Lady Griz announce annual award winners

The Montana women's basketball program announced its annual postseason award winners recently. Juniors Abby Anderson, Kylie Frohlich and Sophia Stiles were recognized, as was sophomore Carmen Gfeller.

Anderson, in a reflection of her meteoric rise since becoming a Lady Griz, went from the Grace Geil Most Improved Player last season to the Mary Louise Pope Zimmerman Most Valuable Player this year.

Stiles, an unusually tenacious player on that end of the court, made it a perfect three for three, winning the Julie Deming Outstanding Defensive Player award for the third time.

Gfeller, who went from 87 points as a freshman to averaging a team-high 14.3 points on Big Sky Conference-leading 52.9 percent shooting this season, was named the Grace Geil Most Improved Player.

Gfeller and Anderson were voted third-team All-Big Sky last month, marking the first time since 2015-16 that Montana had a pair of players voted all-league.

Frohlich doubled up on the awards, winning both the Shannon Green Most Inspirational Player and the Theresa Rhoads Award for best exemplifying Lady Griz basketball.

The awards followed a 2020-21 season that will be remembered for empty arenas, endless COVID testing, the daily threat of canceled games and a Big Sky schedule that had teams playing opponents back-to-back to reduce travel.

"I wish we could give an award to (Lady Griz athletic trainer) JC Weida for leading our team and the entire department through an unprecedented season," said 2020-21 interim head coach Mike Petrino.

"His consistent education throughout the year and the patience he demonstrated while guiding us through all the challenges that COVID brought deserves public recognition."

Petrino inherited a roster in a state of flux just over a year ago, when he was elevated from assistant coach to interim head coach.

He stabilized the roster, provided the program a state of calm and went about adding players until he had a full squad with which to move forward.

"This was a very challenging and rewarding season," said Petrino. "It started with uncertainty and moved into the unknown as we learned to plan, prepare and pivot.

"I'm proud of the efforts our staff and players made this year and I wish the Lady Griz program all the best moving forward."

Montana went 12-11 overall and finished sixth in the Big Sky standings at 9-8, just the second time in the last five years the Lady Griz were above .500 in league.

The team revealed its competiveness with a 58-51 loss at No. 25 Gonzaga in just its third game of the season.

Resiliency? That came on New Year's Day, when Montana turned a 52-33 third-quarter deficit into a 60-56 win at Northern Colorado, the program's largest comeback in at least two decades.

Aiding that rally: a perfect 18-for-18 performance at the line for a team that would shoot 78.1 percent for the season, a program record.

Montana would win five straight games in February, the first time the Lady Griz won five in a row since 2015-16, in Robin Selvig's final season of his 38 years as coach.

Anderson, voted the team's Most Valuable Player, averaged 12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 47.4 percent.

She scored in double figures in all but four games and four times posted double-doubles. Her 51 blocked shots ranked second in the Big Sky and moved her into the top 10 in program history.

"I'm so proud of Abby for the season she had. She was a significant force on both ends of the floor for us," said Petrino. "Her presence and production in the paint on offense and defense was a major reason for the team success we experienced this season.

"I'm also proud of the leadership role Abby embraced with our team. She has a great ability to connect with all of her teammates and shares in the excitement when her teammates do well."

If Anderson held down the paint, Stiles did the same thing on the perimeter. She was her typical menacing self: harassing ball-handlers, creating back-court turnovers, bringing about general chaos.

While her team award was focused on her defense, she had career highs in scoring (11.7/g) and rebounding (5.8/g), shot 81.3 percent from the line and had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.

"Soph has always taken pride in being a good defender. She wants to guard the best opponent and lives for big defensive responsibilities," said assistant coach Jordan Sullivan.

"She's got the heart of a lion and that carries her a long way on the defensive end. Throw in her length, quickness and athleticism, and you've got your best defender recipient."

Gfeller played as a true freshman in 2018-19, averaging fewer than 10 minutes per game, then redshirted the 2019-20 season.

She was the great unknown going into this year. She needed just one game to make herself quite known and establish herself as someone who was going to be one of the top scorers in the league.

Gfeller scored 21 in Montana's opener, then poured in a season-high 26 points in the team's home debut, a win over North Dakota. It wasn't luck. It was the result of purposeful planning and endless shooting. Call it sweat equity, and she was paid in full.

She had prepared to do just what she did, averaging 14.3 points on 52.9 percent shooting with one of the sweetest strokes around. The formula is simple to state -- put in the work, the rewards will follow -- tougher to embrace. She did.

"Hungry, humble and with an incredible work ethic. That's how I would describe Carmen," said assistant coach Nate Covill. "In my short time with the program, Carmen quickly established herself as a player who isn't afraid of putting in the work.

"I look forward to watching Carmen's continued growth as a player the next few years."

That the winner of the Most Inspirational Player award has been the same person on multiple occasions over the years is no surprise. That it factor isn't something that comes and goes. A player has it or she doesn't.

Frohlich has it, which is why she is a repeat winner. Before her, Jace Henderson, who was one of her assistant coaches last season, won it three consecutive years.

"It is incredible Kylie has won this award two seasons in a row. It's a huge credit to Kylie's work ethic and attitude," said Henderson.

"She shows up every day ready to push herself and her teammates to get better. She was one of our biggest hustle players this season and she played the entire season with a foot injury."

Because of that injury, Frohlich didn't make her debut until Jan. 1, when Montana rallied from 19 down to win at Northern Colorado. Coincidence?

She was ready to do what was asked of her, when it was asked of her, no matter the situation.

Gfeller picks up two fouls in the opening 46 seconds in Montana's home game against Portland State? Enter Frohlich, who added eight to her career high, finishing with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Two days later, 12 points in 19 minutes on 6-of-7 shooting. The next game: 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, as Montana got its February winning streak rolling.

For seizing her opportunity and for countless other reasons, Frohlich doubled up her awards with the player who best exemplifies Lady Griz basketball.

"Kylie is a great teammate who leads by example with her work ethic and uses her voice to encourage and challenge her teammates," said Petrino.

"Off the court Kylie is an excellent student who takes a very challenging academic load. On her days off from basketball, she volunteers her time with various community groups. This is a tremendous honor and well-deserved recognition for Kylie."

University of Montana Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Abby Anderson

Kylie Frohlich

Carmen Gfeller

Jace Henderson

Sophia Stiles

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