GREAT FALLS, Mont. – #7 vs. #18. Two undefeated teams. Two NAIA Final 8 programs. A rematch of the 2015-16 Frontier Conference Championship game. The stakes couldn't get much higher for the first game of the Frontier Conference women's basketball season. (18) UGF women's basketball will travel to Lewiston, Idaho to take on (7) Lewis-Clark State College on December 1 a marquee NAIA matchup. The Lady Argos will then travel to Butte, Montana to take on Montana Tech on December 3.
UGF and LC State enter the game as two of the hottest teams in the NAIA. Both teams are undefeated to start the season with the Warriors sitting at 11-0 and the Lady Argos at 9-0. Both teams have also put together multiple quality wins.
So far this season LC State has defeated the second ranked team in NAIA DII, Southern Oregon, 90-51, (RV) Xavier University (La.) 68-49, and (14) The Master's College 78-59. After a fairly easy schedule to start the season, UGF proved its national relevance by a stellar performance at the 2016 Jackson Rotary Classic, defeating (21) Talladega College (Ala.) 81-66 and (10) Bethel University (Tenn.) 55-51 on back-to-back days.
The national stats are just as impressive. The Warriors rank 1st in NAIA DI in Total Assists (220), Total 3-Pt FGs Made (98), Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.789), and Scoring Margin (34.909). They also rank 2nd in Points per Game (89.818) and 11th in Scoring Defense per Game (54.909) and shot 40 percent from three (3rd nationally) and 49 percent from the floor (4th nationally).
UGF is no slouch in its own right statistically, particularly on defense, ranking 5th in NAIA DI in Total Blocks (34), 10th in Scoring Defense per Game (54.778), 11th in Field Goal Pct. Defense (0.334) and 13th in 3-Pt Fg Pct. Defense (0.246). Offensively, the Lady Argos haven't been quite as high flying but they still rank 11th in Total Scoring (657 points), 19th in Total Assists (123), and 41 in Assist/Turnover Ratio (0.831).
The two teams finished one and two in both the regular season and postseason of 2015-16 Frontier Conference play, with LC State winning both and UGF taking the runner-up spot. At the national level, each team reached and then lost in the NAIA Final 8.
Acquaintances will be renews between the two powerhouse programs on December 1 at 6:30 p.m. MT in Lewiston, Idaho.
The following game could set up as a trap game for UGF, with the Lady Argo taking on Montana Tech, who was voted to tie for last in the conference in the 2016-17 Frontier Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Orediggers are 6-5 on the year, but are more than capable of pulling an upset. Tech ranks 4th in NAIA DI in 3-pt Fg. Made per Game (8.909) and 6th in Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.307). UGF swept the Diggers in 2015-16, taking all three matchups. While UGF will be coming off of its game against LC State, the Orediggers will being coming off of a home game against (16) MSU-Northern.
UGF will play Tech on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. in Butte, Montana.
