Lady Griz take winning streak on the road

The Montana women's basketball team, riding a three-game winning streak, its longest in nearly a year, will play its first Big Sky Conference road games this week when it faces Sacramento State and Portland State.

The Lady Griz (7-4, 2-0 BSC), one of four league teams to open the conference schedule 2-0, will face the Hornets (4-5, 0-1 BSC) on Thursday at 8 p.m. (MT) at The Nest and PSU (8-2, 0-1 BSC) at 3 p.m. (MT) on Saturday at Viking Pavilion.

This week's storylines:

1. Montana will be back at full strength this week with the return of junior point guard McKenzie Johnston, who missed Monday's home game against Southern Utah to be part of her sister Jordan's wedding in Whitefish the same afternoon.

Her absence came two days after she played all 40 minutes in Montana's league-opening home win over Northern Arizona, scoring a team-high 18 points.

Monday's game tipped off at 2 p.m., the ceremony began at 4 p.m.

"I was watching while I could, but I was getting ready and there were pictures going on," said Johnston. "It was hard, especially when the game was close. After we won, it was easier to relax."

Montana trailed 23-19 after the first quarter but scored the opening 16 points of the second quarter to take control, then pulled away in the second half.

Splitting time at the point, Katie Mayhue and Sammy Fatkin both had a team-high four assists as the Lady Griz shot 50 percent.

"It was definitely weird not being there. It didn't feel realistic. I'm proud of what everyone did," said Johnston. "Missing it (for the wedding) was worth it. You don't want to miss something like that."

It was the first game Johnston has missed in her Montana career (outside of the games she sat out while redshirting in 2015-16), the first since her senior year at Capital High in Helena, when she missed a game because of an ankle injury.

But she was on the bench for that one. The last game she didn't attend? Go way, way back.

"My mom told me it was in (YMCA) ball. I got sick right before and had to go home," she says. "That's the only game I haven't been to."

2. Montana opened league with home wins over Northern Arizona and Southern Utah, just as the Lady Griz did last year, but this time felt different.

Last season, Montana had to rally back from 21 down to escape the Lumberjacks in overtime. Against the Thunderbirds, the Lady Griz had to score 81 points to outscore a Southern Utah team that put up 43 second-half points on 53 percent shooting.

This is what Montana did on Saturday and Monday:

Offensively: Put up eight quarters of 20, 18, 19, 21, 19, 21, 18 and 21 points, never shooting less than 40 percent in any of the eight periods. It was a remarkably consistent performance over 80 minutes.

Defensively: Held Northern Arizona to 35.4 percent shooting, Southern Utah to 33.8.

The result: Montana led the final 26 minutes against the Lumberjacks, the final 28 against the Thunderbirds.

Montana shot 47.1 percent against Northern Arizona, 50.0 percent against Southern Utah, to up its Big Sky-leading percentage to 44.2 percent. The Lady Griz shot 35.1 percent in Schweyen's first year, 2016-17, and upped that to 39.8 percent a year ago.

"Our shooting percentage is a big reflection of where we're at right now. When you're shooting a better percentage and scoring the ball more, it makes the game a lot easier," said Schweyen.

"Part of it is shot selection. We're being selective and trying to get more post touches inside. Jace (Henderson) is leading us in assists, which tells me the inside-outs and post passing we're getting from her is leading to a lot of good things."

Also helping is the team's balanced scoring. Six players are averaging between 7.8 and 11.9 points, and seven players have led the team in scoring through 11 games after Emma Stockholm joined that list with a career-high 20 points on Monday.

3. This means nothing at all the second day of January, but it also means a great deal: Montana is making people take notice, not only with its recent results but with its 7-4 record while playing a challenging schedule.

The Lady Griz have a healthy RPI of 81, four spots ahead of 11-1 Arizona, which defeated Montana last month. Gonzaga (13-1), South Dakota (13-2), Northern Illinois (8-4), UC Davis (8-5), Arizona (11-1) and Washington (7-6) all have winning records.

That body of work has ESPN listing Montana in its projected NCAA Tournament field this week, as a No. 13 seed facing No. 4 Michigan State in East Lansing.

Again, it means nothing, not with 72 days to go until the Big Sky Conference tournament championship game, but it's confirmation that, like Texas football, Montana is on its way back to relevancy.

