‘Don’t be defeated’: Schoening hopes to lead Montana back to tourney next season, looks toward future

SANDPOINT — Madi Schoening has faced her fair share of adversity in her four years at the University of Montana.

Prior to the start of her sophomore season, the former SHS girls basketball star was in the hospital with a kidney infection. She got through it and played in all 31 of the Grizzlies’ games while battling pain.

In 2018-19, the 2016 Sandpoint grad suffered a foot injury. She played one game before being forced to wear a boot and burn a medical redshirt.

Then heading into her redshirt junior year this season with nearly a full year of rehab under her belt, Schoening was eager to get back on the court with her teammates. But she suffered another setback. This time it was her back. The injury resulted in Schoening missing a handful of games early in the season.

“Its just been a series of unfortunate events,” she said.

Despite all the bumps in the road along the way, Schoening has been a key contributor for the Grizzlies since she stepped on the court as a freshman.

Just three weeks ago, Schoening and her teammates saw their season come to an end when Montana lost to Northern Arizona in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament. From the middle of December until the final buzzer on March 10, Schoening played at about 70 percent and was still able to average 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game this season.

“It is frustrating,” she said. “I’ve not felt — since my freshman year — that I’ve been able to be at full strength.”

But Schoening has learned a lot through the disappointment of not being able to play the game she loves at her full potential and has become mentally stronger on and off the court because of it.

“I’ve learned that you kind of got to push through the tough times,” she said. “There is a silver lining around everything that happens for a reason.”

When the trainers at Montana told Schoening she would only be at 70 percent this season, she had one mission — get back in the starting lineup. And she did, starting 14 of the team’s final 15 games.

Now with the offseason in full swing, Schoening is focused on rehabbing her back and getting ready for her final season as a Grizzly. Schoening has had her eyes set on claiming the Big Sky Conference title and helping her team earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.

“It was a challenging year,” she said, “but I think it got me excited and it’s motivation for this next season to really finish out strong.”

That journey starts now and as one of the team’s leaders, Schoening plans on making sure her teammates start dedicating themselves to that goal right now.

Unfortunately, the coronavirus outbreak is currently impacting the Grizzlies’ ability to do that. Classes at UM have been moved to online for the rest of the semester and all the athletic facilities are closed off so Schoening and her teammates are stuck indoors.

Luckily, the team’s trainers gave each player workouts they can do in their homes to stay in shape. Schoening has been doing bodyweight workouts every day and is using gallon jugs of water as weights.

Last week during spring break, Schoening drove back to Sandpoint to visit her family for the first time since Christmas. With many of Schoening’s favorite local restaurants shut down or offering limited service due to the coronavirus, she wasn’t able to get the full experience the comforts of home provide. But she got her favorite home cooked meals and enjoyed spending quality time with her loved ones.

Now Schoening is back in Missoula wrapping up her final semester as an undergraduate. She will have her bachelor’s degree in elementary education by May and will pursue a master’s in educational leadership starting this fall. Schoening plans on being a teacher for a long time and hopes she can be one in Sandpoint in the near future.

The NCAA has canceled all spring sports in response to COVID-19 and Schoening said she has a handful of friends at Montana that have been impacted by this. Fortunately, the NCAA granted those athletes another year of eligibility Monday but for high school athletes around the country who have had their seasons canceled, they don’t get another chance to compete.

“I can’t imagine that being taken away from you by something you just can’t plan for,” Schoening said.

In Idaho, high school sports are currently suspended through this Sunday. But in the coming days that could change and Schoening had a message for Sandpoint seniors who may never get a chance to play this season.

“Don’t be defeated,” she said. “Don’t think that all your hard work has gone for nothing and maybe this door for your last season has closed in high school but that doesn’t mean that another door for you to play at the next level isn’t going to open.”