Lady Griz seeking bounce-back performance

The Montana women's basketball team will try to snap a three-game losing streak when it hosts Idaho on Saturday in its lone game of the week.

The Lady Griz and the Big Sky Conference preseason favorite Vandals will tip off at 2 p.m. at Dahlberg Arena.

At a glance (Montana): The Lady Griz (8-7, 3-3 BSC) are on a three-game slide after opening league 3-0. Montana lost at Portland State, then dropped home games last week to Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado. The Lady Griz did not hold a lead in any of the three games.

At a glance (Idaho): The Vandals (7-7, 4-1 BSC), whose lone Big Sky loss came at home to Northern Colorado, are one of four one-loss teams that make up the top level of the league standings. By the time Saturday rolls around, Idaho won't have played since winning at Montana State on Thursday, Jan. 10.

What's at stake: Everyone is going to Boise in March for the Big Sky tournament, so the remaining goals become 1) winning the regular-season title and 2) finishing in the top five and getting a bye into the tournament quarterfinals. Montana is currently sitting alone in sixth place.

Things to know about Montana:

* After hosting Idaho on Saturday, Montana plays its next five games on the road, covering three separate road trips. First it's Idaho State and Weber State, then Montana State, then Idaho and Eastern Washington. That adds some importance to Saturday's game, the last at home until Feb. 14.

"Every game is important, but you've certainly got to try to take care of business at home," said coach Shannon Schweyen. "Letting those two slip away last week was definitely not a good thing.

"We've got to go into Saturday's game with some urgency and a determination to buckle down and try to contain this team as best we can and get a win, because we've got a brutal stretch coming up."

* Montana never held a lead in any of its three recent losses. Portland State led 12-2 four minutes in, Eastern Washington led 9-2 three minutes in, and Northern Colorado led by 10 five minutes in.

The Vikings shot 57.1 percent, the Bears 44.3 percent on Saturday. On Thursday, the Eagles went 10 for 20 from 3-point range. All three opponents built leads of 11 points or more.

"What was disappointing about the first two games was we did the exact opposite of what our scouting report was on those kids," said Schweyen. "It happened in both the Portland State and Eastern games.

"Going back and looking at the Northern Colorado film, we weren't giving them their strengths like the other two games. They hit tough shots, and most of them were contested. They just made them all. And we didn't score. If we had, it wouldn't have been such a big gap to overcome."

* The 3-point shot, or lack of it, is one of the big things keeping Montana from taking a spot among the Big Sky leaders. In losing by six to Eastern Washington on Thursday, the Lady Griz went 1 for 14 from the arc. The Eagles went 10 for 20, and that was the difference.

Two days later, Montana made three triples against Northern Colorado, giving the Lady Griz four makes in 24 attempts (.167) over the course of two home games. In six league games, Montana is 23 for 95 (.242) from the 3-point line.

In Thursday's win at Montana State, Idaho made 16 3-pointers. In winning on the road at Northern Colorado on Monday night, Montana State went 12 for 29.

Of course the 3-point shot is not the be-all, end-all. Idaho State is tied atop the Big Sky standings with Northern Colorado at 5-1, and the Bengals have made just 69 through 15 games, just seven more than Montana.

ISU has won nine of its last 11 and hasn't made more than eight 3-pointers in a game all season, and swept the Southern Utah-Northern Arizona road trip while making just two in two games, none in its 80-69 victory over the Lumberjacks.

But Idaho State also leads the Big Sky in shooting (.445), ranks second behind Portland State in field goal percentage defense (.376), is +1.5/game on the boards and has more assists on the season than turnovers.

Still, in their only Big Sky loss, at home no less, the Bengals fell to Idaho 86-72. The Vandals made 14 triples and went 9 for 20 from the arc in the second half while putting up 52 points in 20 minutes.

