The Montana women’s basketball team opened its 2009-10 season Friday when the Lady Griz had their first practice at 5 p.m. in the West Auxiliary Gym. Montana, which is coming off a 28-5 season highlighted by the program’s 22nd regular-season conference championship and 18th trip to the NCAA tournament, returns two starters and eight letterwinners.

The Lady Griz will have their annual Maroon & Silver scrimmage Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. and face Northwest Sports Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. in an exhibition game before opening the regular season at Colorado State and Wyoming, Friday and Sunday, Nov. 13 and 15.

Montana’s lone returning starters are senior guard/forward Lauren Beck and junior forward Sarah Ena. Beck averaged 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as a junior starting at the three, while Ena earned honorable mention All-Big Sky Conference honors after averaging 10.7 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game starting at the four.

Montana’s six other returning letterwinners have zero career starts between them and none averaged better than 3.2 points per game last season.

Senior point guard Shaunte Nance-Johnson, junior forward Jessa Loman Linford and junior guard/forward Stephanie Stender were all part of Montana’s regular rotation last year.

The Lady Griz must replace a tremendous senior class that included Mandy Morales, Sonya Rogers and Britney Lohman. Morales was a four-time honorable mention all-American and a two-time Big Sky Conference MVP, Rogers was the nation’s top 3-point shooter as a junior and a first team All-Big Sky pick as a senior, and Lohman was the Big Sky’s Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and a three-time second team All-Big Sky selection.

Last year’s senior class won 101 games over its four seasons.

2009 season preview

“Larry Bird is not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door. And Robert Parish is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through that door, they’re going to be gray and old.

“What we are is young, exciting, hard-working, and we’re going to improve. As soon as (you) realize those three guys are not coming through that door, the better this town will be for all of us, because there are young guys in that (locker) room playing their (butts) off.

“If you think I’m going to succumb to negativity, you’re wrong. You’ve got the wrong guy leading this team.”

Rick Pitino
Head coach, Boston Celtics
March 2000

You poke at Montana women’s basketball coach Robin Selvig with the evidence at hand, looking to touch a sensitive nerve, hoping he’ll channel his own inner Rick Pitino and break down like an unsure witness under a heavy cross examination.

“Robin, you won’t have four-time honorable mention All-American Mandy Morales this year. She won her second Big Sky Conference MVP award last year, she led the team in both scoring and assists and you ran your entire offense through her at the point guard. How do you possibly think you can be competitive this year?”

He doesn’t flinch, nor does he show even the slightest sign of cracking. Maybe that confidence comes with winning 725 games over 31 seasons.

“Every team has its own look and personality,” he says two days before the start of practice for the 2009-10 season. “Every team is different. Every team is a new team. Over the years we’ve had all sorts of teams, from inside-oriented to guard-oriented. We always adjust our style of play to match our talent.

“It’s going to be fun to watch this team develop.”

Is that a hint of excitement? That’s not possible. You twist the knife a little deeper.

“Robin, Sonya Rogers averaged over 13 points per game last season as Mandy’s back-court running mate. Together they averaged over 30 points per game and hit 120 3-pointers. Sonya was the nation’s best 3-point shooter as a junior and made 206 threes in her career. The players you have on this year’s team have made 47. All of them. Combined. Together. For their careers.”

You get no doom. You get no gloom. He refuses to go apocalyptic.

“We lost a couple of senior guards who were really good scorers,” he admits, then adds, “I’m guessing we’ll be more balanced this year than last year with more inside scoring, and balance is always a good thing.”

Can he be serious? Running out of arrows in your quiver, you attack that which he holds most dear: his defense.

“Robin, you lost Britney Lohman, who you said is the best defender you’ve had in three decades of coaching. She was the heart of the team on the defensive end the last three seasons. As a coach who loves the defensive end of the floor more than anything else, are you going to be able to stop anybody this season?”

“We’ve got some good athletes this year, and they are awfully competitive,” he says. “I don’t think this team is going to go out and out-score people every night, particularly early in the year when we’re still developing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go out and guard the hell out of people.”

No further questions. The witness is excused due to unflappability.

After going 27-2 during the regular season in 2006-07, the Lady Griz of Morales, Rogers and Lohman were the hunted the last two seasons, and they flourished in the role. They won 25 games in 2007-08 and matched the program record with 28 wins last winter. Both seasons ended with a trip to the NCAA tournament.

That senior class was as decorated as any in Selvig’s first 31 seasons, but you don’t win 22 regular-season conference championships in 31 years by riding a roller coaster of success. You don’t have 27 20-win seasons by putting all your efforts into one great team every few years, then starting over when that team graduates.

