MISSOULA — The Montana Lady Griz basketball program is keeping things local with its latest recruiting class.
UM made those verbal commitments official this week when head coach Shannon Schweyen and Co. signed five new players who will join the team in the 2020-21 season.
Four of the five signees hail from in-state. They include Billings West's Willa Albrecht, Havre's Kyndall Keller, Glendive's Karsen Murphy, Box Elder's Joelnell Momberg and Bria Dixson of Portland, Oregon.
Keller, a 5-foot-8 guard, has led the Blue Ponies to back-to-back State A basketball titles. In both state tournaments, Keller was named the State A tournament MVP.
Albrecht, a 6-foot forward, helped lead the Golden Bears to the State AA championship game last March. A standout sprinter, Albrecht has been a state champion and medalist in the sprints over the past two seasons at West.
Murphy, a 6-foot forward, has also been a standout on the track. In May she won the high jump and triple jumps, the latter of which she set a Class A record in. Murphy was also voted all-state in basketball as a junior for Glendive.
Momberg, a 5-8 guard, verbally committed to the Lady Griz heading into her junior year of high school at Box Elder. As a sophomore and junior, she led Box Elder to back-to-back State C championships. She was named tournament MVP as a junior.
After leading Box Elder to a 71-7 record over three seasons, Momberg will spend her senior year at Mead High School in Spokane, Washington.
Dixson, a 5-7 guard, helped lead Benson Polytechnic High School to the Class 6A state championship as a junior. She averaged 4.2 3-pointers per game as a freshman at Franklin High School and scored 21 points per game.
The Lady Griz currently have 13 of the maximum 15 scholarship players who are on the roster. After this season, Taylor Goligoski, McKenzie Johnston and Emma Stockholm will have exhausted their eligibility.
