Sport said:
The new and improved version of the lady Griz basketball program take their show on the road tonight (1/1/21) to Greeley, Co to begin conference play. The ladies are a little rusty coming off a two week layoff due to a canceled game. If their performance against Gonzaga and Seattle U are any barometer of things to come this should be an exciting year for the ladies.
I share your enthusiasm for the GrizWBB team under coach Petrino and the entire returning staff from last season. They may be a bit rusty, but I've heard that the team will be at full strength (including Madi Schoening, Kylie Frohlich and Bria Dixson). That means that -- for the first time in five seasons the team will start conference play a legit two-deep (plus) at every position.
Two major questions I was hoping to see addressed -- an improved defense and more confidence on offense -- have already been answered. I still think this team needs to make significant defensive progress to compete in the Big Sky, but Petrino's passing game offense is already paying dividends. I love observing the confidence the players have in taking open shots. A huge bonus is that this team may well be the best perimeter Griz WBB team we've seen in many seasons.
Regardless of potential, the Big Sky shows remarkable balance among the top seven teams, and so any move upward from their projected 7th place pre-season poll predictions will be a plus. There will be some shifting as pre-season favorite Idaho just got whipped by NAU (picked 3-4) and Idaho State has looked very tough. I think ISU and NAU look like the teams to beat with Idaho and Northern Colorado next. I think Montana has already shown it's pretty evenly matched with MSU, but it might take until the end of January to see how far up Montana can move with a young team that will only get better as they play more games.
A split in Greeley would be good for the Griz. I'm hoping for a win tonight. Go GrizWBB.