Lady Griz sign five to NLIs

When Shannon Cate arrived on Montana's campus in the fall of 1988 from Billings, every member of the incoming freshman class for the Lady Griz had played high school basketball in the state.

They joined a team that had gone 28-2 the season before with a roster that featured 11 players from Montana. The leading scorer was from Missoula, the second-leading scorer from Great Falls. The playmaker? Also from Missoula.

Now in her fourth year as the program's head coach, after 24 seasons as an assistant, the now Shannon Schweyen sees no reason to mess with a formula that's worked so successfully over the decades.

It's not lost on her that four of the five prep players who signed National Letters of Intent this week have a phone that rings with a 406 area code.

"I didn't want them to go somewhere else. We wanted them here," she said of Willa Albrecht (Billings), Kyndall Keller (Havre), Joelnell Momberg (Box Elder) and Karsen Murphy (Glendive).

"There were a lot of talented kids in the state this year, some diamonds in the rough."

The fifth player in this year's signing class, Bria Dixson of Portland? She may be the outlier, geographically, but she wanted to be an insider once she learned how the Lady Griz program operates.

"Over the years, the coaches' care, concern and commitment to me as a person, not just a player, was unwavering," she said. "I could go 0 for 10 or hit eight threes in a row and their support was refreshingly consistent.

"They took the time to get to know me as a person first. Bria the person, Bria the student, then Bria the player." It's an approach that works no matter a player's home state.

Schweyen has made a career -- and really a life, now that two of her three daughters are on the team and her husband works down the hall, leading the department's track and field program -- out of the Lady Griz program.

She has a third-year assistant coach, Jordan Sullivan, who played for Montana and has an uncle by the name of Robin Selvig. Her first-year assistant, Nate Covill, played for the Grizzlies and married into the Lady Griz.

Keller adds another ring to the program's Venn diagram that remains tight despite more and more players coming in and graduating out.

Her dad is the brother of Cheryl (1998-2002) and Juliann Keller (2001-05).

"Obviously it's always special and unique when you have someone who has ties to the Lady Griz join your program. We're excited to have her in our program," said Schweyen.

"She's a kid we know has grown up in the gym. Both her mom and dad were basketball players and lots of family around her have Lady Griz connections."

The 5-foot-8 guard and her teammates at Havre High will be going for a three-peat at the Class A state tournament when March rolls around.

Keller was the state tournament MVP as both a sophomore and junior, and a nominee for the Montana Gatorade Player of the Year last season.

She may have the Keller name but her game is more Johnston, as in current Lady Griz McKenzie Johnston, a 5-foot-7 guard who can handle, post up her defender and seems to shoot 90 percent on anything in the 12- to 15-foot range.

"I think Kyndall has that lost mid-range game that a lot of kids don't have. She is a very capable 3-point shooter and a strong guard who I foresee being able to score down in the paint," said Schweyen.

"I look back to when we recruited McKenzie and how much her game developed in the medium range and the post. I see Kyndall being a lot like that."

In Albrecht and Murphy, seniors at Billings West and Dawson County and both 6-foot forwards, Schweyen got one of the things she covets in as many of her recruits as possible: basketball players who are well-rounded athletes.

Her sophomore class of Kylie Frohlich (volleyball, basketball, track and field), Carmen Gfeller (same) and Jordyn Schweyen (same)? Yep. The freshmen? Jamie Pickens (volleyball, basketball, softball, track and field) and Shelby Schweyen (volleyball, basketball, track and field)? Yep.

And repeat.

Albrecht, who has a twin sister, Maddie, finished second in the 100 and 200 meters at last spring's Class AA state championships.

At the same meet, she ran the anchor leg of West High's winning 4x100-meter relay team, the third leg of the school's second-place team in the 4x400 meters.

The year before, as a sophomore, she, her sister and two teammates set a new all-class record while winning the 4x100 relay.

On the basketball court last March, Billings West fell in the championship game to Helena High and Pickens.

"Willa is extremely, extremely athletic and very explosive," said Schweyen. "She is amazing in transition and can shoot the three or create her own shot. Just a very good all-around basketball player. I'm excited about her."

While Albrecht has been excelling in the sprints, Murphy has been dominating the jumps at the Class A level.

She swept the high jump, clearing 5-foot-6, and triple jump, going a Class A record 37-11.5, at the state meet last spring. She was runner-up in the high jump as a freshman.

She was voted Class A all-state for basketball as a junior.

"Another outstanding athlete," said Schweyen. "She reminds me a little bit of (former Lady Griz) Greta Koss. She needs to come in and get stronger and develop her game, but I think her ceiling is very high

"She has a great frame to be an explosive forward in our league. I like what she could be defensively as well, with her length and quickness. I think she could be a heck of a defender. Willa and Karsen could both shut some people down."

Momberg, the first of the class to make a verbal commitment, made a name for herself in the state by leading Box Elder to Class C state titles as a sophomore and junior, earning tournament MVP honors at the latter.

Still, she had yet to be seen in person by Schweyen or anyone on her staff until the summer Box Elder made its way to Missoula for Montana's team camp. It was a revelation.

