MISSOULA — Avory DeCoite always knew she wanted to be a Montana Lady Griz basketball player.
In fact, there's even photo evidence to prove it.
"You watch, when you're younger, all the other kids, like all the college athletes playing and like, you just hope to be in their shoes," DeCoite said. "And that's all you can think about when you're watching. The photo of me on the court, I remember that so much. I was like, I want to be with them, like in the game, because I was just in the halftime show."
And soon she will be, with a new set of photos that make that dream a reality, as the Missoula Big Sky junior committed to the Lady Griz a few weeks ago.
"I kind of knew right when I got the offer, I wanted to do that and I was just letting it sink in, and then I went on my visit and I watched the team practice and I just kind of fell in love with, like, how everything worked there," DeCoite said. "I think that's right when it clicked for me that I wanted to go there.
"I've kind of always just been watching them, and just growing up here in the community, you go to college games and the Griz have the best facility, the best crowd. Like, their community is just the best compared to anyone else. And it's just something you want to be a part of. They're just the right people."
DeCoite is the first high school commit for new head coach Nate Harris as the program turns a new chapter, and her own hard work as a three-year starter and all-state performer has paid off.
"The weight comes off your shoulders because you put so much time in on the outside of just even high school athletics, like lifting and training," DeCoite said. "You get to the point where you're not sure if you're going to play college athletics and just having that weight off, knowing all the time you put in outside of high school is paying off."
It hasn't come without obstacles.
A standout in soccer, as well, DeCoite tore her ACL before the season began in August, and she missed all of that plus most of her junior year of basketball with the Eagles.
"You never want injuries to happen, but like for me, I'm thankful for them because they've taught me so much," DeCoite said. "Like if I didn't have them, I don't think I would have mentally matured throughout these three years. And so I think having that side of my game come around is the best part for me.
"For me, during the ACL recovery, you're not going to see progress every day. And I think that was the hardest part for me. And so I think that's kind of what got me back fast enough, as I forced there to be progress every day and made sure there's something that was improving, and I think that is what got me back so fast, and having my mom help me through everything because she tore her ACL and she knows exactly what it feels like."
In a big relief and special moment for her, DeCoite still returned in time to help the Eagles win a third-place trophy at the Class AA state tournament, and now with her eyes turned toward her senior year, she now has her path after high school in place as she continues to grow in the game.
"As I talked to Nate, he told me how I fit into the program," DeCoite said. "And so I'm working on getting those strengths even better and just continue to work on those and things that I need to work on so I can help the program the best I can, and I hope that our team makes a good run again at state next year."
