Lady Griz to redefine themselves ... again

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The Montana women's basketball team, half a game out of first place in the Big Sky Conference but down an emerging star for the remainder of the season, will play games at Portland State and Sacramento State this week.

The Lady Griz will face the Vikings on Thursday at 9 p.m. (MT) at the Pamplin Sports Center on the campus of Lewis & Clark and the Hornets at The Nest at 3 p.m. (MT) on Saturday.

The nitty-gritty:

Montana is 12-10 overall and tied for second in the Big Sky at 8-3 with Northern Colorado and Idaho. All three teams are chasing league leader Weber State, which is 8-2. The Lady Griz will be home for their next three, hosting Eastern Washington and Idaho next week, then Montana State on Saturday, Feb. 24.

Portland State is 11-10 overall and alone in eighth place in the league standings at 5-5. The Vikings fell off the pace of the leaders with a 0-2 road trip to Eastern Washington and Idaho last week. Portland State fell to the Vandals 61-60 when its last-second shot wouldn't fall and 64-57 to the Eagles.

Sacramento State has lost its last eight games to drop to 3-18 overall. The Hornets are 1-9 in Big Sky games, their lone win a 79-64 home victory over Idaho back on Jan. 4. Five of the team's nine league losses have been by 11 points or fewer.

The first time around:

Montana 69, Portland State 53 -- The Vikings led 31-29 at the break at Missoula on Jan. 13 but were outscored 19-4 in the third quarter and 40-22 in the second half as the Lady Griz shot 55.2 percent after halftime. Jace Henderson led Montana with 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Lady Griz limited Portland State's then-leading scorer Ashley Bolston to just three points.

Montana 68, Sacramento State 59 -- Madi Schoening scored 12 first-quarter points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting to help the Lady Griz jump out to a 25-8 lead and they cruised from there, leading 45-25 at the half and by 10 or more until the game's final 75 seconds, when the Hornets cut the lead to eight. Schoening would finish with a season-high 20 points. Tiara Scott scored 17 for Sacramento State.

Coverage: Thursday's game will air locally on KMPT (AM 930), Saturday's on KGVO (AM 1290, FM 93.3), with Tom Stage and Dick Slater. The game can be watched on Pluto TV or at WatchBigSky.com.

Week 7 preview: For the fourth time since she was hired in August 2016, Montana coach Shannon Schweyen will have to lead her team as it once again is forced to redefine itself.

Last season the Lady Griz lost one projected starter (and Big Sky preseason MVP) to a knee injury (Kayleigh Valley) in October, another (Alycia Sims) in November. This season it was Valley again (same injury, same knee) in October.

And now this week's news that freshman Sophia Stiles, who played herself into the starting lineup, is done for the season after suffering her own knee injury in Saturday's home victory over North Dakota.

Had Montana still had Stiles and been at full strength for this week's games, it would have felt like a defining road trip for the Lady Griz, who swept the Southern Utah-Northern Arizona series two weeks ago.

Is Montana really back? Then prove it on the road against two teams that defeated the Lady Griz last season by a combined 53 points on their home courts. It would have been both telling and revealing.

All is not lost with Stiles out, but Montana will have to adjust on the fly. Again. There will be a new starting five, a new rotation and additional court time for a player or two or three.

"This weekend we'll be looking at some different things, and it's going to take some adjusting," said Schweyen. "We'll have a different lineup and a different situation with our depth.

"Building from where we've been the last 4-5 games is kind of out the window. We'll need to redefine ourselves with the personnel we have available."

Stiles started the last three games for Montana, ever since she dropped 26 points on Southern Utah to come within one of the program single-game scoring record for a freshman.

In Montana's first 10 Big Sky games, those leading up to Saturday's victory over North Dakota, Stiles was averaging 9.6 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting better than 46 percent.

Despite starting only two of those 10 games, she ranked second on the team in assists, blocks and steals, third in rebounds and was the team's top shooter from the 3-point line. Not to mention an instinctive pest on the defensive end.

"We're going to miss what she did on defense and what she did in so many categories, from scoring to attacking to getting transition buckets. We're going to miss having her presence out there," said Schweyen. "We're going to have to find some way to replace that."

First up will be Portland State, which came to Missoula last month riding high, winner of six of seven, including a victory at Montana State two days earlier that snapped the Bobcats' 31-game home-court winning streak.

The Vikings' 69-53 loss to the Lady Griz has led to four losses in six games for Portland State entering Thursday night's contest, which is being played at Lewis & Clark as PSU's home facility is undergoing a facelift. The Vikings are 6-2 in their "home" games this season, wherever those might be played.

In the teams' first meeting, Montana did what it couldn't do the year before: establish a post presence against Portland State's zone defense.

Jace Henderson finished with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting and 13 rebounds, and Emma Stockholm came off the bench to add 14, scoring both inside and with open perimeter looks.

Montana only needed to take 13 3-pointers in the win, making five, so well was the offense clicking.

"Their zone causes problems for people. You've got to find ways to score against their length and height," said Schweyen.

"Originally I thought that if you're not knocking down threes, you don't have much of a chance, but we got good action in the post. That led to some inside-out and cutting and some other good things."

The trip will conclude at Sacramento State on Saturday. The Hornets are not the team they've been in previous years under coach Bunky Harkleroad, but a visiting team can never underestimate them in the cozy confines of The Nest.

A Sacramento State squad that hasn't won a true road game this season (0-12) is a better 2-4 at home, including a 79-64 win over second-place Idaho, a game the Hornets led 45-21 at the half.

And last year's result (Sacramento State 99, Montana 69) should never be far from mind.

"If there was ever a team in the league that is different at home, it's Sacramento State," said Schweyen. "In that intimate environment, they can really get it going. It can be a buzz saw if you can't get things under control."

In the teams' first matchup, Montana got out to a 20-point halftime lead courtesy of 55.3 percent shooting and just five turnovers. In the second half, the Lady Griz shot just 27.3 percent and turned the ball over 10 times. But the early advantage was enough.

Now Montana will have to face Sacramento State without one of its starting guards.

"We'll be down one perimeter kid," said Schweyen. "We'll have to take care of the ball, which I thought last time we did a nice job of against their press.

"They may not take as many 3-pointers as they used to, but you still have to be able to attack and score off their press and defend the three, because they are dangerous from all over the floor."

Thursday in the Big Sky: UM at PSU, MSU at SAC, WSU at UND, ISU at UNC

Friday in the Big Sky: EWU at UI

Saturday in the Big Sky: UM at SAC, MSU at PSU, ISU at UND, WSU at UNC, NAU at SUU

Upcoming: Montana will open a three-game home stand, its final home games of the season, next week when it hosts Eastern Washington and Idaho.

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Players Mentioned

Jace Henderson

Madi Schoening

Sophia Stiles

Emma Stockholm

Kayleigh Valley

University of Montana Athletics