Lady Griz host Montana Tech, break for Christmas - University of Montana Athletics

It's an exhibition, but Thursday's home game against Montana Tech, the last for the Lady Griz before a short Christmas break and the start of their Big Sky Conference schedule later this month, is more than that.

It's a chance to play again and carry a level of momentum into the break that coach Shannon Schweyen's first two teams didn't have at this point of the season.

The confidence that Montana has been playing with has been well-earned. The Lady Griz' nine-game nonconference schedule has been the nation's 33rd toughest according to the NCAA.

And still Montana, which had an RPI of 61 last week (it's 84 now) came out of it with a record of 5-4 after splitting a pair of games last weekend at the Husky Classic in Seattle, with a loss to Washington and a win over Saint Francis.

Montana's other three losses have come against teams that are now 29-3. Gonzaga is 10-1, its only loss to then No. 1 Notre Dame. South Dakota has the same record and is coming off a road win at No. 22 Missouri, the first win over a top-25 team during the Coyotes' Division I era.

And Arizona is 9-1, its only loss by two points to Loyola Marymount, which itself is 7-2 and just behind Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference standings. So it's been a solid body of work up to this point.

When you're playing that well and with some confidence, there could be nothing better than coming home and getting one final game at Dahlberg Arena before Christmas, exhibition or not.

"It's exciting that we'll be able to finish things off in front of our amazing fans," said senior Jace Henderson, whose team hasn't played at home since Dec. 2, when it won the Lady Griz Classic with a victory over UC Davis, which has seven wins and owns a 49-point thumping of Sacramento State.

Henderson has been a big part of Montana's breakthrough this season. Last year she emerged as a consistent scorer and rebounder. Now she's become a facilitator. Not only does she lead the team in assists, she ranks sixth in the Big Sky at nearly five per game.

"She's taking some pride in being a good handler and knowing she can lead the break," said Schweyen. "It's a luxury when you have someone who can board it and go and make good decisions on the other end. To be able to have your bigs be able to handle like that is a bonus."

The game she had on Sunday, as the Lady Griz held off the Red Flash 79-77, jumped off the stat sheet for good reason. She led the team in scoring (18 points on 8-of-11 shooting), rebounding (10), assists (9), steals (5) and blocks (3).

She came up one assist shy of posting the first triple-double in program history. Instead she became the fourth player to come up one point/rebound/assist short. *

"I put a lot of time into the offseason to be confident on both ends of the floor," said Henderson. "And our team has put a lot of time in together. We've learned how to play with each other."

* Montana's other near misses at triple-doubles:

Mandy Morales: 25 points, 13 assists, nine rebounds vs. Cal State Northridge (2006-07)
Tamara Guardipee: 14 points, 10 blocks, nine rebounds vs. Portland State (2005-06)
Cheri Bratt: 12 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists vs. Montana State (1980-81)

Montana opened the Husky Classic on Saturday with a 69-54 setback against Washington, which would drop the championship game to Boise State on Sunday, 73-69.

The Lady Griz were within five points with under four minutes to go in the third quarter against the Huskies, but in the end it was too many turnovers (20) and too many offensive rebounds allowed (20).

Montana made just one basket through the first eight-plus minutes but got a spark from its bench as new players cycled into the game.

"Our veterans struggled in that one," said Schweyen. "It was our new kids who maybe played a little bit better. It was encouraging to see some good play from the kids off the bench.

"And then it was nice to see our veterans bounce back on Sunday."

Montana turned it around and ran its way past Saint Francis, putting up 24 points in the first quarter -- it took the Lady Griz until three minutes into the third quarter against Washington to reach two dozen points -- and building a 20-point lead in the fourth before hanging on through the last shot.

Henderson had a big game, but the Lady Griz also got 15 points from McKenzie Johnston, on 7-of-10 shooting, and 14 from Emma Stockholm, on 6-of-11 shooting, as they shot a season-best 52.5 percent.

That performance upped Montana's season shooting percentage to 43.1 percent, second in the Big Sky to Idaho State by (literally) two made baskets on 527 attempts. It's been good basketball.

"We're making a point of being really patient and trying to not just fire threes right away," said Schweyen. "We've been emphasizing it in film and talking about what makes a good shot and what doesn't.

"They're all becoming a little more aware of it, and it seems like we've been playing more unselfishly, and that makes for better basketball."

And the teaching never stops. Montana led Saint Francis on Sunday 39-30 at the half, and it could have been a larger advantage than that. The Lady Griz went 2 for 11 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes, 14 for 22 (.636) inside the arc.

"We looked at the numbers at halftime and said we'd be crazy to not get it inside," said Schweyen. "We were killing them inside the paint.

"Good basketball is getting the ball turned and reversed once or twice. Any good defensive team is going to take away the first thing. We want to make people defend us a little bit while we look for something better."

In the second half Montana attempted just two 3-pointers and shot 57.1 percent overall. That led to a 20-point, fourth-quarter lead. (Saint Francis's comeback was aided by its own hot shooting and Montana's seven turnovers over the final seven minutes.)

On Thursday night Montana will go up against a Montana Tech team that is 10-3 and coming off a 101-24 victory over Salish Kootenai College on Tuesday afternoon. (Thursday's game is an exhibition game for the Orediggers as well.)

Two of Tech's three losses came against Frontier Conference teams in blowout fashion. The team picked to finish last in the league lost 82-58 at Lewis-Clark State and 76-45 at home to Montana-Western.

Montana Tech's roster is plump with in-state players, 11 in all from Montana, familiar names to some if not always familiar faces.

"Seeing girls you played with and against in high school grow up and play college basketball and how they've evolved is a cool thing," said McKenzie Johnston, of Helena.

Tjaden Pallister is a sophomore for Montana Tech. The last time she and Johnston were on the same court, they were celebrating a state championship for Capital High. "That was cool. She's the first person I hugged after we won," said Johnston.

Another sophomore for the Orediggers is Hailey Crawford, from crosstown rival Helena High. "If I remember, I think she scored on me one time in high school and didn't let me hear the end of it," said Johnston.

"It's fun to have that rivalry again, then afterwards you can talk about the game."

Montana will open its Big Sky schedule on Dec. 29 and 31 with home games against Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. Both games will have 2 p.m. tipoffs.

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Jace Henderson

McKenzie Johnston

Emma Stockholm

University of Montana Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Jace Henderson

McKenzie Johnston

Emma Stockholm

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