Sunday, November 17
Missoula, Mont.
2 PM
Montana
vs
Washington
Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana
Lady Griz to host unbeaten Huskies
11/15/2024 6:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Montana women's basketball team will shoot to pick up its first Division I victory of the season on Sunday afternoon when it hosts unbeaten Washington at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.
The Lady Griz (1-2) and Huskies (4-0) will tip off at 2 p.m. on Robin Selvig Court as Montana wraps up a three-game home stand.
It will be the 21st all-time meeting between the two programs, only the second since 1989.
After hosting Washington on Sunday, Montana will have only two more home games before January, against Evergreen State on Tuesday, Nov. 26, and South Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Next week the Lady Griz, who lost at home to Cal Poly on Thursday night, 65-55, will head east to face North Dakota on Thursday, Nov. 21, and Minnesota on Sunday, Nov. 24.
Coverage: Sunday's game against the Huskies will stream on ESPN+ and be broadcast on KGRZ 1450 AM/92.7 FM with Ace Sauerwein calling the action.
At a glance (Montana): The Lady Griz, who opened the season with an 82-69 road loss at Gonzaga before picking up a 72-60 home win over NAIA Southeastern University on Sunday, are still looking for their first Division I victory of the season after falling to Cal Poly on Thursday night.
The Mustangs lost 75-57 at Montana State on Tuesday to open their road trip but got off to a hot start against the Lady Griz on Thursday, going 6 for 7 from the 3-point line in the first quarter to build a lead they would never give back.
Cal Poly led 22-9 after the first quarter, 39-25 at the half and 54-35 through three quarters. Montana trailed by 10 or more points the final 35 minutes, 21 seconds of the game.
The team's 55 points were the fourth-fewest scored in a game at home under fourth-year coach Brian Holsinger.
Cal Poly would finish 9 for 19 (.474) from the 3-point line, Montana would go 5 for 25 from the arc. Montana's opponents have gone 28 for 58 (.483) from the 3-point line this season.
After shooting 50 percent at Gonzaga and 48.1 percent against Southeastern, Montana shot 36 percent against the Mustangs, turning the ball over 18 times for the second consecutive game.
Alex Pirog led Montana in scoring on Thursday with 13 points and in rebounds with six. She went 5 for 7 and blocked two shots. For the season she has gone 13 for 17 (.765) and leads the team in both scoring (10.7/g) and rebounding (6.0/g).
Montana's other four starters scored 17 points on 5-of-23 (.217) shooting.
Freshman Avery Waddington came off the bench to score 10 points, her second time with 10 or more in three collegiate games.
Montana, which was -16 on the glass at Gonzaga, got outrebounded by Cal Poly 39-32.
At a glance (Washington): The Huskies are 4-0, with all four wins coming at home by an average of 35 points per game.
Washington, which has scored at least 81 points in all four games this season, is averaging 88.3 points on 50.7 percent shooting and has gone 43 for 100 (.430) from the 3-point line.
The Huskies are outrebounding their opponents by more than 14 per game and have held their first four opponents to 34.7 percent shooting.
Seattle, Pacific, Siena and Eastern Washington combined to go 14 for 65 (.215) from the 3-point line against Washington, which has players of 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 and 6-6 on the roster.
The Huskies have struck early this season, outscoring their opponents 98-41 in the first quarter. (Montana allowed 31 first-quarter points to Gonzaga, 22 to Cal Poly.)
Washington returned four starters from last year's team that opened the season 11-0 and finished 16-15, placing 10th in the Pac-12 with a 6-12 league mark.
The Huskies were selected to play in the NCAA's inaugural WBIT postseason national tournament, one step down from the NCAA, one step above the WNIT. Washington lost at home 64-56 in the opening round against Georgetown.
Junior guard Elle Ladine, honorable mention All-Pac-12 last season, leads Washington in scoring (17.0/g). She is shooting 50 percent from the 3-point line, 50 percent overall and has been perfect from the free throw line.
Four of Washington's five starters average at least 10.8 points. All of them are shooting at least 50 percent through four games. All 11 players on the roster have played this season, all 11 have scored.
Sunday will not only be Washington's first road game of the season, it will be the Huskies' only true road game prior to Christmas. Washington will play two games in the Bahamas before Thanksgiving, otherwise get 10 at home, including its league opener against UCLA and one against Utah.
