Saturday, November 29
Missoula, Mont.
2 PM
Montana
vs
Utah
Photo by: John Sieber via UM Athletics
Lady Griz to face Big 12 Utes
11/26/2025 10:58:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Montana women's basketball team, which hasn't played since Nov. 19, will return to action on Saturday when its hosts Utah at Dahlberg Arena.
The Lady Griz (1-4) and Utes (3-3) will tip off at 2 p.m. on Robin Selvig Court. Utah hosts Weber State on Wednesday night before making its way to Missoula.
Montana will open December with two games in the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge, playing at North Dakota before hosting St. Thomas in the Lady Griz' only home game in December.
After a break from competition for finals, Montana will head to Texas for three games before Christmas, playing at Houston and at the Abilene Christian Christmas Classic.
Coverage: Saturday's game will stream on ESPN+ with Ace Sauerwein on the call. The broadcast also can be heard on KGRZ (1450 AM/92.7 FM) and on the Varsity Network.
Saturday Storylines:
* Not applicable to this Saturday but for Saturday, Dec. 6: Because of a home football playoff game, Montana's home game against St. Thomas has been bumped from a 2 p.m. tip to 7 p.m.
* How tough has Montana's schedule been this season? Its four Division I opponents – Oregon, Washington, South Dakota State and BYU – are a combined 24-0.
In this week's AP top 25 poll, Washington is ranked 22nd while South Dakota State and Oregon are among the teams receiving votes.
* Montana and Utah are playing for the first time since 2007, when the teams met in Salt Lake City in the opening round of the WNIT.
The teams are playing in Missoula for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when the Lady Griz and Utes played one of the best games inside Dahlberg Arena of the 2000s.
A Montana team that would go 27-5 defeated what would be a 24-win Utah team 61-58 in a game that had eight lead changes in the final six minutes.
* Utah's staff includes two former Lady Griz players and assistant coaches: Jordan (Sullivan) MacIntyre and Jace Henderson.
Sullivan, second-team All-Big Sky as a senior in 2013-14, was an assistant coach at Montana for five seasons (2017-18 to 2021-22) before joining former head coach Lynne Roberts' staff at Utah.
Henderson also was second-team All-Big Sky as a senior in 2018-19. She was an assistant coach at Montana for the 2020-21 season before moving on to Nebraska. She is in her first year at Utah.
Second-year Utah head coach Gavin Petersen has his own opponent history with the Lady Griz. He coached under Jon Newlee at Idaho State (2004-08) and at Idaho (2008-11).
He has been on Utah's staff since the 2015-16 season.
* Expect plenty of 3-point shots on Saturday. Montana ranks second nationally with 33.6 attempts per game. Utah (23.8/g) also is in the top quarter in the national statistics in attempts.
The Lady Griz are tied for second nationally in threes made per game (10.8), trailing only Oklahoma State (12.7/g). Utah is averaging 9.0 makes per game.
Montana has made 13, 16 and 14 threes the last three games. The Lady Griz' 16 made 3-pointers against South Dakota State are two off the most makes by a Division I team in a game this season.
The 16 made threes matched the second-most in program history, behind only the 19 Montana made against Sacramento State in 2024.
Jocelyn Land's eight made threes against the Jackrabbits are two off the NCAA high this season. Tennessee's Nya Robertson made 10 against Coppin State.
* Montana's Mack Konig, who is averaging 16.4 points on high-percentage shooting while leading the team in assists (19), will be playing in her 100th career game on Saturday.
Barring injury, she'll finish the season in the top 10 in program history for career games played and career games started.
Konig has a shooting slash line of .478/.417/.765.
* Konig is surging up the Montana career scoring list. At something close to her current scoring average, she will finish her career in the top 10 in program history and could crack the top five.
Konig is 65 assists away from moving into the top 10 in program history in that statistical category.
* Konig has scored in double figures all five games this season and in 11 straight games dating back to last season.
* Avery Waddington had her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds against BYU. It was her fourth career double-double.
Her 13 rebounds matched her career high and she also blocked a career-high four shots against the Cougars.
Waddington has already led Montana this season at least one time in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals.
* Waddington is shooting 45.1 percent from the field, 47.8 percent from the 3-point line and .909 from the free throw line. For her career she is 37 for 41 (.902) from the foul line.
* After scoring 31 combined bench points in games against Oregon, Washington and South Dakota State, Montana scored 23 off the bench against BYU.
Twelve of those points came from Rae Ehrman, who hit four 3-pointers after missing the South Dakota State game. Kennedy Gillette also hit a pair of threes on her way to a season-high eight points.
Last time out: In Montana's most recent game, the Lady Griz lost 70-69 to BYU in front of a nice crowd of 2,543 at Dahlberg.
The Cougars twice built seven-point leads in the opening period but the Lady Griz scored eight points in the final 94 seconds of the first quarter and the game was tight the rest of the way.
BYU led 38-34 at the half, 55-54 after three quarters before Montana hit the Cougars with an 8-0 run early in the fourth, with Waddington and Macy Donarski both hitting 3-pointers.
That spurt gave the Lady Griz a lead they would hold for the next five-plus minutes, but after going up 69-64 on a Konig basket with 3:37 to play, Montana would not score again.
Over the final three minutes, Montana went 0 for 4 with a turnover, allowing BYU to pull even at 69-69 on a 3-pointer with 2:03 left and take a 70-69 lead on a free throw with 1:13 to play.
The Lady Griz got a good if slightly contested look from Jocelyn Land near the top of the key at the buzzer, but her shot was off the mark.
Konig had 19 points and four assists, Waddington a double-double, Ehrman a dozen points off the bench.
Montana's 14 3-pointers were the most allowed by BYU in the Cougars' last 42 games.
BYU, which was playing without leading scorer Delaney Gibb, was led by Marya Hudgins' 23 points.
At a glance (Utah): The Utes got off to a high-scoring 3-0 start, averaging 84.3 points on 52.0 percent shooting in wins over Sioux Falls, Utah State and Utah Valley.
Since then, Utah has hosted a ranked Washington team and faced Syracuse and No. 1 Connecticut in Uncasville, Conn. The Utes went 0-3 in those games, averaging 50.3 points on 34.6 percent shooting.
In their first three games, the Utes went 35 for 80 (.438) from the 3-point line. In their three losses, they went 18 for 76 (.237).
Utah lost 72-61 to Washington. Tied at the half, the Utes were outscored 36-25 in the second half.
The second half was the difference as well against Syracuse, Utah losing 61-49 after leading 25-21 at the half.
On Sunday, Utah was humbled by defending national champion UConn 93-41. The Huskies led 32-8 after the first quarter, then outscored Utah in the third 29-5.
Through six games, senior Lani White, a first-year transfer from Virginia Tech, is averaging 11.8 points. Maty Wilke, in her third season at Utah after transferring from Wisconsin, is averaging 11.7 points.
Utah had an excellent 27-year run under former coach Elaine Elliott, who led Utah to 20 20-win seasons and 15 NCAA tournaments from 1983-84 to 2009-10.
She was replaced by Anthony Levrets, whose teams were nine games under .500 between 2010-11 and 2014-15, leading to the arrival of Lynne Roberts and Gavin Petersen from Pacific.
Utah made the WNIT in its first three years under Roberts, then the NCAA second round, NCAA Sweet 16 and NCAA second round in 2022, '23 and '24 behind the play of Gianna Kneepkens.
Roberts coached the Utes through the first four games last season before surprising the basketball world by taking the head job with the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA last November.
Petersen was immediately named Roberts' successor and led Utah to 22 wins and the program's fourth consecutive NCAA tournament, its 21st overall.
Utah lost all five starters off last year's team, including Kneepkens and her 1,621 points as a Ute to the transfer portal and UCLA. Only four letter-winners returned in 2025-26.
With so much roster turnover, Utah was picked eighth in the 16-team Big 12 preseason coaches' poll despite winning 93 games the last four seasons.
Series history: Montana is 12-10 all-time against Utah, 8-2 in Missoula. The teams, almost annual opponents in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, have not played since 2007.
The teams' most recent match-up was memorable for all the wrong reasons for the Lady Griz, who played at Utah in the first round of the 2007 WNIT after a 27-2 regular season.
Montana lost 64-59 at home in the Big Sky semifinals to Northern Arizona, got bypassed for a possible at-large bid to the NCAA tournament despite being 27-3 and were quickly on a flight to Salt Lake City.
In a dispiriting Wednesday night game, Montana led 42-37 at the half but lost 78-70 after shooting 28.6 percent in the second half to finish the season 27-4.
On the flip side, the teams' most recent match-up in Missoula, in January 2004, was as good as basketball gets.
The Lady Griz pulled out a 61-58 win, then used the momentum from that victory to roll to a 14-0 Big Sky record and two Big Sky tournament wins at home.
The Utah win was the start of a 17-game winning streak for Montana, a streak that started and ended in Dahlberg Arena with an 81-77 first-round loss to Louisiana Tech in the NCAA tournament.
Utah has won the teams' last two match-ups and five of seven since 2000.
Petersen went 2-7 against Montana while he was at Idaho State, 1-2 against the Lady Griz while he was at Idaho, 0-6 overall with the Bengals and Vandals against Montana in Missoula.