"I was just extremely impressed with her IQ. She's one of those kids you can tell has grown up watching and playing the game," said Schweyen. "She reminds me a lot of (former Lady Griz) Shanae Gilham. She has one of those shots that is so beautiful. It barely hits the net going through.

"I watched her play against Helena High, and that's what sold me on her. Against a very good defensive team, she probably had eight threes, scored in a variety of ways and had a bunch of points."

After helping Box Elder to a three-year record of 71-7, with no home losses in its home gym, "The Den," Momberg and her family moved over the summer to Spokane.

Instead of dominating the Class C ranks in Montana, Momberg, a 5-foot-8 guard, will suit up for Mead High and compete in one of the most competitive conferences in the region, the Greater Spokane League, which annually produces a new wave of Division I players.

"She's going to be playing against Division I girls every night. It will be a great little segue into college," added Schweyen. "It will be great for her game."

If Momberg is reminiscent of Gilham, who best to use to bring up a visual of Dixson and her game? Dare we drop the name of Taylor Pierce, who made 472 3-pointers over her four-year career at Idaho, a total that is tied for the second most in NCAA history?

You know the feeling she created, the sense of unease whenever she had the ball in her hands, even if she was 30-plus feet from the basket. The sense that no lead was safe, unless the final horn had sounded.

How a sense of dread set in on her defender whenever Pierce went missing behind another screen. The sense of awe, even if she was playing for a rival, in her belief in herself as a shooter, that the next one was always going in, no matter what had happened in the game up to that point.

That's not to claim Dixson, a 5-foot-7 guard, is the second coming of Pierce, just that their games have some similarities. Just watch.

"She can shoot it. She is a true shooting guard," said Schweyen. "She had multiple games we went to this summer when she had seven or eight threes.

"She has a very good basketball IQ and plays with a lot of passion. Basketball is very important to her, and we love that about her."

She finished ninth in the nation in 3-pointers made (4.2/g) as a freshman at Franklin High, according to MaxPreps, and led the state in scoring at 21 points per game. As a sophomore she ranked second in the state in 3-point shooting.

As a junior she was admitted to Benson Polytechnic High School -- by the end of her senior year she'll be able to come over to your house and rewire it, which is ... just awesome.

Her junior-year team's season ended with a 24-point victory in the Class 6A state tournament championship game.

"We've been recruiting her and watching her for a long time," said Schweyen. "She had a great summer. She's a natural leader at that position."

Montana has 13 on its roster this season and will lose seniors Taylor Goligoski, McKenzie Johnston and Emma Stockholm to graduation. Next year's team should have the maximum of 15 scholarship players.

What the signees are saying:

Willa Albrecht (Billings, Mont.): I decided on the University of Montana because I really like the campus and the facilities. I like all the coaches and think they will help me continue to grow as a basketball player and as a person.

I feel like I fit in well with the team and their style of play, and I really appreciate the amount of support they get from the community.

Bria Dixson (Portland, Ore.): I never really considered attending a university that has WINTERS. After growing up in a rainy Portland, I thought I would end up somewhere sunny with the surf in the distance. But through all the chaos of the busy recruiting process, I just kept thinking back on the unofficial visit I took in October of my sophomore year. Missoula is beautiful. Homecoming weekend was sensational.

Ultimately it comes down to the culture and the players. It is a culture I cannot wait to officially be a part of. Over the years, the coaches' care, concern and commitment to me as a person, not just a player, was unwavering. I could go 0 for 10 or hit eight threes in a row and their support was refreshingly consistent. They took the time to get to know me as a person first. Bria the person, Bria the student, then Bria the player.

The people of Missoula are incredibly loyal in their support of the university's sports. It seems like no matter where I've traveled, I've met someone who went to Montana or knew someone who did, and the same thing is true for each of them: Pride. Every person was so proud of attending U of M. I am so proud to be attending University of Montana. Go Griz!

Kyndall Keller (Havre, Mont.): Montana is a great venue for women's basketball. They have an awesome coaching staff and a wonderful group of girls. They draw a great crowd and have a fantastic atmosphere.

I've been a Griz fan ever since I've was little. Shannon does a great job recruiting Montana girls, and I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to try and win a Big Sky Conference title with them.

Joelnell Momberg (Box Elder, Mont./Spokane, Wash.): The atmosphere is crazy, and the tradition there is something you absolutely want to be a part of. UM has a different type of love and support that you cannot find outside of Montana.

It's definitely a sense of pride that is unexplainable. You know it once you feel it. Every time I step foot on campus, I get that feeling.

Karsen Murphy (Glendive, Mont.): I set a lot of goals at the beginning of my high school career and playing Division I basketball was one of them. Playing for the University of Montana and becoming part of that tradition is such an honor. I look forward to joining them next year and helping them continue it.

I knew I would have to choose between track and basketball. Ultimately becoming a part of the Lady Griz basketball program is a dream come true. Missoula is a beautiful place, and the Lady Griz have provided me the opportunity to follow my dreams and goals while being part of something special.

University of Montana Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Kylie Frohlich

Carmen Gfeller

Shanae Gilham

Taylor Goligoski

McKenzie Johnston

Jamie Pickens

Jordyn Schweyen

Shelby Schweyen

Emma Stockholm

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