Lady Griz open league on the road

The Montana women's basketball team will open its Big Sky Conference schedule in the coming days with road games at Northern Arizona and Sacramento State.

The Lady Griz (5-4) will face the Lumberjacks (3-6) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Flagstaff and the Hornets (2-7) on Monday at 8 p.m. (MT) in Sacramento.

Montana concluded its pre-league schedule with a 70-53 victory over MSU Billings on Friday, Dec. 20, behind 13 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists from McKenzie Johnston.

The Lady Griz led the Division II Yellowjackets just 32-27 at the half but behind five players in double figures steadily pulled away in the second half.

At a glance (Montana): The Lady Griz take a 5-4 record into their Big Sky schedule for the second straight year. Two of Montana's five wins have come against non-Division I opponents, two of its losses have come against ranked opponents (Arizona and South Dakota). The Lady Griz picked up two road wins against Division I opponents, Cal State Fullerton and Utah Valley.

At a glance (Northern Arizona): The Lumberjacks go into league coming off their best nonconference win, 67-64 over now 8-5 San Jose State last week in Hawaii thanks to a 26-10 first quarter. Northern Arizona's other wins have come against an improved Seattle team, 88-80 at home, and 79-62 at Houston Baptist. Against a common opponent with Montana, NAU lost 83-66 at Fresno State.

At a glance (Sacramento State): The Hornets, who host preseason favorite Montana State on Saturday, go into league without a Division I win, their victories coming against Cal State Maritime and Pacific Union. Of Sacramento State's seven losses, four have come by six points or fewer. The Hornets lead the Big Sky with 90 3-point field goals and are tied for the league lead in scoring average at 75.2 per game.

Montana notes:

* The Lady Griz are above .500 going into league for the second consecutive season under fourth-year coach Shannon Schweyen.

* Montana rebounded from a 96-64 loss at then No. 21 South Dakota on Dec. 15 with a 70-53 home victory over MSU Billings last Friday before taking a short Christmas break.

* The Yellowjackets used a 16-0 run in the second quarter to take their only lead of the game, 27-25. The Lady Griz scored the final seven points of the first half, then pulled away in the second.

* With 13 points, McKenzie Johnston moved up to 25th on the Montana career scoring list with 1,112 points, jumping over Linda Weyler (1996-2000).

* With Sophia Stiles sidelined (illness) for the MSU Billings game, Montana went just eight deep. It was the third time this season the Lady Griz have played with eight healthy players.

* The victory against the Yellowjackets was the first time this season that Montana has shot less than 40 percent (.386) and won.

* Montana took a season-low six 3-pointers against MSU Billings and got the line a season-high 29 times.

* The Lady Griz have gone 53 for 64 (.828) from the free throw line the last three games. Montana, at 74.3 percent for the season, ranks second in the league behind Portland State (.816).

* With 45 assists and 18 turnovers on the season, McKenzie Johnston leads the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5). She ranks 27th nationally.

* Montana has 148 assists this year against 115 turnovers. That ratio (1.3) leads the Big Sky.

* Montana's four leading scorers (Johnston, Stockholm, Goligoski and Pickens) are all shooting 45 percent or better.

* Despite holding MSU Billings to 6-of-26 (.231) shooting from 3-point range, Montana continues to rank last in the nation (348 of 348) in defending the arc. Opponents are shooting 40.4 percent.

* Only one player, Taylor Goligoski at 16, has made more than seven 3-pointers through nine games this season. Montana's 41 triples rank 10th in the Big Sky, ahead of only Northern Colorado's 39.

* Montana's win over MSU Billings gave coach Shannon Schweyen her 40th victory as head coach.

* McKenzie Johnston has led or tied for the team lead in assists in all nine games. At 5.0 per game, she is tied for first in the Big Sky and ranks 38th nationally.

* Montana entered the season with a 6-31 record in true road games under coach Shannon Schweyen. The Lady Griz are 2-1 this year, with a win at current Big West leader Cal State Fullerton, which is 7-5.

* Montana has been good with the lead this season. The Lady Griz are 4-0 when leading at the half, 5-0 when leading with five minutes left, 4-0 when leading with two minutes left.

* The Lady Griz have attempted more free throws than their opponents in seven of nine games this season.

* Montana turned the ball over a season-low nine times against MSU Billings. At 12.8 per game, the Lady Griz rank first in the Big Sky, 21st nationally in turnovers.

* Taylor Goligoski from 3-point range as a freshman, sophomore and junior: .307. Taylor Goligoski from 3-point range thus far as a senior: .471.

* Emma Stockholm in five games since being held scoreless in Montana's home loss to Arizona: 10.8 points per game on 52.1 percent shooting.

* Madi Schoening played 27 minutes against MSU Billings, her first significant time since Montana's season opener last year at Gonzaga.

* With 11 points, thanks to 8-for-8 shooting from the free throw line, Schoening reached double figures for the first time since scoring 12 points at Weber State on Feb. 28, 2018.

* Schoening is 79 for 90 (.878) from the free throw line since the start of the 2017-18 season.

* McKenzie Johnston will be playing in her 100th career game on Saturday at Northern Arizona. Emma Stockholm will be playing in her 100th career game on Monday at Sacramento State.

* Kylie Frohlich's seven rebounds against MSU Billings were a career high.

* Over the last four games, Montana has taken 56 more free throw attempts (92-36) than its opponents.

