Lady Griz try to stay calm for matchup with Bobcats

With Cat-Griz mania sweeping through Montana, the Lady Griz basketball team is trying to maintain that their Sunday match against the Bobcats is just another game – but they are finding it hard not to get pumped up.

“You try to have the same energy, but the Cat-Griz thing, I think it might have a little edge,” UM sophomore guard Sonya Rogers said.

As a Bozeman native who graduated from Bozeman High School, UM sophomore forward Britney Lohman can’t help but hide her excitement.

“It’s great because a lot of people from Bozeman kind of check out the scores and stuff … so Cat-Griz is always kind of nice,” Lohman said. “I know a lot of girls from the team and it’s a nice rivalry, but it’s just another game.”

The Lady Griz (21-2, 9-1 Big Sky Conference) are coming off a 78-50 win over Sacramento State on Thursday night, their fifth straight win. Sophomore guard Mandy Morales led the way with 17 points and 13 assists in just 28 minutes of work while Rogers also chipped in 17 points.

For the third straight game, Montana never trailed meaning that during its current winning streak, UM has been behind on the scoreboard for all of 98 seconds. Northern Arizona led Montana by two points for a whole 20 seconds during a 78-64 loss to Montana on Jan. 25 and two days later, Northern Colorado held an early 10-9 lead for 78 seconds in an 85-54 UM win.

Montana State (10-12, 5-5 BSC) travels to Dahlberg Arena hungry for a win as the Bobcats haven’t won a game in the series since January 2003. Currently sitting in a tie with Portland State for fifth place in the Big Sky Conference, Montana State has won some key conference games against PSU and Idaho State this season.

“They’re pretty tough this year, they’re really getting stronger as the years keep coming,” Rogers said. “We’ve just got to be ready to play, the home court advantage is nice and we’ll be ready since it’s MSU.”

On the other side of the rival spectrum, Montana currently sits in first place in the BSC.

UM sophomore Mandy Morales is averaging 20.8 points per game and Rogers is also scoring in the double digits, averaging 11.1 points per game. Defensively, sophomore Tamara Guardipee averages 6.7 rebounds per game and junior Johanna Closson is close behind with 6.3 rebounds.

Junior Rebecca Mercer leads the Bobcats with 11.6 points per game.

“Mercer’s very athletic, she can get to the hole, she’s a good shooter so we need to do a good job on her,” Selvig said.

Senior Alyssa Nelson and sophomore Nubia Garcia are also scoring in the double digits, chipping in 10 points per game a piece. Nelson is also second in the Big Sky with 54 steals on the season.

“They’re real balanced, so we’re not zeroing in on any one person,” Selvig said. “They’ve got a lot of different kids that can score. They don’t really rely on any one person to do the scoring, so we need to be pretty balanced on them defensively.”

Despite having won eight straight games against Montana State, including an 86-67 win in Bozeman four weeks ago, the Lady Griz are nowhere near being overconfident.

“It was a pretty good match up last time, they were in with us for quite a while during the game,” Rogers said. “It wasn’t just like we got out there and just blew them out. They stuck with us for a long time during the game. I think it will be a great game.”

Montana and Montana State will tip off at 4:00 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena.