MISSOULA — It was a whirlwind 48 hours for the Montana Lady Griz basketball program, but that didn't stop the team from rallying on Thursday evening at Dahlberg Arena over Weber State 74-70 in front of 2,107 fans to snap a three-game losing skid.
Most notably, news broke Thursday morning that UM head coach Brian Holsinger was on leave from the program, with associate head coach Nate Harris taking charge of the team moving forward.
No further details were provided for Holsinger's absence on Thursday, and the move came with rumors swirling and the team sitting at 5-10 overall entering Thursday's game.
Still, the Lady Griz put the distractions aside behind Harris, as senior Tyler McCliment-Call scored 18 points and freshman Avery Waddington added 13 points and the game-sealing block in the final seconds for Montana as they improved to 6-10 and 2-3 in Big Sky Conference play.
"Just super proud of our kids. Their ability to stick together this week is what I'm probably most proud of," Harris said after. "That's a group that's been through a lot but found a way to come together, found a way to have at least one more point than the other team. And it wasn't always pretty and it wasn't always perfect but that's what we told them.
"Games are the fun part, find a way to come together, find a way to get it done as a group and just couldn't be more proud of them for their ability to come together and stick together."
Izabella Zingaro added nine points while Dani Bartsch scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Aby Shubert and MJ Bruno each added eight points as well while Macy Donarski dished seven assists.
UM was also without junior starting point guard Mack Konig, who has started every game this year for the Lady Griz. Harris said there was "no update on Mack" as Konig was not seen on UM's bench either.
Still, the Lady Griz got back on track with a much-needed Big Sky victory and the season well into conference play. Harris credited the players for pushing all distractions aside and focusing on the task at hand to get the win.
"It has little to do with us and everything to do with our leadership," Harris said. "I think that our upperclassmen, our kids who have played in a lot of games, our kids who have done stuff in big moments. We have kids who have played a lot of games here. and I think those upperclassmen who have the experience did a tremendous job of just leading the way and being people that our kids who maybe haven't been through harder things can count on.
"They set the tone. The MJs, the Danis, the Tylers, Alex, Izzy's played a lot of games. Their ability to show up the last 24 hours and lead the way in coming together has probably set the tone for a lot of kids on that bench."
UM hosts Idaho State (6-9, 1-3 Big Sky) for its annual N7 game on Saturday, which honors Native American heritage.
