MISSOULA – The Montana Lady Grizzlies are losing two more players. Head women’s basketball coach Shannon Schweyen confirmed on Wednesday that Caitlin Lonergan and Sierra Anderson have decided to leave the program.
Lonergan’s decision in particular is a big blow to the team. The Bozeman native began her college career playing volleyball at Montana State, but she transferred after one season to join the Lady Griz. She became eligible after the first Big Sky Conference game this past season and began playing for Montana on Dec. 30.
From that point on the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. And Lonergan became a bigger and bigger part of the rotation later in the season. She scored a career-high 19 points at Portland State on Feb. 8, and in the final game of the season, a Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal loss to Northern Colorado, Lonergan scored 18 points and matched a career high with nine rebounds.
Anderson leaves Montana with only one year of eligibility remaining. She played in a total of 90 games for the Lady Griz over the past three years, making 20 total starts. But the 5-6 Mill Creek, Washington native saw her playing time cut in her junior season with the emergence of other young star guards on the squad. Anderson averaged 3.1 points and just under one assist in 14 minutes per game in 2017-18.
Lonergan and Anderson join sophomore forward Hailey Nicholson and freshman guard Nora Klick as players to leave the Lady Griz program since the end of the season. Montana graduated only one senior, forward Mekayla Isaak. Schweyen and her coaching staff have officially signed four recruits from high school to join the program next season.
