BUTTE — The HPER Complex was buzzing Wednesday morning.
Coming off its best season in program history, the Montana Tech women's basketball team opened the 2026-27 campaign with its annual Elementary School Day game. Over 1,100 students from all seven of Butte's elementary schools were packed into the gymnasium to watch the Orediggers play a series of scrimmages as No. 15 Tech gets set to kick off its preseason with exhibition games on Friday and Tuesday.
"It was so fun, the kids really enjoyed it, they were super into it," said senior guard Avery Carlson of the atmosphere in the HPER during the Elementary School Day game. "Cheering really loud helped play looser. I really like getting to interact with the Butte community like that."
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"It was so fun getting to be with the kids early in the year before the season started we thought would be a blast," said coach Jeff Graham. "I thought it was an awesome experience for the community and for our kids."
Last season saw Tech capture the Frontier Conference tournament title for the first time since 1983 in a game where it erased a 19-point first-quarter deficit against Dakota State (S.D.). The Orediggers then went on to defeat Nelson (Texas) for their first national tournament victory ever.
The Orediggers — who graduated Hadley Humpherys and Liv Wangerin after last season — will open this season in Havre on Friday with an exhibition against Medicine Hat and then play a final exhibition at MSU-Billings on Tuesday.
"The main purpose of these games is gonna be to grow," said Carlson. "Every single game we've got to get a little bit better because we will see teams like this in conference play. We have one of the best conferences in the nation and we'll surely see them at the end. So our main goal is just to get a little better every single game."
