BOISE, Idaho — On Monday, Montana interim head coach Nate Harris talked about the notion of each Lady Griz victory serving as a way of moving the program forward in the midst of what’s been a turbulent season.
On Tuesday the Lady Griz took another big step — one that puts them in the Big Sky Conference championship game.
Sixth-seeded Montana came back from 14 down to upset No. 2 Northern Arizona 71-67 and move on to Wednesday’s title contest, where it will face archrival and top-seeded Montana State. Mack Konig exploded for 29 points to lead the charge for UM.
The win sends the Lady Griz to the championship for the first time in 10 seasons and continues a postseason run that began with an impressive quarterfinal win over Idaho on Monday.
"This feels a little bit surreal to be sitting here," Harris said afterward. "Did we believe we could do it? Yes. But to have the opportunity actually in front of us is surreal and a blessing that I will never forget — this group and what they've done down the stretch."
It didn't look great earlier in the day, as Leia Beattie and Nyah Moran each made 3-point baskets as the Lumberjacks forged a 14-point lead late in the second quarter.
But Montana was within seven trailing 48-41 after a Dani Bartsch 3 at the end of the third, and a Tyler McCliment-Call hoop at the outset of the fourth made it 48-43.
That's when Konig started to take command. Konig splashed back-to-back 3s from the top of the key to pull Montana within 52-51 with 7:00 remaining.
The Lady Griz took the lead 53-52 with 5:02 left on a pair of Bartsch foul shots. Bartsch made two more free throws to tie the game 60-60 with 2:57 to go.
Konig then hit two from the stripe with 1:07 left to put UM back in front 65-64. Konig later made a crucial jumper as the Lady Griz went up 67-65 with 37 seconds left.
"Actually, I was really frustrated with the way that they were playing me," Konig said. "But I feel like we just kept on going after it. We kept on trying to find new ways to score against their switches.
"For the last shot, I don't know. It was just something that recently has developed in my game the last few games, and I just felt like it was the right time to bring that up."
NAU was unable to convert on its next possession, and a loose ball went out of bounds to the Lady Griz with 12.6 seconds on the clock. Avery Waddington went to the line and made a pair to extend it to a four-point game, 69-65, with 11.3 seconds left.
Olivia Moran then scored unabated for NAU with 7.8 seconds left, but Konig was able to ice the game from the line.
Konig finished with 29 points, making 9 of 15 from the floor and 9 of 10 from the free throw line. McCliment-Call added 16 and Waddington had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lady Griz overcame superb performances from Nyah Moran and Sophie Glancey. Moran had 19 points in the first half and finished with 27 with six 3-pointers. Glancey, one of the Big Sky's top players, had 29 points and 14 rebounds. She made 13 of 15 from the foul line.
UM, though, limited NAU's Taylor Feldman to one point on 0-of-8 shooting. M.J. Bruno's defensive effort helped set the tone for the Lady Griz.
Montana improved to 14-17 while NAU exits the tournament with a 26-7 record, though coach Loree Payne said the Lumberjacks will play in another postseason tournament.
For the Lady Griz, the season made an abrupt turn when head coach Brian Holsinger took personal time away from the team on Jan. 15 and eventually resigned on Feb. 10.
Lead assistant Harris, who was born in Sidney and grew up in Ronan, took over as acting head coach and later assumed the title of interim head coach as the program tried to right the ship.
They've found the formula at the perfect time. Now they'll take on a powerhouse Montana State that has rolled up 29 victories and looks primed to win the tournament title.
It'll be the sixth time the Cats and Lady Griz will meet in the championship and the first time since 2008.
"There's two wolves inside me right now," said Harris, who previously coached at Montana State under Tricia Binford before eventually making his way to Missoula. "And the first one is like, golly, this is awesome. What a blessing. This group gets to spend more time together and gets to play for a Big Sky title.
"The other wolf is we're playing a really, really good basketball team that we battled at home, but then (they) got after us really good in Bozeman, and again, one of the best mid-major teams in the country, a team that has an unbelievably strong identity.
"Do I believe in our group? Absolutely. Is it going to be a gigantic challenge? 100% So I'm going to try to enjoy it for about 12 more minutes before really shifting my focus to to the task that lies ahead in in a really, really good Montana State team."
