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Lady Griz seeded # 13

It will be a rematch of the first round game of 2005. Vanderbilt beat Lady Griz 67 - 44 (which I stated in other thread). So, this will be revenge for the girls (at least 3 of them).

should be played in Old Dominion for those interested in meeting up with Blaine Taylor.
 
Albuquerque altitude is about 5000 feet so the LG having good depth is a must. Of course Vandy will have it too. I give the Lady Griz a 50/50 chance at winning this game. Should be close!
 
alotta what if's at this point....however, if the lady Griz can get by the first round of Vandy, they would face either New Mexico or West Virginia....the winner of the second round would end up in our back yards to play in Spokane ...against possibly the number 1 seed of Maryland.....could make for a fun road trip....and just in case your wondering....spokane arena is offering the three game package that weekend for 45 bucks...not too shabby for three good college games if you ask me....
 
Lady Griz shoot 3's like they did against the Cats and they are going to be a handful for anyone! I like the matchup
 
Anyone who thinks the Lady Griz have no chance must not have been watching both Colorado State teams, Georgia, Coppin State, to name but a few who won big games when no one gave them a chance.
 
Vanderbilt women’s basketball coach Melanie Balcomb was pleased with the No. 4 seed her team received Monday for the NCAA Women’s Tournament that gets underway Saturday.

The Commodores will travel to Albuquerque, N.M. to play No. 13 seed Montana.
She knew the Commodores wouldn’t be a No. 2 seed like last year, and with only two starters back from that team, Balcomb had prepared herself earlier in the year for a much deeper drop.




“Everybody has peaks and valleys and this was one of the years we thought that we might have to take a dip down with only one senior and two juniors,’’ Balcomb said. “So to be able to keep ourselves up is a good feeling. If you would have told me early in the year, November or December, we would have a four seed going into the NCAAs, I would have thought you were crazy. We’ve come a long way.”

The Commodores (23-8), who will make their ninth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, will face Montana (25-6) for the second time in four years. Vandy beat Montana 67-44 in Seattle during the 2005 tournament.

Saturday’s winner will play the winner of the (No. 5) West Virginia-(No. 12) New Mexico game on Monday.

The recovery

When Vandy dropped to 9-4 on Dec. 30 after losing to Old Dominion (80-65), Balcomb was concerned about what was in store for the remainder of the season.
But the Commodores promptly became more aggressive on defense and with their rebounding. They bounced into the Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule with renewed vigor and won 11-of-13 games in one stretch.

It was a style different from what the Commodores had relied upon in the past and one that Balcomb said helped them to land the high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“We needed to get a personality,’’ Balcomb said. “We weren’t going to be the team of the past. We’ve improved defensively and this is probably the best rebounding team I’ve ever had. We improved in areas where we were never necessarily very good at in the past.”

Raising expectations

The expectations of Vanderbilt’s players increased as they looked toward the NCAA Tournament. They hoped for a No. 4 seed, but wouldn’t have been surprised by a No. 5.

“We were not sure if we were going to get a 4 or a 5,’’ junior Christina Wirth said. “It wasn’t a surprise that we got a 4. We were all watching games this last week and saw all the upsets and thought that was in our favor.”

Junior Jennifer Risper said the Commodores hoped the selection committee had noticed the improvement they made.

“We know how good we are and how much we’ve improved over the season, but we didn’t know who else knew,’’ Risper said.

But despite the high seed, Balcomb cautioned that the Commodores won’t be facing a cupcake in the opening round.

“We’ve played Montana in the past. Their tradition and their history is wonderful,’’ Balcomb said. “They are always in the tournament as well. This is not a new team to the tournament or to success.”

Montana is in the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time after winning the Big Sky Conference Tournament.

Reach Mike Organ at 259-8021 or [email protected].
 
Vanderbilt, 21st in the nation, finished 23-8 in the season, but of course their conf has two #1 seeds, LSU and Tennessee.

Looking at theit losses this year:

Indiana St - Overtime loss, got beat at the FT line, Vandy only shot 3-14 from the line that game.

Cal (10th in the nation) - Went stone cold from beyond the arc and lost control of the game, fouled the Cal players a lot.

Colorado - Fouls and perimeter D again, CU made 14 more Free Throws and Vandy went 3-19 shooting the 3 ball

Old Dominion (11th in the nation) - Once again, they were out-shot at the 3 point line and ODU had 6 more made FTs, also ODU out-rebounded Vandy by 11.