* Where is the awards portal to nominate Gabi Harrington for Most Improved Player in the Big Sky? Did you know she was one rebound shy against both Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado from having a double-double in four of her last five games? As a 5-foot-9 guard?

She played as a true freshman in 2016-17, then sat out last year as a rare second-year redshirt. And did it ever pay dividends.

Harrington averaged 3.9 points on 29.8 percent shooting and 2.3 rebounds her first season, when her offensive game was based on the 3-point shot. This year she is averaging 10.1 points on 43.8 percent shooting and 6.1 boards. She is attacking with abandon and scoring frequently at or near the basket.

In six league games she is averaging a team-high 13.8 points and 8.0 rebounds.

* Jace Henderson grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in Thursday's loss to Eastern Washington. It was the most for a Montana player since Alycia Sims totaled 17 against Weber State three years ago.

The last player to have more than 17? Katie Baker, who had 19 against Idaho State in January 2011.

Only Sacramento State's Kennedy Nicholas, who twice this season has snared 18, has had more rebounds this season among Big Sky players.

Lady Griz three-dot notes: Taylor Goligoski sat out the Eastern Washington game with an injury and came back to play 23 minutes against Northern Colorado. Freshman Katie Mayhue missed the first game of her career on Saturday against the Bears with an injury of her own. ... Montana is enduring its first losing streak of the season. The Lady Griz bounced back with wins after their first four losses of the year. ... Saturday's loss to Northern Colorado was Montana's first in nine games this season when shooting 40 percent or better. ... Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado both extended their winning streaks over Montana to five games with last week's wins. It's the most for either team in their history against the Lady Griz. ... Portland State (1.15), Eastern Washington (1.04) and Northern Colorado (1.14) all averaged more than a point per possession against Montana. Previously only Arizona and Saint Francis had done so. ... After going 11 for 17 in two home games last week, Jace Henderson is up to 56.7 percent shooting for the season, which ranks second in the Big Sky behind Portland State's Courtney West (.591). ... Henderson ranks fifth in the league in rebounding at 8.1 boards per game. ... Through six league games, Montana's opponents are shooting 40.2 percent from 3-point range. They've outscored the Lady Griz by 90 points from the arc. ... Montana has four players -- McKenzie Johnston (11.8), Jace Henderson (11.1), Emma Stockholm (10.5) and Gabi Harrington (10.1) -- averaging in double figures. That's not as rare as you might think. Both Portland State and Sacramento State also have four players averaging double figures. However, should that hold through the rest of the season, it would become rare for Montana. Going back to the mid-90s it's never happened. The closest was 2006-07, with Mandy Morales (19.7), Sonya Rogers (11.0), Johanna Closson (9.9) and Britney Lohman (9.9). Closson and Lohman, who both totaled 306 points, needed three more points to reach an average of 10.0.

Things to know about Idaho:

* The Vandals lost to Northern Colorado in the championship game of the Big Sky tournament last March in Reno, advanced to the WNIT, their third straight year playing in a national postseason tournament, and were picked atop both the coaches' and media preseason polls this season.

* Senior Mikayla Ferenz was voted the preseason MVP, while senior teammate Taylor Pierce was named to the five-player preseason all-league team.

* Pierce tied for second nationally last season with 137 3-point field goals made (the exact same number as Montana made ... as a team). All Ferenz did was tie for fourth, with 129.

* Ferenz became the fifth player in Big Sky history to reach 2,000 career points in Idaho's loss to Northern Colorado. It's very likely she'll surpass Idaho State's Natalie Doma's league-leading 2,296 points later this season.

Pierce has more than 1,500 career points.

"They're just pure shooters," said Schweyen. "Obviously you have to hope they're somewhat contested shots they're taking and that they're not on fire. They can get going pretty quickly if they get some open looks and get in a rhythm.

"You have to hope they both don't have a big night, because then they're really tough to handle. It's challenging to guard them for sure."

