 in the rematch in Greeley.

Friday's game: Idaho at Eastern Washington. The teams met four times last season, twice during the regular season, in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament and a fourth time in the quarterfinals of the WBI. The Eagles won in Reno, the Vandals won the WBI matchup in Cheney.

Saturday's games: Portland State at Montana, Sacramento State at Montana State, Northern Colorado at Idaho State, North Dakota at Weber State, Southern Utah at Northern Arizona

Non-Montana game to monitor: Sacramento State at Montana State. Both teams have taken 400 3-pointers this season. For comparison, that's 136 more than Montana has attempted. First team to 85 points wins.

Upcoming: Montana-Montana State, Round One. The teams will play at 2 p.m. in Bozeman on Saturday, Jan. 20. Round Two will be in Missoula on Saturday, Feb. 24.

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Players Mentioned

Jace Henderson

Mekayla Isaak

McKenzie Johnston

Caitlin Lonergan

Emma Stockholm

Kayleigh Valley

University of Montana Athletics