Lady Griz Basketball News
Morales to play in Greece
by: Bill Speltz of The Missoulian
Friday, 7/10/2009
Mandy Morales, the second most prolific scorer in Montana Lady Griz history, will play pro basketball in Greece.
She confirmed on Tuesday she will depart in late summer to play for Apollon Ptolemaidos. The team is part of the Greek A1 league, where it finished sixth among 14 teams last season.
Morales, a Billings native, is currently recovering from foot surgery she underwent five weeks ago. The guard hopes to get medical clearance to begin running in August.
In the meantime, Morales has been going through rehab and wrestling with the idea of playing overseas. She held off on her decision until Apollon Ptolemaidos sent word it would begin to pursue someone else if she didn't commit.
“I really wanted to go over with (former Lady Griz) Hollie Tyler for my first experience overseas,” Morales said of a former Montana teammate who has played overseas four years. “It didn't happen because there's not too many teams wanting a post-guard combo.
“Greece offered me a pretty good salary for eight months. I was debating for at least a month whether I should take it.”
Instead of Tyler, Morales' travel partner/teammate for her Greek adventure will be Nicky Wieben, a 6-foot-4 center who recently finished a stellar career at Iowa State. Wieben, who has also dealt with foot problems this summer, helped lead the Cyclones to an Elite Eight appearance in March.
“Hopefully we become really good friends,” Morales said.
Morales, the Big Sky Conference MVP as a sophomore and senior, led Montana to 101 wins in her four years. She finished with 1,959 points and 587 assists, which rank second on the Lady Griz career lists.
Morales is Montana's only four-time honorable mention all-American.