“We’ve graduated all-conference players a lot of years here, and people have probably wondered who’s going to be the next group to step up, or how’s the next team going to grow together?” Selvig said. “I don’t do this whole ‘rebuilding’ thing, and I know that’s not what the players are thinking. They’re thinking, ‘This is my turn.’ “

“Our team had a real definite look about it for the last three seasons. Now we’ve got a nice mix of talented young players joining some kids that are looking for their time. That’s the way it is most seasons.

“Sure, I’m worried sick, but I’m worried sick every year, just about different things. What this program has done over the years, it doesn’t help me one bit when I go out and coach (our first practice) and it won’t help us win a single game this season.

“I’m just going to go to practice every day and coach this team and see where that gets us.”

The key to success: Montana lost three players from last year who all averaged over 30 minutes per game, with Morales (34.8) and Rogers (34.6) both averaging over 34 minutes per game. Along with Lohman, the trio averaged over 37 points and 14 rebounds per game on the season.

Junior Sarah Ena, who started every game last year outside of Senior Day, is the team’s top returning scorer (10.7 ppg) and led the team in rebounding at 6.8 boards per game.

Senior Lauren Beck, who started all 33 games last year, averaged 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

No other returner averaged over four points per game.

“If we’re going to be a championship team this year, we need to be really good defensively, and I think we can be,” Selvig said. “Maybe they’ll surprise me, but I don’t think we’re going to go out and light it up and outscore people every night.

“I’ve made that point to this group. If you want to play, be a good defender.

“We’re a little inexperienced on the defensive end, but we’ve got good enough athletes. There are more questions in my mind offensively. I couldn’t predict this year’s leading scorers. Who’s going to be our go-to, or do we even need a go-to? Who’s going to fill those shoes?

“I don’t have those questions defensively. All these kids can be great defenders, but it takes some time to get the experience to be confident on the offensive end.

“And I think we need to be deep, which I think we will be. Hopefully deep and good. Last year we were at our best if we could get 35 minutes out of some of our players. I think with this team its strength might be its depth.”

Another tough early schedule: Montana will open the season with a road trip to face Colorado State and Wyoming of the Mountain West Conference on Friday, Nov. 13, and Sunday, Nov. 15.

After home games against Oregon and Denver, the Lady Griz will travel to Los Angeles for a Thanksgiving weekend tournament at Loyola Marymount. Montana will open the tournament against South Florida, which won 27 games and the WNIT championship last year.

“It wasn’t like last year’s team was going to drop a few early games and think, ‘Uh, oh, we’re not very good this year.’ They knew they were good, because they’d proved it.

“This year’s team won’t have that because they don’t have the background or experience. They could start thinking that way if we drop a few early. It’s my job to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“We have young kids, so we’ll be positive no matter what happens early.”

The seniors: Playing a supporting role in the shadow of last year’s alpha dog of a senior class, this year’s senior class has yet to have the opportunity to make a name for itself, though “we’re still counting on some great leadership from these three,” Selvig said.

The most experienced of the three is Beck, a Swiss Army knife of a 6-0 guard/forward who can play every position from the point to the post. She started all 33 games at the three last winter, finishing fifth on the team in scoring (6.8/g) and fourth in rebounding (4.7/g) while playing over 24 minutes per game.

She had 10 games when she scored in double figures, with a career-high 14 in Montana’s home win over Northern Arizona last February.

“Lauren is a key player for us this year for a lot of reasons,” Selvig said. “First, she’s our most experienced player and is coming off a good junior season. She’ll have more of an offensive role on this year’s team. Second, we can use her in a lot of different ways because she can play anywhere from inside to point guard.

“At this point I expect she’ll see more time at the two than the three this season, with maybe some minutes at the one. She’s a good perimeter shooter, but I’d also like to get her some more inside scoring, which with her size we should be able to do.”

In her first season in the program, Shaunte Nance-Johnson, a 5-5 guard, averaged 12 minutes per game playing behind Morales at the point. Even with limited minutes, she was third on the team in assists with 63 (1.9/g) and picked off 27 steals, which ranked fourth.

With just two 3-pointers made last season, Nance-Johnson doesn’t offer the outside scoring threat that last season’s guards did, but she did finish the season with a 63:53 assists-to-turnovers ratio.

She enters the season competing with redshirt freshman Ashley Ferda for the starting spot at the point.

“Shaunte had been out of basketball for a year and had to learn a new system, so the experience she got last year playing behind Mandy will be really valuable for this year,” Selvig said. “The point is one position that’s wide open this year. She and Ashley will be battling, though Shaunte will have the edge in experience.

