Lady Griz named second seed after weekend road sweep

by Troy Warzocha | March 9, 2010 | Montana Kaimin

She’s played four different positions this season, she’s the leading scorer for the Lady Griz, and she knows a thing or two about making a big shot.

In her final regular season game, senior guard Lauren Beck made a clutch jumper with 21 seconds left to guide Montana to a tight 63–60 victory over Northern Colorado Saturday night in Greeley, Colo. 

The win ensured the Lady Griz of their first two-game road sweep of the season and the second seed in this week’s conference tournament.

“It’s a good deal,” said Lady Griz coach Robin Selvig. “You only have to win two games to get to the NCAA tournament.”

Two nights prior, Beck scored nine of her 17 points against Northern Arizona in a three-minute span to turn a 3-point Lady Griz deficit into a 3-point lead with less than eight minutes to go.

The Lady Griz would go on to hold the lead for the rest of the game, sending Northern Arizona to its eighth straight loss.

Montana finished conference play in a three-way tie with Sacramento State and Idaho State at 10 –6, but earned the second seed by virtue of its season split with the Hornets and its sweep over the Bengals.

Being one of the top seeds provides the Lady Griz the luxury of an automatic spot in the conference semi-finals and also gives them an extra day of rest.

“It just means you don’t have to play three days in a row,” Selvig said.

Before last weekend, Montana’s chances of getting a high seed seemed remote with its recent struggles.

“We thought the chances of getting a second seed were slim to none,” Beck said. 

The Lady Griz needed to take care of business and hope for Sacramento State and Montana State to lose at least one of their final two games and Eastern Washington to beat Portland State in both teams’ season finale.

Fortunately, everything came up roses for the Lady Griz, as Montana State fell to Northern Colorado, Sacramento State was beaten by Idaho State and Eastern topped Portland State by 10 points.

From the beginning, the plan for the Lady Griz had been simple: win out and let the chips fall where they may. And for a team that has struggled on the road this season, winning its last two away from home was easier said than done.

However, the recently-suspect Lady Griz defense stepped up, holding both Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado under 39 percent shooting from the field. Montana also out-rebounded both teams and the deep Lady Griz bench scored 28 points in each game.

“(The bench) has been really important in most of our wins,” Selvig said. “Our bench has been good for us.”

Both games were close throughout, making every point the Lady Griz could muster especially helpful.

The Lady Griz pulled away from Northern Arizona in the last four minutes by forcing three consecutive Lumberjack turnovers and making four of their last six free throws to seal the season sweep.

By late Saturday night the second seed was ripe for the taking and Northern Colorado made sure the Lady Griz were going to have to work for it. 

“It became an important game, winning that game,” Beck said. “We knew before we headed to our game that Portland (State) had lost.”

The game featured 13 ties and 15 lead changes, making for an exciting affair all the way down to the final 30 seconds, when Beck put the Lady Griz up for good and the Montana defense stiffened, causing Northern Colorado red-shirt freshman forward Lauren Oosdyke to miss a layup with eight seconds remaining.

Junior guard Stephanie Stender scored 13 points to lead the most balanced Lady Griz offensive attack of the season. All nine players who played scored at least two points and played at least 10 minutes.

In fact, eight of the nine players contributed at least six points in the victory.

Despite making only two of her 11 shots from the field, Beck came up big when it mattered most.

“I was happy to make that shot,” Beck said. “I wasn’t making many all game, so I was definitely happy to hit that one.”

“Lauren’s had a great year,” Selvig said. “She’s been our leader this season and she’s doing a good job.”

Junior forward Sarah Ena recorded a game-high 12 rebounds and senior center Shadra Robison had a game-high three blocks.

With a modest two-game road winning streak, the Lady Griz are looking to carry a bit of momentum into Cheney, Wash., to defend their 2009 conference title and make the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year.

For Beck, it would be her third trip to the tournament and a perfect ending to a sparkling career at Montana.

“I think it’d be a fantastic way to cap off a career that I’ve been very honored to be a part of,” Beck said.

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