Montana’s finest

Associated Press

SEATTLE – Loree Payne may be in Washington, but there are times she feels like she’s playing for Montana.

She smiles thinking about children bouncing basketballs in her hometown of Havre, and – who knows – perhaps even as far away as Billings or Butte. They look up to her for making it big out of a small town.

“Basketball was my hometown,” she says. “It’s a tight-knit community. There’s unity.”

Payne returns to Montana today with the Washington women’s basketball team, which is ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press preseason poll. The Huskies open their season against Montana State in Bozeman.

Payne, a junior guard and captain, is the top returning scorer for Washington, which hopes to continue the momentum from last season’s run to the NCAA tournament final eight.

“This year, being a junior and one of the oldest players on the team, I definitely have a role to step up,” Payne said. “Leadership is a natural role for me. I like being in situations where people look to me to direct. I’m ready for that.”

She is proud to represent the Big Sky country in the Pac-10.

In Havre, an agriculture and railroad town of about 11,000 people in the rolling plains of north central Montana, “you know most people,” Payne says.

“The whole state followed Loree,” Washington coach June Daugherty said.

It was tough for Payne to leave. And it was even harder on those who coached her and watched her. The University of Montana, after all, is accustomed to signing the top players in the state. But Payne wanted to see someplace new.

And with her help, it seems Washington is building a Montana connection.

Payne says it all goes back to Karen Deden, a Husky star in the late 1980s and early ’90s from Missoula’s Sentinel High. She led Washington to the Pac-10 title in the ‘89-90 season, and was inducted into the university’s sports Hall of Fame last year.

Deden finished playing for the Huskies just a few months before Payne turned 10.

Payne is Washington’s first player from Montana since Deden. A year after Payne arrived, Andrea Lalum showed up. Lalum is from the tiny town of Joplin, a farming community of about 300 near the Canadian border in northern Montana. She transferred to Bozeman in her junior year of high school when her parents took new jobs.

Perhaps, Daugherty says, the Huskies can compete each year for some of the state’s best.

“Montana has been very good to Washington,” Daugherty said. “We have been fortunate to have Andrea and Loree. They’re from small towns and they’re really making big news in the big city of Seattle.”

Last season as a sophomore, the 6-foot Payne hit the game-winning shot as the Huskies surprised Old Dominion in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Washington’s postseason run ended in the final eight, with a loss to Jackie Stiles and Southwest Missouri State.

Payne averaged 11.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last season, and everybody surrounding the Washington program is expecting more from her now.

Her offseason work is showing already, Daugherty said. She has improved her shooting and defense and Daugherty says she is ready for the more up-tempo style the Huskies plan to play.

Away from the game, everyone has a nice word to say about Payne.

“She has a great spirit about her,” Daugherty said. “She’s warm-hearted and genuinely cares about people. On court, she’s different. She’s tough as nails and wants to take the last shot. If it’s a 3-pointer, it’s all the better. She’s one of those who wants to be counted on.”

Today, Payne’s high school coach, Dennis Murphy, will leave Havre around noon for the 300-mile drive to Bozeman to see her play.

Payne was a four-year starter at Havre, playing in the state tournament her freshman year at age 14. Her older sister, Sheri, got in trouble before her senior year and their parents only allowed Sheri to leave when Loree was with her, Murphy said.

So they would always play basketball anywhere they could find a hoop. Loree Payne must have been a fifth- or sixth-grader back then, Murphy said. He knew then she would be a special player in his program.

“She was pretty well liked here,” Murphy said. “The thing about Loree, she is one of the most humble, sensitive, caring individuals I was ever around. She had every reason in high school to have a big head. She kept bringing in awards after awards.”

She still keeps close track of Murphy’s teams.

Payne’s message to Montana: “I want to let everyone know I haven’t forgotten about them.”