The Lady Griz (1-4) and Utes (3-3) will tip off at 2 p.m. on Robin Selvig Court. Utah hosts Weber State on Wednesday night before making its way to Missoula.
Montana will open December with two games in the Big Sky Conference-Summit League Challenge, playing at North Dakota before hosting St. Thomas in the Lady Griz' only home game in December.
After a break from competition for finals, Montana will head to Texas for three games before Christmas, playing at Houston and at the Abilene Christian Christmas Classic.
Coverage: Saturday's game will stream on ESPN+ with Ace Sauerwein on the call. The broadcast also can be heard on KGRZ (1450 AM/92.7 FM) and on the Varsity Network.
Saturday Storylines:
* Not applicable to this Saturday but for Saturday, Dec. 6: Because of a home football playoff game, Montana's home game against St. Thomas has been bumped from a 2 p.m. tip to 7 p.m.
* How tough has Montana's schedule been this season? Its four Division I opponents – Oregon, Washington, South Dakota State and BYU – are a combined 24-0.
In this week's AP top 25 poll, Washington is ranked 22nd while South Dakota State and Oregon are among the teams receiving votes.
* Montana and Utah are playing for the first time since 2007, when the teams met in Salt Lake City in the opening round of the WNIT.
The teams are playing in Missoula for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when the Lady Griz and Utes played one of the best games inside Dahlberg Arena of the 2000s.
A Montana team that would go 27-5 defeated what would be a 24-win Utah team 61-58 in a game that had eight lead changes in the final six minutes.
* Utah's staff includes two former Lady Griz players and assistant coaches: Jordan (Sullivan) MacIntyre and Jace Henderson.
Sullivan, second-team All-Big Sky as a senior in 2013-14, was an assistant coach at Montana for five seasons (2017-18 to 2021-22) before joining former head coach Lynne Roberts' staff at Utah.
Henderson also was second-team All-Big Sky as a senior in 2018-19. She was an assistant coach at Montana for the 2020-21 season before moving on to Nebraska. She is in her first year at Utah.
Second-year Utah head coach Gavin Petersen has his own opponent history with the Lady Griz. He coached under Jon Newlee at Idaho State (2004-08) and at Idaho (2008-11).
He has been on Utah's staff since the 2015-16 season.
* Expect plenty of 3-point shots on Saturday. Montana ranks second nationally with 33.6 attempts per game. Utah (23.8/g) also is in the top quarter in the national statistics in attempts.
The Lady Griz are tied for second nationally in threes made per game (10.8), trailing only Oklahoma State (12.7/g). Utah is averaging 9.0 makes per game.
Montana has made 13, 16 and 14 threes the last three games. The Lady Griz' 16 made 3-pointers against South Dakota State are two off the most makes by a Division I team in a game this season.
The 16 made threes matched the second-most in program history, behind only the 19 Montana made against Sacramento State in 2024.
Jocelyn Land's eight made threes against the Jackrabbits are two off the NCAA high this season. Tennessee's Nya Robertson made 10 against Coppin State.
* Montana's Mack Konig, who is averaging 16.4 points on high-percentage shooting while leading the team in assists (19), will be playing in her 100th career game on Saturday.
Barring injury, she'll finish the season in the top 10 in program history for career games played and career games started.
Konig has a shooting slash line of .478/.417/.765.
* Konig is surging up the Montana career scoring list. At something close to her current scoring average, she will finish her career in the top 10 in program history and could crack the top five.
Konig is 65 assists away from moving into the top 10 in program history in that statistical category.
* Konig has scored in double figures all five games this season and in 11 straight games dating back to last season.
* Avery Waddington had her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds against BYU. It was her fourth career double-double.
Her 13 rebounds matched her career high and she also blocked a career-high four shots against the Cougars.
Waddington has already led Montana this season at least one time in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals.
* Waddington is shooting 45.1 percent from the field, 47.8 percent from the 3-point line and .909 from the free throw line. For her career she is 37 for 41 (.902) from the foul line.
* After scoring 31 combined bench points in games against Oregon, Washington and South Dakota State, Montana scored 23 off the bench against BYU.
Twelve of those points came from Rae Ehrman, who hit four 3-pointers after missing the South Dakota State game. Kennedy Gillette also hit a pair of threes on her way to a season-high eight points.
Last time out: In Montana's most recent game, the Lady Griz lost 70-69 to BYU in front of a nice crowd of 2,543 at Dahlberg.
The Cougars twice built seven-point leads in the opening period but the Lady Griz scored eight points in the final 94 seconds of the first quarter and the game was tight the rest of the way.
