“I said it's time to run through those drills looking like a Top 25 team,” said Selvig, whose Big Sky regular-season champs are 25th in the latest Associated Press poll - their first national ranking since 1994.
This would be the perfect time to take it up a notch for Montana (27-2), which squares off against Northern Arizona (19-11) in the Big Sky tournament semifinals, Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Dahlberg Arena. The victor advances to Saturday's 7 p.m. title game with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.
And they've done it with youth. UM's top four scorers in conference play are sophomores, followed by three juniors.
“I'm thrilled with where we are,” Selvig said. “You kind of want to pinch yourself. The consistency has been the remarkable part. We've had two poor games, at Weber and Ohio State. But this league is pretty good, and night in and night out, we've done the job.”
Selvig allowed this team to kick out the jams, and it's responded by setting single-season school records for scoring (78.4 points) and 3-pointers (182), as well as shooting percentage from the arc (.392) and the free-throw line (.764). At the same time, UM is among the top 10 teams in the country for fewest turnovers, and ranks 12th in field-goal defense (.351).
The ringleader is conference MVP Mandy Morales, who leads the Big Sky in assists (6.8) and ranks second in scoring (20.1 points). A finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top point guard in the nation, the 5-foot-9 Morales is the most talented sophomore to wear a Lady Griz uniform since Shannon Cate, almost two decades ago.
But Morales isn't alone.
Guard Sonya Rogers and reserve forward/center Britney Lohman, two more talented sophomores, were chosen for the All-Big Sky second team, while junior forward Johanna Closson was honorable mention. Sophomore center Tamara Guardipee, junior forward Dana Conway and reserves Laura Cote and Sara Gale - the team's lone senior - have also made key contributions.
“It takes everybody doing well,” Cote said. “We needed a year for us to get adjusted to playing together, but everyone has found their roles. And our team chemistry is wonderful. There's no selfishness; everyone pulls for everyone else. I hope it shows.”
Defending tournament champ Northern Arizona returns four starters from the team that defeated Montana in last year's semifinals, but the fourth-seeded Lumberjacks lost twice to UM in the regular season. NAU is led by the inside tandem of Alyssa Wahl and Megan Porter, 3-point threat Kim Winkfield and quick-on-quick Sade Cunningham at the point.
“They're a good solid basketball team,” Selvig said. “To me, they have quality at every position. Transition defense is critical against them, just as it is against us.”
Montana could be rusty, having played just once in the past two weeks. But Selvig knows the effort won't flag.
“One thing I really like about this group is their competitiveness,” Selvig said. “They're going to bring it, every time out.”
NOTES: UM has played host to 12 of the 19 Big Sky tournaments. ... UM has a 19-game home winning streak, dating back to the final four games of last season. That's the fifth longest in the nation. ... Mandy Morales needs 16 points to join Shannon Cate as the only Lady Griz to score 600 points in a season. Cate, now Shannon Schweyen, scored 668 points in 1990-91 and 609 in 1989-90. ... On UM's single-season record lists, Morales is first in free throws (170), second in free-throw attempts (203) and fourth in points and assists (198). ... UM has outrebounded its past 14 opponents by an average margin of 8.3 boards. ... The Lady Griz have shot 49 percent from the field the past four games while limiting foes to 33 percent.
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