MISSOULA — The Montana Lady Griz are back in action beginning this week as they tip off the 2026-27 women's basketball season.
There will be no shortage of storylines to follow for a program that is coming off arguably the worst campaign in its storied history.
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"We were too dependent on things that were outside of our control last year," Lady Griz head coach Nate Harris said. "And so we're going to control as many things as possible in our style of play. And we're going to compete a lot harder and we're going to work to make this first a team, and then a program, that Griz Nation can be really proud of because that's what they deserve.
"We have the best fans, we have the best support in the league, and we need to put a better product on the floor."
In a season riddled with challenges, Montana won just nine games total last year in the first full season under Harris as head coach, including five conference games.
While disappointing for fans, the program's offseason moves have been plenty interesting and could have the Lady Griz poised to take a step forward. Montana was picked sixth by the coaches and seventh by the media in the Big Sky preseason polls.
On top of returning All-Big Sky talent Avery Waddington (13 ppg, 6.5 rpg last season), UM brought a pair of Montanans back home in Huntley Project guard Paige Lofing from Gonzaga and Kalispell Flathead forward Kennedy Moore from Wake Forest.
"Coming back has been great. It feels like home," Moore said. "Everybody here has made it like a really warm welcome. But like my vision of the program, I really like the school and I've always heard good things. But my path kind of took me somewhere else and I'm really just glad that I'm back here after two years."
Lofing is a former Gatorade player of the year in Montana and is expected to be one of the team's top contributors, as will Moore, who offers size and experience.
Other key returners for Montana include second-year guard Rae Ehrman (7.3 ppg) who has turned heads in practice, along with veteran players in Jocelyn Land (10.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Kennedy Gillette (5.5 ppg), Ava Cossette who played sparingly and was recovering from injury but played more at the Big Sky tournament, and Aby Shubert (6.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg), who all have multiple years in the program.
"I think we had to learn that we were the ones that are coming back. Nate trusted us so we can lead this program, that we have the skill sets to prove the talent that we have," Land said. "And I think it was just learning that we need to stick together, but also trust the people that he's bringing in and that we need to learn how to play with them as well and adapt to the new system that we have."
The depth doesn't stop there, as true freshmen in Missoula's Avory DeCoite and Kam Reinker of Billings, as well as Washington product Hayden Kaut and Minnesota talent Kate Holmquist, all join the program with plenty of buzz, plus the additions of High Point transfer Dom Nesland and Columbia transfer and Idaho native Shay Shippen are a pair of talented and experienced players that round out the group.
UM did recently lose a player before the season started. Alyssa Blanck, who transferred to Montana in the spring as a fifth-year forward after three seasons at Utah and one at BYU, announced over the weekend via social media that she is stepping away from basketball to get back surgery that will prematurely end her college career.
Per her social media, Montana Lady Griz 5th-year forward Alyssa Blanck is stepping away from basketball to get back surgery that will prematurely end her career. Spent the last three seasons at Utah and one at BYU. 6-2 forward that added size, also the only 5th-year on UM. https://t.co/JOQJArA7Xe
— Kyle Hansen (@khansen406) October 31, 2026
The Lady Griz will battle through another challenging non-conference slate, and they open the season on Tuesday at home against Montana Western, but the time has come as UM looks to turn things around and become a contender in the Big Sky once again.
"The things that I believe about basketball are the things that need to be important to us and I think that we had to improve," Harris said. "What we did last year wasn't good enough. And so that's the number one thing I've kept with me, that we have to be better. We will be better. And we'll do it by just outworking, out-competing, and doing stuff that we can control."
Lady Griz 2026-27 basketball roster
No. 0, Shay Shippen, SO, 5-foot-11, Idaho Falls, ID
No. 1, Paige Lofing, SO, 5-foot-9, Huntley, MT
No. 2, Avory DeCoite, FR, 5-foot-7, Missoula, MT
No. 3, Hayden Kaut, FR, 6-foot-2, Napavine, WA
No. 4, Kamryn Reinker, FR, 5-foot-11, Billings, MT
No. 5, Kennedy Gillette, SR, 6-foot, Rexburg, ID
No. 7, Kate Holmquist, FR, 5-foot-7, Maple Grove, MN
No. 9, Dominique Nesland, JR, 5-foot-9, Phoenix, AZ
No. 10, Avery Waddington, JR, 6-foot-3, Coeur D'Alene, ID
No. 11, Aby Shubert, SR, 5-foot-8, Kasson, MN
No. 15, Kennedy Moore, JR, 6-foot-2, Kalispell, MT
No. 20, Rae Ehrman, SO, 5-foot-10, Eden Prairie, MN
No. 22, Ava Cossette, JR, 5-foot-10, Maple Grove, MN
No. 23, Jocelyn Land, JR, 6-foot, Chanhassen, MN