BYU led 38-34 at the half, 55-54 after three quarters before Montana hit the Cougars with an 8-0 run early in the fourth, with Waddington and Macy Donarski both hitting 3-pointers.
That spurt gave the Lady Griz a lead they would hold for the next five-plus minutes, but after going up 69-64 on a Konig basket with 3:37 to play, Montana would not score again.
Over the final three minutes, Montana went 0 for 4 with a turnover, allowing BYU to pull even at 69-69 on a 3-pointer with 2:03 left and take a 70-69 lead on a free throw with 1:13 to play.
The Lady Griz got a good if slightly contested look from Jocelyn Land near the top of the key at the buzzer, but her shot was off the mark.
Konig had 19 points and four assists, Waddington a double-double, Ehrman a dozen points off the bench.
Montana's 14 3-pointers were the most allowed by BYU in the Cougars' last 42 games.
BYU, which was playing without leading scorer Delaney Gibb, was led by Marya Hudgins' 23 points.
At a glance (Utah): The Utes got off to a high-scoring 3-0 start, averaging 84.3 points on 52.0 percent shooting in wins over Sioux Falls, Utah State and Utah Valley.
Since then, Utah has hosted a ranked Washington team and faced Syracuse and No. 1 Connecticut in Uncasville, Conn. The Utes went 0-3 in those games, averaging 50.3 points on 34.6 percent shooting.
In their first three games, the Utes went 35 for 80 (.438) from the 3-point line. In their three losses, they went 18 for 76 (.237).
Utah lost 72-61 to Washington. Tied at the half, the Utes were outscored 36-25 in the second half.
The second half was the difference as well against Syracuse, Utah losing 61-49 after leading 25-21 at the half.
On Sunday, Utah was humbled by defending national champion UConn 93-41. The Huskies led 32-8 after the first quarter, then outscored Utah in the third 29-5.
Through six games, senior Lani White, a first-year transfer from Virginia Tech, is averaging 11.8 points. Maty Wilke, in her third season at Utah after transferring from Wisconsin, is averaging 11.7 points.
Utah had an excellent 27-year run under former coach Elaine Elliott, who led Utah to 20 20-win seasons and 15 NCAA tournaments from 1983-84 to 2009-10.
She was replaced by Anthony Levrets, whose teams were nine games under .500 between 2010-11 and 2014-15, leading to the arrival of Lynne Roberts and Gavin Petersen from Pacific.
Utah made the WNIT in its first three years under Roberts, then the NCAA second round, NCAA Sweet 16 and NCAA second round in 2022, '23 and '24 behind the play of Gianna Kneepkens.
Roberts coached the Utes through the first four games last season before surprising the basketball world by taking the head job with the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA last November.
Petersen was immediately named Roberts' successor and led Utah to 22 wins and the program's fourth consecutive NCAA tournament, its 21st overall.
Utah lost all five starters off last year's team, including Kneepkens and her 1,621 points as a Ute to the transfer portal and UCLA. Only four letter-winners returned in 2025-26.
With so much roster turnover, Utah was picked eighth in the 16-team Big 12 preseason coaches' poll despite winning 93 games the last four seasons.
Series history: Montana is 12-10 all-time against Utah, 8-2 in Missoula. The teams, almost annual opponents in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, have not played since 2007.
The teams' most recent match-up was memorable for all the wrong reasons for the Lady Griz, who played at Utah in the first round of the 2007 WNIT after a 27-2 regular season.
Montana lost 64-59 at home in the Big Sky semifinals to Northern Arizona, got bypassed for a possible at-large bid to the NCAA tournament despite being 27-3 and were quickly on a flight to Salt Lake City.
In a dispiriting Wednesday night game, Montana led 42-37 at the half but lost 78-70 after shooting 28.6 percent in the second half to finish the season 27-4.
On the flip side, the teams' most recent match-up in Missoula, in January 2004, was as good as basketball gets.
The Lady Griz pulled out a 61-58 win, then used the momentum from that victory to roll to a 14-0 Big Sky record and two Big Sky tournament wins at home.
The Utah win was the start of a 17-game winning streak for Montana, a streak that started and ended in Dahlberg Arena with an 81-77 first-round loss to Louisiana Tech in the NCAA tournament.
Utah has won the teams' last two match-ups and five of seven since 2000.
Petersen went 2-7 against Montana while he was at Idaho State, 1-2 against the Lady Griz while he was at Idaho, 0-6 overall with the Bengals and Vandals against Montana in Missoula.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball2025 Brawl of the Wild Trailer
Friday, November 21
Griz Football weekly press conference 11-17-25
Monday, November 17
Montana vs Portland State Highlights
Monday, November 17
2025 Griz Volleyball Senior Feature
Sunday, November 16