“Shaunte’s biggest strength is driving and distributing. She’s really good at getting to the hole and creating things for her teammates. And she’s a very good defender.

“Scoring wasn’t something we needed out of her last year, but she’s capable of giving us some scoring as well.”

Shadra Robison, a 6-3 center, got the most meaningful minutes of her career early last season before Tamara Guardipee returned from a hip injury. Robison played double-figure minutes in five games before Big Sky Conference play opened and had an eight-point scoring game against Hampton and a seven-rebound game against MSU Northern.

“Shadra was playing really well before Tam got back and was giving us some good minutes. She was doing some things she hadn’t done before,” Selvig said. “Then Tam came back and Shadra hurt her ankle, and her role was limited after that. With her ankle better (after an off-season operation), I expect Shad is going to be a very important contributor to this year’s team.

“She’s gotten herself into shape and gotten faster and quicker to where her athleticism has really improved. She’s increased her mobility to where she can really be an effective player for us.”

The juniors: The most recognizable returner on this year’s team will be Ena, a 5-11 forward. Following a productive freshman season in 2007-08, Ena made it clear she had no interest in burdening herself with a sophomore slump when she put 19 points on Wyoming in last season’s opener.

Joining Ena in the junior class are 6-1 forward Jessa Loman Linford and 5-11 guard/forward Stephanie Stender. Loman Linford and Stender both opened their sophomore campaigns as question marks but worked themselves into key roles on a conference championship team.

Ena had 20 double-figure scoring games last season and seven double-figure rebounding games. She closed the regular season with three straight double-doubles, then added an important 19-point, 14-rebound effort against Portland State in the Big Sky Conference tournament championship game. That effort earned her all-tournament honors to go along with her honorable mention All-Big Sky selection from the regular season.

The team’s quickest interior player, Ena grabbed a team-high 79 offensive rebounds last winter and got to the line 135 times, second on the team only to Morales’s 144. A 74.8 percent free throw shooter, Ena scored 101 of her 354 points on the season from the line.

“Sarah had a great sophomore year,” Selvig said. “Going into the season, she should be one of our go-to players. She gives us size and athletic ability inside. She’s a really strong rebounder who has the ability to go get the ball. She improved defensively last year, and her overall game is better.

“Our experienced players really need to play confidently and lead this team, especially early in the season. We lost a ton of minutes, so we need to rely on our returning kids to assume more. Sarah had a big role on the team last year, so she’s one of our givens that we know what to expect from.

“It’s fitting in all the non-givens that makes a season interesting.”

Loman Linford averaged nearly 14 minutes per game last season off the bench, spelling Ena at the four. She averaged 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, with four six-board games and a pair of 10-point scoring games.

“Jessa is a really good player, and I expect her to keep improving,” Selvig said. “Her role was to be a factor in every game, and she did that, so she got considerable minutes and had some nice games for us. She basically split time with Sarah, which allowed us to keep Sarah fresh and strong.

“Jessa has long arms and is very mobile, so she is a shot-changer and a good shot-blocker on the defensive end. Offensively she can get out and run, and she gives us an athletic kid who can score inside.”

Stender scored four points while playing a total of 25 minutes through Montana’s first eight games last season, then came on to become a key reserve during the Big Sky Conference season. She averaged 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per game while averaging nearly 12 minutes per game during league play.

“About the middle of last season Stephanie started to make a move,” Selvig said. “She made great strides, and it earned her some valuable minutes. We’ll see if she keeps improving and where that takes her this season.

“She really improved defensively, and I’m going to be looking for someone to play some defense this year. We lost a lot of scoring, so we’d better be able to guard somebody.”

The sophomores: Misty Atkinson, a 5-10 forward, and Tianna Ware, a 5-10 guard, both played sparingly last season.

Atkinson, who missed the final three weeks of the season with a shoulder injury, reacted well to a move to the four midway through the winter. After getting limited minutes prior to Big Sky Conference play, she scored 26 of her 34 points on the season during league action, shooting 66.7 percent from the field, mostly from the interior.

“We ended up moving Misty to the inside later in the season as an undersized power forward, and she proved she can be very effective,” Selvig said. “She had some great practices and some good moments in games even though she wasn’t getting a lot of minutes. She and Sarah were basically even in practice the last month of the season. They really battled. That’s actually how Misty’s shoulder got injured.

“We brought Misty in as a guard and small forward, but she showed she’s maybe more comfortable down low. She’s really strong, and she can use her quickness on bigger kids. She has right and left hooks and is a really good scorer. It’s the defensive end where her size might hurt her a little bit.”

