MISSOULA – The trip to Bozeman has not treated the Montana Lady Griz well recently. Montana lost for a fifth straight time at Montana State on Saturday, and although the contest got out of hand in the second half, the Lady Griz feel the solution is pretty simple.
Make shots.
Montana has, for the most part, played very efficient on the offensive end this season. The Lady Griz rank in the top half of the Big Sky Conference in scoring and field goal percentage.
But in their last two losses at Idaho State and MSU, the Lady Griz made fewer than 30 percent of their shots. UM has shown plenty of success down low, so now it’s time to start knocking it down from the outside.
“They really tried to pack the paint, and that’s something that’s a strong part of our game right now,” senior forward Jace Henderson said when asked about the Bobcats’ defensive success. “I think it gave all of our guards and our shooters a chance to look at, we want to shoot the ball when we have a shot outside.”
“I really do, looking back, feel like we got a lot of good shots. They just didn’t go,” added head coach Shannon Schweyen. “Great teams find ways to win when you’re not shooting the ball well. We’re going to have nights like that. We’ve got to find other ways to get some easy ones.”
The loss in Bozeman drops Montana to sixth place in the Big Sky standings, half a game behind fifth-place Montana State. That’s significant because the top five teams receive a bye in the first round of the conference tournament. Schweyen said reaching that top five is definitely the top goal for her team the rest of the season.
Please click here for complete Big Sky Conference women’s basketball standings.