LSU (7th in the nation) - LSU had 28 Free Throw attempts to Vandy's 7 (made 19 compared to 5 for Vandy). Vandy was slightly out-rebounded. LSU only had 10 fouls compared to Vandy's 24

Tennesse 3 times (3rd in the nation)
1st game - Fouls, Vandy had 10 more than Tenn. Tenn outscored Vandy by 15 at the free throw line and won the game by 16 - go figure.

2nd game - 3 point shooting, turnovers and free throws yet again.

3rd game - Horrible 3 point shooting (2-17), free throw shooting, and fouls

In their losses the trends are pretty clear, they foul too much, do not shoot well from the charity stripe and cast away from the 3 point line. However it's not fair to say they're bad at these spots. All but 2 of these games were against teams that were ranked, so equally talented teams.
 
Re/Max,

Keep in mind they only returned two players with much experience and seemed to improve quite a bit over the course of a season. Make no mistake the LG will have to play a heck of a game to beat them. They are big inside and are more athletic than what LG are used to in BSC play. I think the LG can win, but I would have preferred Utah for sure.
 
Agreed, Vandy is more athletic than Utah - this is going to be a mosnster of an uphill battle for the Ladies to win.
 
So the team loses when they put a lot of people on the line and can't hit outside shots. Sooo... we have to penetrate on offense and keep them in front of us on defense. That's going to be a tough thing to do against a team that is probably going to be much more athletic.
 
the numbers from Vandy's losses are about what you could expect for a team trying to get back into the game. I doubt those numbers are consistent in their wins. so, the LG need to get a quick start and maintain a lead that could force Vandy into those weaknesses of theirs... imo
 
Lady Griz open with Vanderbilt
By BILL SPELTZ
Missoulian

She's earned multiple MVP awards and championship trophies, but none of them measures up to Monday night for Montana point guard Mandy Morales.

"Having our name announced up there on ESPN is the sweetest thing I've ever felt," said Morales, whose team gathered at jam-packed Paradise Falls in Missoula for an announcement on where Montana will play its NCAA tourney opener. "Getting named with all these huge teams is the greatest feeling right now.

"I was on cloud nine since this morning from our win in the Big Sky championship game (Saturday). This pretty much put it at the top."

Montana (25-6) earned a No. 13 seed and will face No. 4 seed Vanderbilt (23-8) on Saturday at approximately 9 p.m. MDT in Albuquerque, N.M. The game will air on either ESPN on ESPN2, with an announcement expected today. Montana coach Robin Selvig will lead his team into the NCAAs for the 17th time in 30 years. Previous Lady Griz squads have been seeded as high as No. 4, but nothing can take away from the luster of reaching the Big Dance.

"All you gotta do is not be doing this a couple years and you realize just how exciting it is," said Selvig, whose team failed to reach the NCAAs the past two seasons. "It's a thrill for the ladies. To see Montana pop up there and you know it's elite company and you're proud."

The only surprise for Selvig was that his team is paired against the same opponent it faced last time in the NCAAs.

"The odds on that happening have to be pretty slim," he said.

"... I thought we'd be between 11 and 14," he added. "Traditionally that's where it goes. (No.) 13 is fine. You're going to be playing somebody really good. If you're playing a 4 seed, that means they're one of the top 16 teams in the country, according to the committee."

The Commodores dumped Montana, 67-44, in a first-round contest in Seattle on March 19, 2005. Lady Griz senior forward Dana Conway, a freshman reserve on the 2004-05 team, has a greater appreciation for what her team has accomplished this time around.

"It was exiting to see us up there as a 13 seed," she said. "We got a little more respect."

Montana junior forward Britney Lohman is excited about playing in The Pit at the University of New Mexico. Feted by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 20 sports venues of the 20th century, the facility is a mile high but 37 feet underground.

It has been the site of many memorable college games, including North Carolina State's stunning upset of Houston in the '83 men's NCAA tournament final. The noise generated by fans has been measured at 125 decibels. That's close to the pain threshold for the human ear, which is roughly 130.

"It will be awesome," Lohman said. "We're just excited to play in a great facility against a good team and just have a chance to prove ourselves.

"It's kind of nice we're staying in the West too. As crazy as all the basketball stuff is, class still goes on. It's nice to be able to stay home for another day or two and it's nice for family to make it to the games."

Morales says she and her teammates are enjoying their time in the local spotlight this week. She's hoping her team can keep things at a fever pitch by pulling the big upset Saturday.

"It's so exciting having everybody congratulate us on the sweet wins, especially the one against the (Montana State) Cats," she said, referring to Saturday's Big Sky tourney final. "My mom hates going to places with me because we always get stopped, but that's part of it."
 
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