kang@journalnet.com

During the senior day celebration before Idaho State's 73-39 loss to Montana at Reed Gym, Michelle Grohs reminded herself that the Bengals still had three more regular-season games after Saturday.

For that reason, the senior post managed to contain her tears even as her mother Pat began to choke up beside her.

"I was pretty proud of myself for keeping it together," Grohs said.

Fellow senior Jenna Brown was a little more demonstrative. As she accepted a vase of flowers from Idaho State coach Seton Sobolewski and hugs from the rest of the coaching staff, she repeatedly wiped tears from her eyes.

"I think I held it together OK," Brown later said, laughing. "There's so much built up over four years, I mean, not only on the court but off the court."

Sobolewski also presented Grohs and Brown with their respective No. 24 and No. 3 framed jerseys, while juniors Devin Diehl and Oana Iacovita handed them each a large shopping bag full of hand-selected mementos.

Despite all that merrymaking, the seniors said it hasn't sunk in that they will not play another game at Reed Gym.

"I've appreciated playing here so much," Brown said. "I don't think that will even hit me until…"

A slight pause, then Grohs completed the sentence for her: "Until they're playing next year."

BACK ON THEIR FEET

Sobolewski admitted his players - especially the younger ones - might find such a lopsided loss hard to stomach. The only game Idaho State has lost by a wider margin this season was an 82-47 defeat at New Mexico in the second game of the season.

He promised he would help his players keep the defeat in perspective.

"You go 20 years from now and you look at a media guide, and it shows you a loss," Sobolewski said. "There's a lot of L's, and there's a lot of W's. You have to move on from it. It is a loss, just like any other loss."

SHARPSHOOTER

Idaho State had few answers for Montana guard Sonya Rogers, who scored a game-high 24 points on 9-for-16 shooting. The senior hit 6-of-10 3-pointers.

Rogers slipped open for many of her treys when Idaho State freshman guard Sheila Adams temporarily left her to provide double-team help in the interior. After Rogers hit four treys early in the second half, Sobolewski assigned Diehl to guard her instead.

Sobolewski defended Adams' effort, pointing out Rogers hit some other 3-pointers coming off Montana's well-executed screens. He also said it would have made little difference who was guarding Rogers with the way she was stroking the ball Saturday.

"She's got a little bit of range," Sobolewski said. "When you shoot the ball that well, and your release is that quick - I mean, her release is one of the quickest I've seen - if you're on that night, you're going to give whoever you're playing against trouble."