Cat-Griz is more that just a rivalry game
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:20 am
Cat-Griz is more that just a rivalry game
By RIAL CUMMINGS of the Missoulian
Coach Robin Selvig has always believed in detente when it comes to the Montana-Montana State women's basketball rivalry.
“I downplay this game all the time,” Selvig said last Friday night after his Lady Griz ripped the Bobcats 79-54 in the teams' Big Sky Conference opener at Worthington Arena in Bozeman. “It's one game, that counts the same as all the rest of them. I try to be as low-key as I can.
“Our girls are going to be ready to play this game, there's crowds in both places, and everybody talks about it. So you don't have to make more of it than it is.”
Freshman phenom Mandy Morales (13 points, 13 rebounds) notched her first career double-double to pace Montana (12-2). Guard Katie Edwards (13 points) and forward Jody McLeod (10 rebounds), UM's only seniors, also had fine games.
There's arguably no player on either side who appreciates the rivalry more than Edwards, who grew up near Denton, in north-central Montana. Her father, Wayne, played football for the Bobcats, while her cousin, John, quarterbacked the Grizzlies to their second national title.
“I'm gonna miss all of it,” said Edwards, who wound up her career 3-1 in games at Bozeman. “It's a great thing, and I absolutely love it.”
At the same time, Edwards went out of her way to cushion the blow for Montana State (1-12), praising the Cats in her postgame remarks. Edwards also noted that, whatever the result on the court, the Lady Griz and Cats share a bond that transcends media hype or partisanship. Just one example would be Lady Griz forward Johanna Closson and injured Bobcat guard Brandie Buckless, who were high-school teammates at Whitefish.
In fact, Edwards said players from both teams visited on Thursday, the night before the game.
“It's really not our biggest rivalry in the Big Sky anymore,” said Edwards, who has helped UM win the past five meetings, four of them by 16 points or more. “We respect them. They're good friends and good players.”
That doesn't mean the competition isn't heated. But even a second-half technical foul assessed to Morales, for a mild shove after being fouled by Scotta Morton, was more of a footnote than a flare-up.
“You can be friends with great rivals,” said Selvig, a standout guard for UM before becoming the Lady Griz coach in 1978.
“That's what they should be. I had a lot of friends who were Bobcats when I played. It doesn't have to be goofy, like it sometimes gets in that sport where you wear a helmet.”
By RIAL CUMMINGS of the Missoulian
Coach Robin Selvig has always believed in detente when it comes to the Montana-Montana State women's basketball rivalry.
“I downplay this game all the time,” Selvig said last Friday night after his Lady Griz ripped the Bobcats 79-54 in the teams' Big Sky Conference opener at Worthington Arena in Bozeman. “It's one game, that counts the same as all the rest of them. I try to be as low-key as I can.
“Our girls are going to be ready to play this game, there's crowds in both places, and everybody talks about it. So you don't have to make more of it than it is.”
Freshman phenom Mandy Morales (13 points, 13 rebounds) notched her first career double-double to pace Montana (12-2). Guard Katie Edwards (13 points) and forward Jody McLeod (10 rebounds), UM's only seniors, also had fine games.
There's arguably no player on either side who appreciates the rivalry more than Edwards, who grew up near Denton, in north-central Montana. Her father, Wayne, played football for the Bobcats, while her cousin, John, quarterbacked the Grizzlies to their second national title.
“I'm gonna miss all of it,” said Edwards, who wound up her career 3-1 in games at Bozeman. “It's a great thing, and I absolutely love it.”
At the same time, Edwards went out of her way to cushion the blow for Montana State (1-12), praising the Cats in her postgame remarks. Edwards also noted that, whatever the result on the court, the Lady Griz and Cats share a bond that transcends media hype or partisanship. Just one example would be Lady Griz forward Johanna Closson and injured Bobcat guard Brandie Buckless, who were high-school teammates at Whitefish.
In fact, Edwards said players from both teams visited on Thursday, the night before the game.
“It's really not our biggest rivalry in the Big Sky anymore,” said Edwards, who has helped UM win the past five meetings, four of them by 16 points or more. “We respect them. They're good friends and good players.”
That doesn't mean the competition isn't heated. But even a second-half technical foul assessed to Morales, for a mild shove after being fouled by Scotta Morton, was more of a footnote than a flare-up.
“You can be friends with great rivals,” said Selvig, a standout guard for UM before becoming the Lady Griz coach in 1978.
“That's what they should be. I had a lot of friends who were Bobcats when I played. It doesn't have to be goofy, like it sometimes gets in that sport where you wear a helmet.”