I submitted my Big Sky women's poll yesterday, here's how my ballot looked:
1. Montana: All you need to know about the Griz is that they shot 27 percent -- and won the Big Sky championship over Northern Colorado last March. Every year Rob Selvig puts some tall, physical young women on the court, plays great defense and finds a couple of upperclassmen who can score. Most years, that's good enough to win the conference title. This year, Montana loses its two best players -- Kenzie de Boer and Katie Baker, but they will find someone from among the likes of Jordan Sullivan, Torry Hill and Maggie Rickman to step up.
2. Eastern Washington: Last year Lexi Nelson, a Griz who got away, became an all-conference player, little 5-1 Kyle Huerta and F Aubrey Ashenfelter took a major step forward, and F Hayley Hodgins became a late-season star. They're all back for the Eagles.
3. Montana State: Every year, the Bobcats start fast and finish weak under Trica Bader-Binford. Last year, for example, they won 8 of their first 9 conference games -- then lost 7 out of 8 to finish a mediocre 11-9. The Cats have three starters back - PG Ausha Cole (who sat out last year), second-leading scorer Kalli Durham and PF Ashley Brumwell (8 pts,6 rebs.). We shall see if they can overcome their latent schizophrenia.
4. Northern Colorado: The Bears would certainly be in the championship discussion but for the loss of D'Shara Strange, probably the best player in the league, who, we are told, is "redshirting" this season. They might still contend, though, thanks to F Lindsay Mallon, who came on strong at the end of last season, UNC blocked shot career leader Stephanie Lee, and F Kim Lockridge, who has shot 48 percent in her UNC career.
5. Sacramento State: The Hornets lose two excellent players in career Big Sky rebounder Kylie Kuhns and league shot blocking champion Megan Kritscher. They do return plenty of talent, though, in the form of league assist leader Fantasia Hilliard, alltime Hornet three-point shooter Allie Moreno, and Se'nyce Parrish, who was fifth in the league in steals last year. In fact, I'd probably rank the Hornets higher -- if their coach hadn't just left for San Jose State.
6. Idaho State: The Bengals will be very young as a whole, but Seton Sobolewski has a way of getting production out of upperclassmen who haven't been key parts of the program in the past. He'll rely, obviously, on the two returning starters, Lindsey Reed and Kara Jenkins, but he'll also be looking for veterans like Anna Lee Policicchio, Alissa Willard and Sheryl Bitter to make contributions. ISU also has a lot of good, young players, but many of them are struggling with injury or illness, and the Bengal roster may be functionally pretty short, especially early in the season.
7. North Dakota: Without question, the no-names will be the biggest team in the conference. UND has 11 players who are 6 feet or taller, including Madi Buck (11 pts, 8 rebounds), Megan Lauck (10 points, 4 rebounds), and 6-5 Emily Everts. Size is clearly not the issue for UND -- last year they turned the ball over a horrendous 608 times in 29 games. If UND can find some stable guard play, they could take a big step up in the standings.
8. Weber State: The Wildcats broke all kinds of records for badness last year, going 0-29 overall, and winless, obviously, in league play. But they return all five starters, including four sophomores who got indoctrinated big time as true frosh. With that kind of talent and experience, they should be able to win a few games.
9. Portland State: The Vikings were one of the mystery teams last year, falling victim to injury and unexpectedly poor performance by veterans. A lot of their success this year will depend on how soon and how strongly Angela Misa and Kate Lanz return from season-ending knee injuries.
10. Northern Arizona: The Lumberjacks picked things up a bit in conference play, winning seven games after getting just one W in non-conference play, but the Axers still seem to be lacking big-time talent. They return only one starter, Amanda Frost, and she averaged just a shade under 10 points a game.
11. Southern Utah: The T-birds return two starters in Hailey Mandelko and Marquelle Funk, and senior F Carli Moreland was productive. But they don't have any stars and they are hot and cold, relying heavily on the three-pointer.
