Within a historic rivalry, Montana State made history a season ago.
The MSU women’s basketball team swept rival Lady Griz for the first time since 1999 last winter en route to their second straight regular season Big Sky Conference title. The two-game triumph by Montana State over Montana marked just the fourth time MSU won both matchups since the rivalry started in 1974.
The Bobcats went on to win the Big Sky Tournament in Reno, punching a ticket to their first NCAA Tournament in 25 years.
Montana State’s rise to supremacy completed the swing of power in the Treasure State. In 38 seasons under legendary head coach Robin Selvig, the Lady Griz won 865 games, 23 conference championships and advanced to the Big Dance 21 times.
UM head coach Shannon Schweyen (L) with MSU head coach Tricia Binford (R) in 2017/by Brooks Nuanez
In Shannon Schweyen’s first season at the helm, the former UM All-American forward watched All-Big Sky talent Kayleigh Valley suffer a season-ending knee injury. Two years removed from its last NCAA Tournament berth under Selvig, the Lady Griz won seven games, including just three in Big Sky Conference play.
As Montana State and Montana get set to square off in a matchup between two teams that have claimed the last three league titles on Saturday afternoon in Bozeman, the squads are totally different once again.
The Bobcats had one of the league’s most dominant frontcourts for the last several years. Jasmine Hommes claimed the Big Sky MVP two years ago and Peyton Ferris earned league MVP honors last season. Both have graduated, causing 13th-year head coach Tricia Binford to adjust the way Montana State plays.
MSU is currently using a motion offense, employing four-guard lineups and shooting more 3-pointers than at any time since Katie Bussey graduated in 2012. The makeup of the team is also different with the leadership shifting to senior guards Hannah Caudill and Delany Junkermier.
“There’s a lot of differences in leadership and there’s a lot of differences in our personality as a team as well,” Binford said in an interview a few days before the beginning of league play the end of December. “That’s the area we need to focus on the most. The chemistry off the court is fantastic. The chemistry on the court you can see is not always clicking at times. There’s moments but there’s a lot of big gaps that dig us some holes.”
Sometimes, those holes can be insurmountable, similar to what MSU experienced during a three-game losing streak that saw a historic 31-game home winning streak end last week against Portland State. But the Bobcats rebounded with a huge 85-50 victory over Sacramento State in what Binford called the team’s most complete game of the season. Montana State takes a 3-3 conference record into Saturday’s showdown. The Bobcats are 9-8 overall.
Leading up to Schweyen’s second season, Montana experienced a major setback once again. Valley, the preseason Big Sky MVP entering her senior year, again suffered a season-ending tear to her ACL. Less than a week later, senior center Alycia Sims suffered what amounted to be a career-ending knee injury as well. All of a sudden, a team that hoped to be significantly more veteran after playing eight true freshmen last season, lost their entire starting frontcourt.
Montana guard McKenzie Johnston (32)/by Brooks Nuanez
The off-season losses turned into regular-season losses. The Lady Griz lost their first five games against a trying schedule. UM posted a 68-47 win over Cal State Fullerton on December 1, sparking a recent hot streak that has seen UM win nine of 12 to enter the rivalry game with a 9-8 mark.
UM sophomore point guard McKenzie Johnston, a Helena native who leads the Lady Griz in scoring this season, said the breakthrough came when Montana rallied from a 21-point second-half to post a 70-62 overtime victory over Northern Arizona.
“The biggest factor is the confidence we’ve had,” Johnston said. “Since that NAU win, to come back like that has given us a different kind of confidence. We know we can come back and we’ve had a couple of great starts too, which shows that. We’ve had a couple of big wins and everyone is playing to their abilities right now.”
“Last season, we weren’t finishing very well and we weren’t used to being in those positions very much. That comeback proved we could win. That was a hard game to come back in. We did it the hard way. We are making it easier on ourselves now.”
That’s reflective in UM’s 5-1 Big Sky mark against the identical schedule MSU has played. Montana’s lone loss came 68-50 at preseason league favorite Northern Colorado two nights after UNC beat MSU 82-69. UM won for the first time ever at North Dakota, 54-43, two nights before the Bobcats lost 79-70 in Grand Forks.
“We keep ourselves in games because of our defense and we play with a lot of heart,” said UM junior Jace Henderson, a Billings Senior product who ranks third in conference play with 8.8 rebounds per game against Big Sky teams. “That’s so important when the ball is not always going in the hoop just to be able to stay in games because we are shutting down teams, we are constantly in it and we aren’t letting go.”