Washington is led by fourth-year coach Tina Langley, who made a name for herself by turning a 9-22 Rice team in her first season into a program that went 117-39 over her final five years at the school before being hired by the Huskies.
She has faced the Lady Griz before, in her first year as an assistant on Brenda Frese's staff at Maryland, in 2008-09, when Montana faced the Terrapins in Cancun. Maryland won 71-58.
As of Friday afternoon, the 18 women's basketball teams in the Big Ten had a record of 53-7. Sunday will be the first of three games against the Big Ten for Montana during non-conference. The Lady Griz will play at Minnesota next week and face Michigan State next month in Florida.
Series history: Montana and Washington have played 20 times previously, with the Huskies holding a 12-8 advantage, the Lady Griz a 6-3 edge in games played in Missoula.
The teams have met only once since 1989, a 69-54 victory for Washington at the Husky Classic in Seattle in 2018-19.
The teams were former conference rivals in the late 70s and early 80s, in the old Northwest Women's Basketball League.
The non-conference games between the teams grew increasingly tense in the mid and late 80s, as Chris Gobrecht turned the Huskies into an NCAA tournament regular, while Robin Selvig was doing the same thing with the Lady Griz.
After Montana defeated Washington 78-57 in Missoula during the 1987-88 season in front of a crowd of 5,254 fans, a season the Lady Griz would go 28-2, the Huskies 25-5, Gobrecht said, "Montana is a very good team, but they carry a rap, and nobody will come here to play (because of it)," she said, suggesting one-sided officiating in Missoula. "We're one of the few teams that will."
Told of Gobrecht's comments, Selvig replied, "It's very irritating. They never, ever can give credit. Anybody watching the game who thought we weren't the better team tonight wasn't watching the game."
That was Montana's last win over Washington, which defeated the Lady Griz the next two seasons before both programs put the rivalry on chill. The teams wouldn't play again for nearly 30 years.
Upcoming: Montana will have its first two-game road trip of the season when it plays at North Dakota and at Minnesota next week.
The Fighting Hawks, who host Green Bay on Sunday, are off to a 2-0 start. The Gophers, who play Oregon State in Tempe, Ariz., on Saturday, are 3-0 with a margin of victory of 36 points.
The Lady Griz (1-2) and Huskies (4-0) will tip off at 2 p.m. on Robin Selvig Court as Montana wraps up a three-game home stand.
It will be the 21st all-time meeting between the two programs, only the second since 1989.
After hosting Washington on Sunday, Montana will have only two more home games before January, against Evergreen State on Tuesday, Nov. 26, and South Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Next week the Lady Griz, who lost at home to Cal Poly on Thursday night, 65-55, will head east to face North Dakota on Thursday, Nov. 21, and Minnesota on Sunday, Nov. 24.
Coverage: Sunday's game against the Huskies will stream on ESPN+ and be broadcast on KGRZ 1450 AM/92.7 FM with Ace Sauerwein calling the action.
At a glance (Montana): The Lady Griz, who opened the season with an 82-69 road loss at Gonzaga before picking up a 72-60 home win over NAIA Southeastern University on Sunday, are still looking for their first Division I victory of the season after falling to Cal Poly on Thursday night.
The Mustangs lost 75-57 at Montana State on Tuesday to open their road trip but got off to a hot start against the Lady Griz on Thursday, going 6 for 7 from the 3-point line in the first quarter to build a lead they would never give back.
Cal Poly led 22-9 after the first quarter, 39-25 at the half and 54-35 through three quarters. Montana trailed by 10 or more points the final 35 minutes, 21 seconds of the game.
The team's 55 points were the fourth-fewest scored in a game at home under fourth-year coach Brian Holsinger.
Cal Poly would finish 9 for 19 (.474) from the 3-point line, Montana would go 5 for 25 from the arc. Montana's opponents have gone 28 for 58 (.483) from the 3-point line this season.
After shooting 50 percent at Gonzaga and 48.1 percent against Southeastern, Montana shot 36 percent against the Mustangs, turning the ball over 18 times for the second consecutive game.
Alex Pirog led Montana in scoring on Thursday with 13 points and in rebounds with six. She went 5 for 7 and blocked two shots. For the season she has gone 13 for 17 (.765) and leads the team in both scoring (10.7/g) and rebounding (6.0/g).
Montana's other four starters scored 17 points on 5-of-23 (.217) shooting.