Ware was the only of the three incoming freshmen who didn’t redshirt last season. She had six points and five rebounds in Montana’s blowout of Hampton at the Lady Griz Holiday Classic, and scored a season-high eight points against Maryland in Cancun, Mexico, knocking down a pair of second-half 3-pointers to keep Montana in the game.

“Ti’s strength is that she can get out and go on the break. She’s good in the open court. We’ll look at her at the one, two and three and try to find a place for her to be most comfortable,” Selvig said.

“She’s athletic enough to be a really good defender. She was kind of out of the picture last year, but I’m going to be on her this year because of her potential as a defender. I could get her some minutes if she can go out and shut people down.”

Redshirt freshmen: Ashley Ferda, a 5-6 point guard, and Alexandra Hurley, a 5-11 guard/forward, both redshirted last season.

“It’s extremely valuable to have a redshirt year as a point guard, and as a guard in general, because now you’re coming in and you already know the offense and what’s going on,” Selvig said. “It’s a real learning curve at that position. If you’re using a freshman point guard in her first season, you probably aren’t running as many things as you could be because it limits what you can do.

“Ashley has a chance to be pretty good. She’s got a good dribble jumper, she can get to the hole and she’s becoming a better defender all the time. Even more than those things, she’s able to run the club and feed the right people the ball.

“Ali, too, has come in this year way ahead of where she was last year. Playing against our talented older kids last year, it made her better. One area that she especially learned last year was the defensive part of it at this level. You have to be able to guard people and do it within the team context.

“She’ll be competing for time at the three and four, which is going to be a very competitive spot. She gives us a good 3-point shooter, and she has a good nose for the ball, so she’s a good rebounder.”

The true freshmen: Montana added three scholarship players in 6-0 forward Katie Baker, 5-11 guard/forward Kenzie De Boer and 6-0 forward Alyssa Smith, and accepted 5-4 guard Kelsey Hildal as a walk-on.

None are expected to redshirt, and Baker and Smith could be in the running for starting spot by the time the team opens the season at Colorado State in mid November.

Baker, who assumes Lohman’s old jersey number of 22, is a 2009 graduate of the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy and played her prep basketball for Lake City High. She was the Idaho Gatorade Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year as a sophomore, junior and senior and led the Timberwolves to the 2007 Class 5A state title as a sophomore.

Her senior season she averaged 21.8 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, with 17 double-doubles in 26 games.

“Katie is going to help us starting this year,” Selvig said. “She’s an active inside player who also has perimeter skills. She plays big, she’s mobile, she can board the heck out of it, she’s active, she can shoot it and she can run, so she’s definitely going to be in the picture.

“We’ve been excited about her for a while, though it’s key that she continue to improve as we go.”

One of De Boer’s requirements for her college of choice was for the program to have had the type of success she enjoyed at Lynden Christian School, where she and the Lyncs had a four-year record of 103-9 with four top-four finishes at Washington state tournaments. That limited her choices to Montana and few others.

De Boer averaged 17.7 points per game as a senior to earn Northwest Conference MVP honors and Associated Press and Seattle Times Class 1A Player of the Year accolades.

Her success continued into the post-season. De Boer led Washington to a 75-65 victory over Oregon at the annual Northwest Shootout. Playing alongside eight other Division I recruits on the Washington team, she scored 20 points to earn MVP honors.

“We’re looking at playing Kenzie only at the two to start with,” Selvig said. “We’ll try her at the one at times to work on her handling skills, but freshmen can get behind if they try to do too much all at once.

“She’s pretty fast and quick, and she can run. She likes the open court, and she’s good with the ball. She’s got good quickness and she’s long-armed, so she should be able to be a good defender. I like her length on defense.”

Hildal, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, is a 2009 graduate of Kalispell’s Flathead High. In her only season with the Bravettes, she averaged 18.8 points per game and earned Class AA all-state honors.

“Kelsey is going to be a real asset for us this year,” Selvig said. “We only have two point guards on the team right now, so she is going to be invaluable in terms of practice. That’s going to give her an opportunity to show us what she can do.

“She’s good with the ball, and she understands the game. She’s a good little player.”

Smith, a graduate of Archbishop Murphy High in Everett, Wash., led the Wildcats to a 26-1 record her senior season and a runner-up finish at the Class 2A state tournament. She was the Cascade Conference MVP as a junior and senior after leading Archbishop Murphy to back-to-back conference championships.

“Alyssa is going to be really good because she’s a complete player,” Selvig said. “She’s fundamental, she has picture perfect form out past the 3-point line, she can handle, and she’s six foot and strong. She’s the whole package.

“And there’s no reason she’s not going to be a really good defender, because she competes really hard and comes from a good program. She’s definitely going to be in the picture her first season.”