Portland State snapped MSU’s home winning streak the second-longest in the nation behind UConn’s 89-game streak, with a 69-60 victory at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. Behind 17 points from Johnston and a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double from Henderson, the Lady Griz downed the Vikings less than 48 hours later, 69-53.
“The balance has been so much better this year as far as inside and outside scoring,” Schweyen said. “That’s just been integral to our success for sure. Different kids have stepped up for us. It’s difficult to focus on just one player for us. We’ve had multiple different scorers different nights.
“The key is the maturity overall, everyone’s maturity. Last year, there wasn’t much of an inside presence and this year, we have it and it makes it harder to guard.”
Montana State guard Delany Junkermier (12)/by Brooks Nuanez
Before Montana State responded in a big way by hitting 15 3-pointers in the 35-point win over shorthanded Sac, the Bobcats took some time to appreciate their accomplishment when PSU snapped the home streak. The reflection helped MSU refocus, Binford said.
“It took a second to reflect on the accomplishment because that’s a big-time accomplishment,” Binford said. “I told the team that I’ve been coaching a lot of years and I know a lot of coaches in this profession and I couldn’t think of one person who could say something like that outside of UConn so I wanted them to take a moment to recognize and reflect on what they were able to do with this community here and be able to turn the next page and start a new streak.”
Montana State sophomore Madeline Smith has established herself as one of the league’s most consistent posts in her first year as a starter. The 6-foot-2 center is averaging 11.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. She and classmate Blaire Braxton, the Bobcats’ primary frontcourt players in a rotation with a slew of guards, will be tasked with slowing down Henderson, Hailey Nicholson and Caitlin Lonergan, a former Bozeman High star who’s 6-foot-3 frame and noticeable athleticism gives UM a punch off the bench since she became eligible five games ago.
The Lady Griz will face Montana State’s revamped motion offense, an attack that has led to a proliferation of 3-pointers made. The Bobcats are making 12.2 triples per league game and 9.9 per game overall. MSU is also shooting 40.8 percent from deep against the rest of the league, the best mark during conference play.
“They are playing more of a four-guard lineup with a post, which is not always what they did before,” Schweyen said. “The number of 3s they are taking…against Southern Utah, they just absolutely lit it on them. I think they made 18 3s in that game. They have a lot of different kids that are shooting the ball well and that’s always hard to defend.”
“I love the fact that we shoot the 3-ball,” Binford said. “The challenge is we are going more possessions with this particular offense, we need to make sure we are still grinding on the defensive end,” Binford said. “When we were at a lower possession count, our defense was really consistent and solid for us. Once the motion took off, it’s been one or the other. We’ve been really good offensively and struggling defensively. That’s why the Sac State was probably our most complete game because we were able to rebound and play efficient offensively from our defense.”
Junkermier leads the league in 3-point shooting during conference play. She’s hit 18 triples, third in the Big Sky, at a blistering 62.1 percent. Caudill has hit 17 3-pointers in 47 attempts (36.9 percent). Sophomore Oliana Squires has become a real outside threat as well, drilling 16 3-pointers in league play and 37 3s overall. The combo guard is shooting 37 percent from deep and has hit at least three triples in three different conference games.
The Bobcats nailed 18 treys against Southern Utah, 16 against Northern Arizona and 13 against Sac State.
Montana guard Taylor Goligoski (23)/by Brooks Nuanez
“We just have to be prepared to get out, get a hand up and change their shot,” Johnston said. “We have played against some teams recently like Sac and Portland that you are going to get a lot of 3s up. We have to be prepared for them to shoot and not be surprised when they do.”
Binford points to Montana’s chemistry as something she sees as apparent when watching the Lady Griz on film. Montana State’s veteran coach said she key factor will be controlling the boards.
Johnston and Schweyen agreed that chasing the Bobcats off of the 3-point line will be crucial. More than strategy or statistics, the desire to ensure a second straight sweep doesn’t occur for the first time in the fierce rivalry is driving the Lady Griz as Montana heads to Bozeman for Saturday’s 2 pm tip.
“It’s a big rival game, a big Montana game, everyone is looking at it,” said Johnston, one of eight Montana natives playing for the Lady Griz Saturday among the 10 Treasure State natives in the game. “You want to sweep them. Getting swept last year really puts a chip on our shoulder and we don’t want that to happen again.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