4. Thursday's opponent, Sacramento State, opened its Big Sky schedule on Saturday in the most Hornet way imaginable. Playing at Northern Colorado, Sacramento State went 0 for 18 in the first quarter and trailed 33-0 through 10 minutes.

The Hornets then put up 20 points in the second quarter and shot 57.6 percent in the second half to lose by only 13, 82-69. Sacramento State was within 12 points with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, this after trailing by 33 early in the second quarter on the road.

The Hornets are doing their thing again, taking nearly half of their shots (353 of 717) from 3-point range and forcing nearly 20 turnovers per game.

At 34.7 percent, they don't come close to Montana's shooting percentage (.442), but they are still averaging 10 points more per game than the Lady Griz.

When the teams met in Missoula last January, Montana outscored Sacramento State 25-8 in the first quarter and held on for a 68-59 victory. In the rematch in February in Sacramento, the Hornets, up four at the half, used a big start to the third quarter to pull away, winning 79-64.

"It's incredibly difficult to simulate what they do in practice," said Schweyen. "You know you can expect to get pressed, you know you can expect chaos.

"Especially at home, you have to be ready to guard them when they cross half court. They'll shoot threes anytime, anywhere. A little bit you're subject to whether they're making them or not."

Junior Hannah Friend is averaging 21.3 points, second in the league behind only Idaho's Mikayla Ferenz (22.5/g). The Hornets' second- and third-leading scorers (junior Kennedy Nicholas [14.3/g] and junior Tiara Scott [12.7/g]) both average more than Montana's leading scorer (McKenzie Johnston [11.9/g)].

"Friend is a good scorer, and she has a good supporting cast around her," said Schweyen. "We've got to close people out. That's the key to beating them. You don't want to be getting beat off the dribble or you're going to be in big trouble."

5. The Nest has been a house of horrors for Montana in recent years, with the Lady Griz losing their last five games on Sacramento State's home court, getting outscored by more than 14 points per game while allowing more than 86.

Montana still leads the all-time series 38-7, a record built on the strength of a 24-0 start in the teams' head-to-head meetings.

The Lady Griz are 15-6 against the Hornets in Sacramento, but Sac State has won six of the last eight, including a 100-83 win in 2009-10, the first time in program history Montana allowed 100 points in a game.

The Lady Griz won at home last season, the Hornets did the same, and Montana won the rubber match, 87-80 in Reno in the first round of the Big Sky tournament behind McKenzie Johnston's career-high 28 points.

Montana shot 45.2 percent in that game while committing just seven turnovers, enough to overcome Sacramento State's 12 3-pointers and Maranne Johnson's 30 points.

6. Portland State opened the season 8-0 and even got some attention on ESPN.com, with an appearance in its 10-team mid-major poll, but that unbeaten start always had a house-of-cards feel to it, with six of those eight games at home against teams that are currently 24-60.

The record was there but the strength of schedule was one of the nation's worst (through no fault of PSU's. Who knew Seattle would be 0-13, San Jose State 1-10, UNLV 2-9 and UTEP 3-10?)

Facing a now 10-2 UC Irvine team at home the week before Christmas, Portland State lost 73-68. On Monday the Vikings played at Northern Colorado and trailed 26-12 after the first quarter on their way to a 79-63 loss.

How good Portland State truly is remains to be seen, but the Vikings did return all five starters from a team that won 19 games last season and lost by three to Idaho in the Big Sky tournament semifinals.

There is good reason PSU was picked second in the preseason polls behind Idaho, collecting first-place votes in both the coaches' and media polls.

Second-team All-Big Sky selection Ashley Bolston is back, as is third-teamer Sidney Rielly. Those two lead the team in scoring and are two of four double-digit scorers for coach Lynn Kennedy, who team is holding its opponents to league-low 34.0 percent shooting and 58.9 points per game.

One of those is Kylie Jimenez, last year's Big Sky Freshman of the Year. The other is Courtney West, the Big Sky leader in blocks the last two seasons.

Portland State's zone defense is forcing more than 20 turnovers per game and inviting opponents to fire up more than 21 3-pointers per game, which isn't Montana's strength.

When Montana defeated Portland State 69-53 in Missoula last January, Jace Henderson shredded PSU's zone, finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting. The Lady Griz turned it over just 11 times and went an efficient 5 of 13 from the arc.

When they met in Portland in February, it was Montana's first game without Sophia Stiles, who had been lost for the season with a knee injury the game before, against North Dakota. Everything felt out of sorts.

