By Brian MontgomeryStaff Writer
Everyone knows Montana has cold weather, but apparently it hassome basketball players too.
San Diego State found this out first-hand last Saturday as it wasdefeated by the Lady Griz 68-58. Head coach Barb Smith said thetradition of Montana basketball makes it a tough place to play.
“I am glad we opened there,” she said. “There were 3,400 peoplewatching. The atmosphere made it tough for us. This is something wewon’t experience for a while.”
SDSU got behind early and trailed by nine at the half — which wasamazing considering it made only seven of 28 shots (25 percent) fromthe field.
Smith said first game jitters may have had something to do withit.
“In the first half, we threw up some wild shots,” she said. “Wesettled down though by the end of the half. We struggled againsttheir zone defense.”
In the second half both teams play evenly, but a major disparitycame from the free throw line. The Lady Griz took 10 more shots fromthe charity stripe than the Aztecs, resulting in forwards Atim Otiiand Tanisha Knight fouling out. This was something SDSU hasn’t seenin over a year. Last season, no Aztec fouled out in any of the 27games.
Montana’s front-line was dominant. Forward Lauren Cooper scored agame-high 17 points and grabbed eight boards, while center LauraValley scored 13 points, had eight rebounds and blocked two shots.
Smith said Cooper played well, but the defense shut her down inthe second half.
“In the first half we didn’t do a good job on her,” she said. “Inthe second half she only scored one point. We put Missy Schomaker onher and she did a great job.”
Guard Jamey Cox once again led SDSU in scoring. She scored 13points in 36 minutes, adding three steals and two assists. The benchcontributed solid play. Transfer forwards Schomaker and Knight eachscored 12 points and combined for four steals and four assists.
Boarding school
One area that stood out in this game was the rebounding advantage.The Lady Griz were all over the glass, out-rebounding the Aztecs40-28, including a 15-10 advantage on the offensive end. This led tothem easy points, which could have made the difference. Montana hadthree players with eight or more boards. Knight led the way for SDSUwith five.
“We need to work on our boxing out,” Schomaker said. “We need towork on the little things. Rebounding was definitely was the mainthing. It killed us.”
By the Numbers
16 — Steals by the Aztecs
21 — Field goals made by SDSU
23 — Fouls committed by the Aztecs
25 — Field goal percentage by SDSU in the first half
54.5 — Field goal percentage by the Lady Griz in the first hall
