Lady Griz picked third, Bartsch voted preseason All-Big Sky

The Montana women's basketball team, coming off a 23-win campaign and a trip to the WNIT, was picked third in both the coaches' and media polls ahead of the 2024-25 season, the league office announced on Wednesday.

The Lady Griz were picked behind Northern Arizona and Montana State in both polls. The Lumberjacks received seven of 10 first-place votes in the coaches' poll, 16 of 25 first-place votes in the media poll.

Northern Arizona, which returns three starters and 10 letter-winners, finished a game behind regular-season champion Eastern Washington last season and lost to the Eagles in a tight Big Sky tournament championship game in Boise.

Like Montana, the Lumberjacks, who won 25 games in 2023-24, were selected to play in the WNIT.

Montana State collected the other three first-place votes in the coaches' poll, five in the media poll, with Montana getting three first-place votes, Eastern Washington one.

Montana senior Dani Bartsch, second-team All-Big Sky last season and a member of the league's All-Defensive Team, was one of six players voted preseason All-Big Sky Conference.

The top three teams in the preseason polls accounted for five of the six players on the preseason All-Big Sky team, with Northern Arizona's Sophie Glancey, a unanimous first-team all-league selection last season, earning preseason MVP honors.

Also making the six-player team were Leia Beattie of Northern Arizona, Esmeralda Morales and Marah Dykstra of Montana State, and Benthe Versteeg of Sacramento State.

Morales was a first-team All-Big Sky selection last season at Portland State, while Beattie, Dykstra and Versteeg joined Bartsch on the second team.

Bartsch is the fifth Lady Griz to earn preseason All-Big Sky honors since the league began naming a preseason team in 2015-16, joining McCalle Feller, Kayleigh Valley, McKenzie Johnston and Carmen Gfeller. Gfeller was a three-time preseason selection, Valley a two-time pick.

Bartsch had a breakout season as a junior, averaging 7.9 points and 10.4 rebounds, a statistic that led the Big Sky and ranked 25th nationally. Her 342 rebounds set a new single-season program record. She became the first Lady Griz to lead the Big Sky in rebounding since 1995-96.

On the offensive end, Bartsch shot 45.9 percent and was one of four Montana players to hit 50 or more 3-pointers for a team that ranked second nationally in threes made per game (10.8).

An underrated distributor, Bartsch, who played a team-high 30.1 minutes last season while starting all 33 games, ranked third on the team in assists with 83.

Bartsch needs 259 rebounds this season to become the leading rebounder in Lady Griz history, 306 to become only the seventh player in Big Sky history to reach 1,000 for a career.

She is one of three returning starters on coach Brian Holsinger's fourth Lady Griz team, along with MJ Bruno and Mack Konig.

"Dani is what you want from a senior. She is calm, she is cool, she talks, she does things the right way anytime she is on the floor," said Holsinger. "She brings a confidence, a firepower because she shoots the three so well, and obviously her rebounding is game-changing.

"All those things just make her so valuable, which is why she deserves this honor. She's everything you'd want in a senior in your program."

Montana went 23-10 last season, the program's first 20-win season since 2015-16, and finished third in the Big Sky with a 13-5 league record.

The Lady Griz were selected to play in the WNIT in March, the 28th national tournament appearance in program history, the first for Montana since 2014-15. Montana defeated Boise State 92-66 in the first round before falling in the round of 32.

Other returning letter-winners are Alex Pirog and Adria Lincoln. Holsinger brought in six newcomers, three transfers and three freshmen.

Montana will make its public debut on Friday, Nov. 1, when the Lady Griz face Montana-Western at Dahlberg Arena in their lone exhibition game.

Montana will open the season four days later, traveling to Spokane to face Gonzaga on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

2024-25 Big Sky Conference Coaches' Poll

1. Northern Arizona (7 first-place votes) ... 79 points
2. Montana State (3) ... 73
3. Montana ... 66
4. Sacramento State ... 48
5. Northern Colorado ... 47
6. Idaho State ... 44
7. Idaho ... 36
8. Eastern Washington ... 28
9. Portland State ... 15
10. Weber State ... 14

2024-25 Big Sky Conference Media Poll

1. Northern Arizona (16) ... 246
2. Montana State (5) ... 227
3. Montana (3) ... 217
4. Idaho State ... 143
5. Northern Colorado ... 136
6. Sacramento State ... 135
7. Eastern Washington (1) ... 132
8. Idaho ... 102
9. Weber State ... 55
10. Portland State ... 37

2024-25 Big Sky Preseason All-Conference Team

Sophie Glancey, Northern Arizona (MVP)
Esmeralda Morales, Montana State
Benthe Versteeg, Sacramento State
Dani Bartsch, Montana
Leia Beattie, Northern Arizona
Marah Dykstra, Montana State

University of Montana Athletics

Lady Griz picked third, Bartsch voted preseason All-Big Sky

Players Mentioned

Dani Bartsch

MJ Bruno

Carmen Gfeller

Mack Konig

Adria Lincoln

Alex Pirog

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