Henderson was held scoreless on six shots and grabbed just a single rebound, and Montana turned the ball over 20 times in a 70-53 loss.

"Everybody knows you're going to get 40 minutes of zone," said Schweyen. "To be successful, you've got to take good shots and you've got to make them," which Montana has been doing, albeit at home against teams who don't defend as well as the Vikings.

"You won't get a lot of second and third shots because they're pretty big and they rebound well out of their zone. And we've got to do a good job on them defensively. That's going to be a big key."

7. Montana leads the all-time series 47-19, but Portland State has won three of the last four meetings, including a regular-season sweep in 2016-17, its first since 2010-11.

The Lady Griz have gone 19-12 against the Vikings on their home floor. PSU has won seven of the last 11 against Montana in Portland.

Montana notes:

* Why is Montana winning? The Lady Griz lead the Big Sky in field goal percentage (.442) and rank second in field goal percentage defense (.380). They are 7-0 when shooting 40 percent or better.

* Emma Stockholm's 20 points on Monday against Southern Utah was the first time this season a Lady Griz player has reached the 20-point mark.

* Jace Henderson has now gone 7 for 8 in a game twice this season, against UC Davis and Monday against Southern Utah. She leads the Big Sky in shooting at 58.0 percent and has gone 27 for 40 (.675) the last five games.

* Henderson had a pair of double-doubles against Northern Arizona (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Southern Utah (15 points, 11 rebounds) to up her career total to eight.

* Despite averaging just 10.8 minutes per game, Abby Anderson ranks third in the Big Sky in blocks with 19 (1.9/g). Her five rejections on Monday were the most by a Montana player this season.

* Montana averaged more than a point per possession its last three games, against Saint Francis (1.09), Northern Arizona (1.08) and Southern Utah (1.15).

* Emma Stockholm as a freshman and sophomore: 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds on 33.0 percent shooting. Emma Stockholm as a junior: 11.1 points and 6.3 rebounds on 47.1 percent shooting.

* Gabi Harrington's 15-point, 11-rebound double-double on Monday was the first of her career. The 15 points matched her career high, the 11 rebounds were a career high.

* Kylie Frohlich scored six points in eight minutes on Monday, going 3 for 3 against Southern Utah.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* Montana, Montana State, Northern Colorado and Idaho all opened league with 2-0 records. The Vandals were the only team to do it on the road, winning at Idaho State and Weber State.

* Idaho's Mikayla Ferenz was named the Big Sky Player of the Week on Wednesday. She had 29 points in the Vandals' 86-72 win at Idaho State on Saturday, when Idaho outscored Idaho State 32-9 in the third quarter, and 26 more in her team's 79-74 victory at Weber State on Monday.

* Ferenz is now within 35 points of 2,000 for her career, a standard reached in Big Sky history by only four players: Natalie Doma (ISU, 2,296 points, 2004-08), Shannon Cate (UM, 2,172, 1988-92), Hayley Hodgins (EWU, 2,120, 2014-18) and Kelsey Kahle (PSU, 2,049, 2005-09).

Barring injury, she will pass Doma next month and likely set a new record by season's end that's north of 2,400 points.

* Thursday games: UM at SAC, MSU at PSU, EWU at UI, ISU at SUU, WSU at NAU

* Non-Montana game to monitor: Montana State at Portland State. The Vikings swept the season series last season as the Bobcats were forced to rely heavily on the 3-point shot, and it didn't go well. MSU fired 64 of its 121 shots in the two games from beyond the arc, making just 17 (.266).

* Saturday games: UM at PSU, MSU at SAC, UNC at UI, WSU at SUU, ISU at NAU

* Non-Montana game to monitor: Northern Colorado at Idaho. A rematch of the Big Sky tournament championship game in Reno in March, with the Vandals taking on the role of team to beat this season. The Bears have won four of their last five games under first-year coach Jenny Huth.

* Monday game: Northern Colorado at Eastern Washington

Upcoming: Montana will be home for three straight, including consecutive (and delightful) Saturday matchups against Northern Colorado and Idaho.

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Players Mentioned

Abby Anderson

Sammy Fatkin

Kylie Frohlich

Gabi Harrington

Jace Henderson

McKenzie Johnston

Katie Mayhue

Sophia Stiles

Emma Stockholm

University of Montana Athletics