1. Montana: All you need to know about the Griz is that they shot 27 percent -- and won the Big Sky championship over Northern Colorado last March. Every year Rob Selvig puts some tall, physical young women on the court, plays great defense and finds a couple of upperclassmen who can score. Most years, that's good enough to win the conference title. This year, Montana loses its two best players -- Kenzie de Boer and Katie Baker, but they will find someone from among the likes of Jordan Sullivan, Torry Hill and Maggie Rickman to step up.
2. Eastern Washington: Last year Lexi Nelson, a Griz who got away, became an all-conference player, little 5-1 Kyle Huerta and F Aubrey Ashenfelter took a major step forward, and F Hayley Hodgins became a late-season star. They're all back for the Eagles.
3. Montana State: Every year, the Bobcats start fast and finish weak under Trica Bader-Binford. Last year, for example, they won 8 of their first 9 conference games -- then lost 7 out of 8 to finish a mediocre 11-9. The Cats have three starters back - PG Ausha Cole (who sat out last year), second-leading scorer Kalli Durham and PF Ashley Brumwell (8 pts,6 rebs.). We shall see if they can overcome their latent schizophrenia.
4. Northern Colorado: The Bears would certainly be in the championship discussion but for the loss of D'Shara Strange, probably the best player in the league, who, we are told, is "redshirting" this season. They might still contend, though, thanks to F Lindsay Mallon, who came on strong at the end of last season, UNC blocked shot career leader Stephanie Lee, and F Kim Lockridge, who has shot 48 percent in her UNC career.
5. Sacramento State: The Hornets lose two excellent players in career Big Sky rebounder Kylie Kuhns and league shot blocking champion Megan Kritscher. They do return plenty of talent, though, in the form of league assist leader Fantasia Hilliard, alltime Hornet three-point shooter Allie Moreno, and Se'nyce Parrish, who was fifth in the league in steals last year. In fact, I'd probably rank the Hornets higher -- if their coach hadn't just left for San Jose State.
6. Idaho State: The Bengals will be very young as a whole, but Seton Sobolewski has a way of getting production out of upperclassmen who haven't been key parts of the program in the past. He'll rely, obviously, on the two returning starters, Lindsey Reed and Kara Jenkins, but he'll also be looking for veterans like Anna Lee Policicchio, Alissa Willard and Sheryl Bitter to make contributions. ISU also has a lot of good, young players, but many of them are struggling with injury or illness, and the Bengal roster may be functionally pretty short, especially early in the season.
7. North Dakota: Without question, the no-names will be the biggest team in the conference. UND has 11 players who are 6 feet or taller, including Madi Buck (11 pts, 8 rebounds), Megan Lauck (10 points, 4 rebounds), and 6-5 Emily Everts. Size is clearly not the issue for UND -- last year they turned the ball over a horrendous 608 times in 29 games. If UND can find some stable guard play, they could take a big step up in the standings.
8. Weber State: The Wildcats broke all kinds of records for badness last year, going 0-29 overall, and winless, obviously, in league play. But they return all five starters, including four sophomores who got indoctrinated big time as true frosh. With that kind of talent and experience, they should be able to win a few games.
9. Portland State: The Vikings were one of the mystery teams last year, falling victim to injury and unexpectedly poor performance by veterans. A lot of their success this year will depend on how soon and how strongly Angela Misa and Kate Lanz return from season-ending knee injuries.
10. Northern Arizona: The Lumberjacks picked things up a bit in conference play, winning seven games after getting just one W in non-conference play, but the Axers still seem to be lacking big-time talent. They return only one starter, Amanda Frost, and she averaged just a shade under 10 points a game.
11. Southern Utah: The T-birds return two starters in Hailey Mandelko and Marquelle Funk, and senior F Carli Moreland was productive. But they don't have any stars and they are hot and cold, relying heavily on the three-pointer.