Freshman Avery Waddington came off the bench to score 10 points, her second time with 10 or more in three collegiate games.
Montana, which was -16 on the glass at Gonzaga, got outrebounded by Cal Poly 39-32.
At a glance (Washington): The Huskies are 4-0, with all four wins coming at home by an average of 35 points per game.
Washington, which has scored at least 81 points in all four games this season, is averaging 88.3 points on 50.7 percent shooting and has gone 43 for 100 (.430) from the 3-point line.
The Huskies are outrebounding their opponents by more than 14 per game and have held their first four opponents to 34.7 percent shooting.
Seattle, Pacific, Siena and Eastern Washington combined to go 14 for 65 (.215) from the 3-point line against Washington, which has players of 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 and 6-6 on the roster.
The Huskies have struck early this season, outscoring their opponents 98-41 in the first quarter. (Montana allowed 31 first-quarter points to Gonzaga, 22 to Cal Poly.)
Washington returned four starters from last year's team that opened the season 11-0 and finished 16-15, placing 10th in the Pac-12 with a 6-12 league mark.
The Huskies were selected to play in the NCAA's inaugural WBIT postseason national tournament, one step down from the NCAA, one step above the WNIT. Washington lost at home 64-56 in the opening round against Georgetown.
Junior guard Elle Ladine, honorable mention All-Pac-12 last season, leads Washington in scoring (17.0/g). She is shooting 50 percent from the 3-point line, 50 percent overall and has been perfect from the free throw line.
Four of Washington's five starters average at least 10.8 points. All of them are shooting at least 50 percent through four games. All 11 players on the roster have played this season, all 11 have scored.
Sunday will not only be Washington's first road game of the season, it will be the Huskies' only true road game prior to Christmas. Washington will play two games in the Bahamas before Thanksgiving, otherwise get 10 at home, including its league opener against UCLA and one against Utah.
Washington is led by fourth-year coach Tina Langley, who made a name for herself by turning a 9-22 Rice team in her first season into a program that went 117-39 over her final five years at the school before being hired by the Huskies.
She has faced the Lady Griz before, in her first year as an assistant on Brenda Frese's staff at Maryland, in 2008-09, when Montana faced the Terrapins in Cancun. Maryland won 71-58.
As of Friday afternoon, the 18 women's basketball teams in the Big Ten had a record of 53-7. Sunday will be the first of three games against the Big Ten for Montana during non-conference. The Lady Griz will play at Minnesota next week and face Michigan State next month in Florida.
Series history: Montana and Washington have played 20 times previously, with the Huskies holding a 12-8 advantage, the Lady Griz a 6-3 edge in games played in Missoula.
The teams have met only once since 1989, a 69-54 victory for Washington at the Husky Classic in Seattle in 2018-19.
The teams were former conference rivals in the late 70s and early 80s, in the old Northwest Women's Basketball League.
The non-conference games between the teams grew increasingly tense in the mid and late 80s, as Chris Gobrecht turned the Huskies into an NCAA tournament regular, while Robin Selvig was doing the same thing with the Lady Griz.
After Montana defeated Washington 78-57 in Missoula during the 1987-88 season in front of a crowd of 5,254 fans, a season the Lady Griz would go 28-2, the Huskies 25-5, Gobrecht said, "Montana is a very good team, but they carry a rap, and nobody will come here to play (because of it)," she said, suggesting one-sided officiating in Missoula. "We're one of the few teams that will."
Told of Gobrecht's comments, Selvig replied, "It's very irritating. They never, ever can give credit. Anybody watching the game who thought we weren't the better team tonight wasn't watching the game."
That was Montana's last win over Washington, which defeated the Lady Griz the next two seasons before both programs put the rivalry on chill. The teams wouldn't play again for nearly 30 years.
Upcoming: Montana will have its first two-game road trip of the season when it plays at North Dakota and at Minnesota next week.
The Fighting Hawks, who host Green Bay on Sunday, are off to a 2-0 start. The Gophers, who play Oregon State in Tempe, Ariz., on Saturday, are 3-0 with a margin of victory of 36 points.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballGriz Volleyball Press Conference - 10/6/25
Tuesday, October 07
Griz TV Live Stream
Monday, October 06
Montana vs Idaho St. Highlights
Sunday, October 05
Montana Volleyball Hype Video
Thursday, October 02