* Either Ferenz or Pierce has led Idaho in scoring every game this season except the Vandals' 115-71 loss at Stanford, when freshman Gina Marxen scored a team-high 22 points.

Montana has had seven different players lead the team in scoring this season.

* Idaho's leading scorer has poured in 20 or more points in 12 of 14 games this season. Four times it's been 30 or more, with Ferenz's 40 points in the team's 70-63 home win over San Francisco in December the most points scored by a league player this season.

Emma Stockholm's 20 points against Southern Utah is the lone time this season a Montana player has reached 20 points.

* Ferenz is averaging 22.5 points per game and also has a team-high 51 assists. Pierce takes nearly seven of every 10 shots she puts up from the arc.

"Mikayla in particular has really become a complete player," said Schweyen. "She's become really good off the dribble. She's long and explodes and can get to the hole and finishes well going full speed."

* Montana leads the all-time series with Idaho 41-12 but the Vandals have won the last four meetings, all by 11 points or more, their longest winning streak in series history. In games played in Missoula, Montana leads the series 23-3. Idaho won in 1984-85 and each of the last two seasons.

In Idaho's win at Dahlberg Arena two years ago, Pierce had 22 points off the bench.

In the teams' lone game last season, at Missoula, Idaho raced out to a 20-5 lead after the first quarter and went on to win 67-56. Ferenz had 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Pierce added 19 points. They made 11 of Idaho's 13 3-pointers.

The Vandals jumped out to a 17-2 lead and went 10 for 19 from the arc in the first half to lead 41-22 at the break.

* Idaho lost five of six going into the Christmas break, with an ugly 88-51 setback at Gonzaga on Dec. 20, when the Vandals shot 29.5 percent, got out-rebounded by 20 and had 20 turnovers. Pierce was limited to one made basket and three points.

Then league arrived. Idaho opened with one of the best wins of the year, 86-72 at Idaho State. The Vandals' only loss has been to Northern Colorado, when the Bears used a 19-0 fourth-quarter run to turn a 67-62 deficit into an 86-72 win.

* Lizzy Klinker, a junior who transferred from Utah State, and Natalie Klinker, a sophomore, are both from Fairfield, Mont. Natalie has started all 14 games and is averaging 5.6 points on 56.4 percent shooting and a team-leading 8.0 rebounds.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* Montana State handed Northern Colorado its first league loss of the season on Monday night in Greeley, 79-66. That leaves Idaho State and the Bears atop the standings at 5-1. Idaho (4-1) and Portland State (3-1) are the other one-loss teams.

* The Bobcats would be one of those one-loss teams (and the Vikings wouldn't be) had Montana State not given up what was once a 20-2 lead at Portland State in a 55-53 loss.

* In Idaho's 82-66 win at Montana State on Thursday, Pierce went 8 for 19 from the arc and scored 28 points. Ferenz went 6 for 15 and added 24 points.

* Weber State, at 0-6 in league, remains winless and is on a 10-game losing streak. Sacramento State, at 0-4, is also winless. In their last two games, the Hornets scored 53 points in a home loss to Montana State and 43 in a 30-point road loss at Idaho State on Saturday.

* Thursday's schedule: WSU at UNC, SUU at PSU, NAU at SAC

* Game to monitor: Take your pick. Northern Colorado and Portland State are both favored big at home. Northern Arizona will try to come back from a disappointing home loss to Southern Utah and keep the Hornets winless.

* Saturday's schedule: UI at UM, EWU at MSU, ISU at UNC, NAU at PSU, SUU at SAC

* Game to monitor: Idaho State at Northern Colorado. If the Bears win as expected on Thursday, it will be a matchup of one-loss teams in Greeley on Saturday night.

Upcoming: Montana plays at Idaho State next Thursday at 7 p.m., then at Weber State on Saturday at 2 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Goligoski

Gabi Harrington

Jace Henderson

McKenzie Johnston

Katie Mayhue

Alycia Sims

Emma Stockholm

University of Montana Athletics