Lady Griz close nonconference with MSU Billings

The Montana women's basketball team will wrap up its nonconference schedule with a home game against MSU Billings on Friday night.

The Lady Griz (4-4) and NCAA Division II Yellowjackets (6-5), who will be counting the game as an exhibition, will tip off at 7 p.m. at Dahlberg Arena.

Montana won't play again until it opens its Big Sky Conference schedule with road games at Northern Arizona and Sacramento State on Dec. 28 and 30.

Friday's game will be Montana's first at home in nearly a month, since then No. 24 Arizona won at Dahlberg Arena on Nov. 24.

"Everybody is fired up to be back. We're done with finals, so everybody has had time to rest up a little bit after some long trips," said Lady Griz coach Shannon Schweyen.

"Friday will give us one more game under our belts before we head into Christmas and into conference."

Montana will use the game as a chance to erase some of the memories from Sunday's 96-64 loss at No. 21 South Dakota.

The Coyotes made 38 baskets while turning the ball over just eight times. And they went 15 of 26 from 3-point range to match the most triples ever hit by a Montana opponent. It was that kind of game.

South Dakota shot 60.6 percent in the first half, 56.3 percent in the second to finish at 58.5 percent for the game. The Coyotes averaged a hard-to-believe 1.45 points per possession.

"It's really frustrating to play someone when they shoot the ball like that. No matter what we tried -- man, zone -- we couldn't find an answer," said Schweyen.

"And it wasn't one kid. It was multiple kids making threes from all over from different kinds of actions. It was one of those games when it felt like anything we tried we couldn't come up with an answer.

"When a team is shooting 60 percent, it's going to be a struggle."

Friday's game will be the conclusion of Montana's nonconference schedule, one that began with exhibition wins in October over Lewis-Clark State and Carroll, the latter in overtime.

It's been a fine line between a team that could be 6-2. Or 2-6. Instead the Lady Griz are right in the middle at 4-4.

Montana escaped Cal State Fullerton with a win despite giving away every point, and then some, of a 17-point first-half lead.

The Lady Griz also had to rally from down nine in the third quarter in their road win at Utah Valley.

Of course the Fresno State game could have turned out differently if not for a one-sided second quarter. And Montana did itself no favors falling behind Santa Clara 25-7 in what would be a 10-point final margin.

"We've seen a lot of different things. It's been challenging," said Schweyen. "We've got some road wins, and you always want to experience that. Overall I'm pleased with what we've done.

"We faced a well-disciplined team in Carroll, an extremely athletic team in Arizona, and South Dakota might be a better basketball team than Arizona in general. They are fundamental and a bunch of great shooters."

Up next, the Yellowjackets who are off to a 6-5 start and have won six of seven after opening the season 0-4. One of those losses came against Drury, the national runner-up last season and ranked No. 1 this year.

MSU Billings, picked seventh out of 11 teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll, is coming off a 12-14 campaign.

The Yellowjackets opened their GNAC schedule earlier this month with a road split, winning 73-70 at Simon Fraser and falling at Western Washington 81-61.

Junior guard Hannah Collins, from Great Falls, and 6-foot-3 sophomore forward Taryn Shelley, in her second year at MSUB after transferring from Washington State, both were voted to the 15-player preseason All-GNAC team.

Collins is leading the team in scoring. Shelley, from Shoreline, Wash., is averaging 11.7 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds.

"Hannah Collins is a really talented player. She's been coming to our camp forever, so we're very familiar with her," said Schweyen.

"Then their 6-3 player from Washington State is a nice-sized post, so they have the balance of a good guard and a big kid. The rest of the perimeter kids are good players. They are athletic and quick."

The teams will be meeting in a regular-season game, for Montana anyway, for the first time since the 2006-07 season, a game the Lady Griz won 89-45 after holding MSUB to 23.1 percent shooting.

Montana has a 16-3 all-time advantage in the series and has won the teams' last 15 matchups. All three of the Yellowjackets' wins over the Lady Griz came in the late 70s.

"We've got to come out ready to go. We don't want them getting off to a good start. We need to be focused and take it on just like we're facing a ranked opponent and not have any kind of lapses," said Schweyen.

After a short holiday break it will be right into Big Sky play, with games at Northern Arizona (2-6) and Sacramento State (1-7).

More than half the teams in the league currently have records of .500 or better, which hasn't always been the case in mid-December in previous seasons.

Last year's tournament champion, Portland State, has won five straight games and sits atop the league standings at 6-3.

The Vikings had one of the league's best wins on Sunday when they won 77-71 at then 6-3 Portland, overcoming a 15-point halftime deficit to do it.

Southern Utah (5-3) and Montana State (4-3) are both above .500, with Idaho, Idaho State and Montana all sitting 4-4.

"The Big Sky is going to be tough again this year. I think it's going to be balanced again and pretty similar to what it's been in the past, where any score wouldn't surprise you," said Schweyen.

"Starting on the road is going to be challenging, but you've got to get it going sometime."

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