Huskies down Lady Griz in Seattle

Monday, November 10

Seattle, Wash.

7 PM (MT)

Montana

1-2,0-0Big Sky

Washington

2-0,0-0Big Ten

Montana

Washington

11/10/2025 9:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's basketball team played a strong second half against No. 25 Washington on Monday night in Seattle but it wasn't enough to overcome a big halftime deficit.

The Huskies jumped out to a 42-19 halftime lead on the Lady Griz and cruised from there, winning 87-56 behind Sayvia Sellers' 19 points and five assists.

After shooting just 6 for 30 in the first half, 4 of 18 from the 3-point line, Montana put up 37 second-half points, going 9 of 22 from distance. Seven players hit those nine 3-pointers in the second half.

"I thought we played with really good tempo in the second half and it showed," said coach Nate Harris. "We got a lot of good looks.

"We were a little uneven in the first half and defensively, we're a work in progress. What happens when you play these teams is the stuff you're not great at gets exposed on a really aggressive level."

With the team's leading scorer from last season, Elle Ladine, still sidelined for the second game this season, Sellers picked up the slack with plenty of help from her teammates.

"When you play against some of the best players in the country, and I would argue that Sayvia Sellers is one of the best points guards in the country, you're going to learn quickly and it's going to force you to get a lot better in terms of your ball-screen defense," said Harris. "They really stretch that."

Sellers scored nine points in the first quarter as Washington got out to an early lead the Huskies would never give up. "We needed a little more energy at the start when it wasn't going our way," said Harris.

Montana made just six baskets over the opening 20 minutes, three coming from Avery Waddington, who would end up with 14 points on the strength of four 3-pointers.

"Basketball is a very synergistic game. When you're playing in transition all the time because you're missing shots, that's tough," said Harris.

"When you make shots, transition defense gets easier. When you get stops, offense feels easier because you get to go in transition. We were a little uneven tonight."

Montana had more offensive flow in the second half, which led to more open looks, which led to more makes, which led to Washington having to space the floor defensively.

Konig went 4 for 7 in the second half to finish with 11 points for the game and Montana got hot hands from the 3-point line from multiple players.

"I thought we got some really good efforts in the second half. I thought Jocelyn Land was really aggressive, and I thought Kennedy Gillette was really aggressive," said Harris.

"Mack lived at the rim in the second half because we made a couple so the hoop emptied."

The loss came two days after Montana fell 90-47 at Oregon, a game that saw the Lady Griz turn the ball over 23 times.

Montana had just 10 turnovers on Monday night but couldn't overcome 29 percent shooting.

"Some of that (turnover improvement) is plan, some of that is personnel," said Harris. "Washington is a little more skilled offensively but doesn't have the length and athleticism of Oregon.

"So we were going to have to make some shots. We attacked it much better in the second half. I was proud of our effort there."

In addition to Waddington and Konig combining for 25 points, Land added 10, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and going a perfect 4 for 4 from the free throw line.

Washington had five players with nine or more points, including 6-foot-3 freshman forward Brynn McGaughy, the highest-rated recruit ever to commit to Washington.

The Huskies shot 45.9 percent.

The early-season schedule remains challenging as Montana heads home, then travels to Rapid City, S.D., for a Saturday evening match-up against 2-0 South Dakota State.

The Jackrabbits opened the season with a 78-62 road win against a strong Creighton team, then defeated Rice 79-65 at home on Friday.

South Dakota State hosts unbeaten Murray State on Tuesday in Brookings.