Northern Arizona notes:

* The Lumberjacks went 13-18 last season and finished eighth in the Big Sky at 8-12. NAU picked up a postseason win, defeating No. 9 Sacramento State 74-69 in the first round of the Big Sky tournament.

* Northern Arizona, with four starters back, was picked eighth in both the coaches' and media preseason polls.

* The Lumberjacks have four starters averaging between 9.6 and 13.9 points, led by junior Jacey Bailey's 13.9 points and 5.7 rebounds. All four are shooting 41 percent or better.

* Coach Loree Payne is in her third year at Northern Arizona.

Montana-Northern Arizona series history:

* Montana leads the all-time series 57-12 ... The Lady Griz are 23-8 against the Lumberjacks in Flagstaff ... Montana had its 12-game winning streak against Northern Arizona snapped in March, when NAU won 82-65 in Flagstaff ... Jacey Bailey went 7 for 9 from 3-point range in that game and scored 31 points ... The Lumberjacks, who led 29-10 after the first quarter, went 10 for 20 from the arc and shot 53.2 percent overall, 85.7 percent from the line ... In the teams' earlier meeting in Missoula last season, the Lady Griz shot 47.1 percent in a 78-62 win, with McKenzie Johnston scoring 18 points.

Sacramento State notes:

* The Hornets went 10-19 last season, 6-14 in league to finish ninth. Sacramento State lost 74-69 to No. 8 Northern Arizona in the first round of the Big Sky tournament.

* The Hornets, with three starters back, including senior forward Kennedy Nicholas, who was voted preseason All-Big Sky after averaging 13.0 points and 11.1 rebounds last season, were picked ninth in the preseason media poll, 10th in the coaches' poll.

* Hannah Friend, who averaged 19.1 points and 8.3 rebounds last season as a junior, is averaging 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds as a redshirt senior at Pepperdine.

* Senior guard Gabi Bade, with 27 made 3-pointers, is averaging 15.7 points and 6.4 rebounds, Nicholas 12.9 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds. Sophomore Summer Menke (11.4/g) is also scoring in double figures.

* Sacramento State ranks seventh in the nation in 3-pointers attempted (329) but 329th (out of 348) in 3-point field goal percentage (.246). The Hornets have had games of 5 for 29 (.172), 6 for 31 (.194) and 7 for 36 (.194).

* Coach Bunky Harkleroad is in his seventh season at Sacramento State.

Montana-Sacramento State series history:

* The Lady Griz lead the all-time series 40-7 and have gone 16-6 in The Nest ... Montana has won the last three matchups, with a victory in the Big Sky tournament two seasons ago and a sweep of the regular-season series last season ... The Lady Griz had lost five consecutive games on the Hornets' home floor, allowing more than 86 points per game, before winning 88-86 in double overtime last season behind double-doubles from Gabi Harrington (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Jace Henderson (17 points, 10 rebounds) and five 3-pointers by Katie Mayhue as Montana came back from seven points down with four minutes left in regulation ... In the teams' matchup in March in Missoula, Henderson scored 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting in Montana's 75-67 win.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* Four teams go into league with a winning record, none more of a surprise than Southern Utah, which sits atop the league at 6-3 in Tracy Sanders' second year as head coach. The Thunderbirds are 5-0 at home and two of their three losses have come by a total of 12 points. The other: at Oregon State.

* Portland State goes into league at 6-4, despite losing a load of talent and production from last season's championship team. The Vikings had their five-game winning streak snapped with an 88-61 home loss to Tennessee on Dec. 21.

* Idaho and Montana are both 5-4, with the Vandals holding a stronger resume. They've played at home just twice, have not faced a non-Division I and have a pair of three-point setbacks among their losses away from Moscow.

* Preseason favorite Montana State is 4-5 and will enter league having lost five of six, but the Bobcats have represented well while facing a challenging month that included losses at South Dakota State and Minnesota, a home loss to Gonzaga and tight losses to Wichita State and Texas A&M in Puerto Rico.

* Idaho State is also a somewhat strong 4-5 but enters league coming off a 69-61 loss at Utah State, a team that would then go on to lose to Utah Valley, which the Bengals destroyed on the road in early December.

* Northern Colorado is 4-5 as well and won at Wyoming, 46-44, in its final game before Christmas break.

* Sacramento State and Eastern Washington are 3-15 and without a Division I win. The Hornets have victories over Cal State Maritime and Pacific Union, the Eagles a win over Northwest Christian.

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

Non-Montana game to monitor: Idaho State at Idaho. Two expected challengers for the Big Sky throne meet on the first day of league games.

Monday in the Big Sky: UM at SAC, MSU at NAU, ISU at EWU, WSU at UI, PSU at SUU

Non-Montana game to monitor: Portland State at Southern Utah. This season's early surprise hosts last year's tournament champion, a team that wasn't expected to be 6-4 at this point.

Upcoming: It will be four games in eight days as Montana returns home next week to host Southern Utah on Thursday, Northern Colorado on Saturday, part of a three-game home stand that concludes with a game against Eastern Washington on Thursday, Jan. 9.

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Players Mentioned

Kylie Frohlich

Taylor Goligoski

Gabi Harrington

Jace Henderson

McKenzie Johnston

Katie Mayhue

Madi Schoening

Sophia Stiles

Emma Stockholm

University of Montana Athletics