The Montana Lady Griz are a symbol. Each time they step on the floor, they exemplify what most of us know to be true about western Montana: It's a place with heart and soul.
There's unspoken dignity. It funnels through 30-year coach Robin Selvig and his assistants into the players. Words can't adequately express what the Lady Griz program conveys with class and actions.
As an athlete she favors soccer, but it makes no difference. She's been with the Lady Griz every step of the way the past few weeks, whether it's been hanging on the edge of her seat at Dahlberg Arena or watching the only televised basketball game she will all year Saturday on ESPN2.
Hearing about hustle and determination from Dad just isn't the same as seeing it five feet in front of you. So I consider the 20 minutes of basketball my daughter watched with me on press row recently to be priceless.
Whatever she decides to do in life, she'll remember the night she saw the “big girls diving all over.” She'll remember Britney Lohman falling hard on her back to draw a charge. She'll remember Sonya Rogers and Sarah Ena hitting the floor hard just to gain possession of the basketball.
She'll remember the crowd at Dahlberg Arena, 5,000 strong and enthralled by a women's college sporting event in a way she never witnessed living in Iowa and Illinois. She'll remember the person sitting behind us, cheering as if it was the Super Bowl and the referee were Attila the Hun.
“Women's basketball is a big deal there,” Selvig said of Missoula as he spoke to a group of unknowing reporters in New Mexico. “I think it gets great community support and the little kids grow up wanting to be basketball players.”
What my daughter doesn't remember about her press row experience, I'll still be reminding her about a year from now. How Mandy Morales fought through nagging injuries all season but refused to use them as an excuse. How newcomers like Ena and Dvera Tolbert made such a big impact on a team that already seemed set in stone with its top seven returning from 2006-07.
Maybe I'll even remind her about my favorite Morales quote from Albuquerque: “A lot of people underestimate Montana girls, but there's a lot of quality girls that can play ball. A lot of people just don't know where Montana is really.”
A lot of “girls” from Montana can do anything they dream if they put their mind to it. It doesn't matter if it's basketball, politics or medicine.
Maybe in some small way the 2007-08 Lady Griz were a reminder of that. Things didn't turn out exactly as they hoped in Albuquerque, but it doesn't diminish what was accomplished in a Big Sky Conference that has become increasingly more competitive.
Selvig has enjoyed a lot of good times in leading his team to 17 NCAA tournaments. To him all 30 of his past teams are family, and he's not one to favor one over the next.
But he did hint at what this season has meant to him while enjoying his first experience in sunny Albuquerque.
“I'm particularly proud of this team that there was pressure on us to try and get things done this season and it wasn't easy,” he said. “I think we all felt a little pressure. I did anyway.”
It is that tireless quest for continued success that makes Selvig and the Lady Griz such a pleasure to watch. The season is barely over, and I already miss them.
Columnist Bill Speltz can be reached at 523-5255 or bill.speltz@lee.net.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)