Old Valley Rivals Tangle As Grizzlies Nip Bulldogs Bieber And Mccliment Are Solid Performers At College Level

Angella Bieber didn’t have her best game and her University of Montana teammates didn’t either, but the sophomore from University High School was all smiles.

Regan McCliment had her best game and her Gonzaga University teammates probably did, too, but the sophomore from Central Valley was downcast.

Such were the emotions Monday night when the Montana Lady Griz escaped with a 57-56 win over Gonzaga at Martin Centre.

Montana entered the game at 4-0, with a win at Western Kentucky, a Top 25 team, and another over Utah, which had just routed GU by 30. In between, Bieber had 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots at Brigham Young. (“I was surprised they kept shooting,” Bieber said. “You would think they’d get the hint after while.”)

The Zags, on the other hand, were 1-5, losing by an average of 22 points, and McCliment had lost her starting position.

And, a year earlier, the Grizzlies clawed the Bulldogs 72-42 in Spokane.

So, what happened this week? The much shorter Bulldogs out-rebounded UM, forced 18 turnovers and held the Lady Griz to 43 percent shooting, which is why it took a late shot for UM to win.

“It’s nice to come back and actually contribute more than I did last year,” said Bieber, UM’s 6-foot-3 starting center. “It’s a great feeling. I want to work hard and keep my spot.”

Bieber scored six points, grabbed five rebounds, blocked four shots and altered several others in 29 minutes. But like all the Grizzlies, she had her rough moments.

McCliment, a 5-11 forward, came off the bench to score a career-high 12 points and grab five rebounds in 28 minutes. She sparked GU down the stretch, scoring the Zags’ last two baskets to put them in a position to win before UM’s Greta Koss scored with three seconds left.

“It’s about time I had a good game,” McCliment said.

Both coaches were happy with their Spokane Valley players.

“Angella can move her feet, she’s a shot changer, she’s a shot blocker and she has good hands,” Montana coach Robin Selvig said after the win. “She struggled a little tonight like all our inside people, but she’s only a sophomore. She has a real bright future.”

Bieber, who played for three different coaches in three years at U-Hi, was behind All-Big Sky center Jodi Hinrichs last year. In five games this season she has already increased her career highs in every category.

“I know I worked really hard over the summer,” Bieber said. “If I started, great. If not, that was fine, too. When I found out, I was scared, I was nervous. But it’s exciting, too. That was my goal over the summer; I’m glad I reached it. I’ve been playing pretty good.”

Although Bieber didn’t know she would be a starter until just before the season opener, Selvig had high expectations.

“We were counting on (Angella) coming back and playing great,” he said. “She’s scoring and rebounding playing against some good centers. She’s more than held her own.”

Though Bieber plays the middle of Montana’s zone, usually flanked by 6-1 forwards, McCliment didn’t hesitate to post up her old rival. That tenacity seemed to spark the Bulldogs.

“She came to life,” Gonzaga coach Kellee Barney said. “That was by far the best Regan has played. We’d been on her. She hadn’t been performing the way we expected her to. She took control out there.”

Though not happy at not starting - an attitude Barney applauded - McCliment responded.

“We’re a young team,” she said. “We’re adjusting, coming off a losing season. Montana is a good team. We were just pumped up and ready to go. We decided it was now or never to turn it around. It makes us realize we have to get that winning feeling.”

McCliment understands that. She transferred from Tonasket to CV before her junior season and the Bears won the State AAA championship with a 29-0 record. The next year they were 21-7, though a rash of injuries kept them from getting a trophy at state. In those two years, CV whipped Bieber’s University Titans five times by an average of 17 points.

Now it appears both are ready to make their marks at the next level.

Along the way, Bieber and McCliment will see some old friends and rivals.

Montana goes to Portland next week, where Bieber will see McCliment’s old CV teammate Kristin Hepton, a starter as a redshirt freshman for the Pilots. Unfortunately, she won’t match up with Hepton’s sister Courtney, a senior at St. Mary’s, who has a knee injury.

McCliment has the opportunities for those same matchups because GU faces Portland and St. Mary’s in West Coast Conference games. St. Mary’s visits Spokane Jan. 13 and Portland comes in Jan. 24.

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