MISSOULA — There's no way to sugarcoat it: The 2025-26 campaign for the Montana Lady Griz was an abject failure, and one that goes down as one of — if not the — worst seasons in program history.
For just the second time in the decorated history of the Lady Griz, the team lost 20 games, as they finished this season 9-22 overall, with just a 5-13 mark in Big Sky Conference play.
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Only Shannon Schweyen's first season as head coach in 2016-17 sports a worse mark of 7-23 and 4-14, but that team and year was marred by injuries to key players.
Again, Montana was swept by Montana State three times, as the Bobcats beat the Lady Griz by an average score of 25 points per game.
Three separate times this season, Montana held a losing streak of at least five games, and the Lady Griz closed the season losing 9 of 11 contests.
Whether it was the team's Big Sky-worst offense, or near-last defense, from start to finish and top to bottom, the Lady Griz failed and were noncompetitive, especially as a team that was picked to finish second in the league in the preseason polls after an improbable run to the conference tournament title game and near upset of the Bobcats a year ago.
From talent development, recruiting, missing on transfers or simply skill level, a number of players on the team seem over-matched by the play at the NCAA Division I level on both sides of the ball, and that fact was ever-present night in and out this season for Montana as it reared its ugly head.
On positive notes moving forward, sophomore Avery Waddington remains an All-Big Sky talent the team can build around, and freshman Rae Ehrman also flashed promising potential.
Senior Mack Konig was the lone player honored on senior night as her UM career comes to a close. Despite a challenging senior season riddled with an injury and sickness, Konig, the team's point guard, has been a stalwart at UM and played in 117 games and started 94 for the Lady Griz, as she finished with 1,336 points in her career as well as 418 assists, 258 rebounds and 89 steals. Konig was a second team All-Big Sky selection in her junior season.
Plus, there's plenty of buzz around UM's incoming freshmen quartet class, which features Montanans Kamryn Reinker from Billings Central, and Avory DeCoite from Missoula Big Sky, both of whom had stellar senior seasons. They are also set to welcome Kate Holmquist from Maple Grove, Minnesota and Hayden Kaut from Napavine, Washington.
UM also just netted a verbal commitment from Billings West's Maisie Heggem-Prinkki for their first commitment for the Class of 2027.
But Nate Harris' first full season leading the helm was a challenge and filled with setbacks, something the veteran coach knows well and has acknowledged, with an eye on moving forward to make changes.
It's officially been a decade-plus since Montana was in the women's March Madness tournament — the last time coming in 2015 — and the offseason begins now, as Harris and Co. begin searching for those answers to right the ship.
