FARMINGTON, Utah (Jan. 14, 2026) – Entering week three of league action, the Bobcats remain the only unbeaten team in conference play. All the action resumes on Thursday with three days of play ahead this week.
Big Sky Women's Basketball Weekly Notes (Week 11)
Chirrick Named Player of the Week
Sophomore guard Taylee Chirrick led Montana State to a pair of wins over the weekend, leaving the Bobcats as the Big Sky’s only unbeaten team in Big Sky play.
Chirrick led the Cats in scoring twice, pouring in 24 against Eastern Washington and 23 against Idaho to give her seven 20-point games this season and three in a row. The Roberts, Mont., product grabbed 15 rebounds (seven against UI, eight against the Eagles) with 10 steals, nine assists and a blocked shot.
Chirrick shot 17-for-28 from the floor, 7-for-11 from the arc, on the weekend.
Other’s Nominated for Women’s Basketball Player of the Week
Ella Gallatin (EWU), Tasia Jordan (ISU), Naomi White (NAU), Tatum West (UNC), Kyleigh Brown (PSU), Natalie Picton (SAC)
The Best on the Boards
Eastern Washington’s Kourtney Grossman has claimed the top spot in the nation in boards per game.
The sophomore forward is currently averaging 13.1 rebounds per game, nearly .5 more than the player behind her.
Grossman also leads the nation in total rebounds with 209 on the season.
She is the only player in the nation to have two 22+ rebound games.
Leading the Lumberjacks, and the Big Sky
Naomi White has been a lethal force for the Lumberjack offense in her first season in Flagstaff.
Through 17 games, White leads both the Lumberjacks and the Big Sky in scoring averaging 22.8 points per game.
She recorded six consecutive 20+ point games to open the season. She also recently set a new career high of 37 points against Weber State. The redshirt-freshman drained a career-high 9 triples in that contest in that game.
This is White’s first season of collegiate action after redshirting her freshman year at Grand Canyon as a season ago.
Montana State Sweeps Preseason Polls
After a 30-win campaign a season ago, the Bobcats begin their title defense as preseason favorites of both the Coaches' Poll and Media Poll leading up to the 2025-26 Women's Basketball season, the conference office announced.
The Bobcats received five first-place votes in the coaches’ poll and 11 in the media poll compared to Montana three first-place votes in the coaches' poll and seven in the media poll. Idaho and Idaho State gathered the final two first place votes in the coaches poll.
Montana State finished its last campaign with a 30-4 overall record, the first Big Sky team to reach the 30-win mark, and a 17-1 mark in Big Sky action. The Bobcats swept the Big Sky titles, earning their eight regular season crown and its fourth tournament title. The season came to a close in Columbus where the Bobcats faced the Buckeyes of Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
2025-26 Big Sky Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1: Montana State (5) – 74
2: Montana (3) – 72
3: Idaho (1) – 65
4: Idaho State (1) – 57
5: Sacramento State – 50
6: Eastern Washington – 38
7: Northern Colorado – 36
8: Weber State – 28
T9: Northern Arizona – 15
T9: Portland State – 15
() – Denotes First-Place Votes
2025-26 Big Sky Women’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll
1: Montana State (11) – 238
2: Montana (7) – 224
3: Idaho (7) – 220
4: Sacramento State (2) – 177
5: Idaho State – 161
6: Eastern Washington – 123
7: Weber State – 120
8: Northern Arizona – 102
9: Northern Colorado – 86
10: Portland State – 34
() – Denotes First-Place Votes
Versteeg Headlines Preseason All-Conference Team
The 2025-26 Big Sky Women's Basketball Preseason Team has been revealed, the conference office announced. Sacramento State's Benthe Versteeg highlights the team, earning Preseason MVP honors.
Versteeg represents one of five schools through the six-member Preseason All-Conference Team.
Versteeg enters her redshirt senior season as one of the league's most impactful returners, collecting All-Big Sky First team honors a season ago. In her 2024-25 campaign, she led the conference in assists with 208, nearly 40 more than anyone else in the conference. The Hornet also ranked Top-10 in the conference in scoring (10th), total points (8th), field goals made (7th), assist-to-turnover ratio (7th), steals (8th) and minutes (2nd). Her defensive efforts have earned her a spot on the Big Sky All-Defensive team twice in as many years.
The Lady Griz of Montana are the only school represented on the Preseason All-Conference team twice in Mack Konig and Avery Waddington. The Lady Griz duo led the squad a season ago as the two highest-point scorers on the team, both averaging 10+ points per game. Montana enters the first full season of the Nate Harris era, who led the team to a championship appearance in Boise to close out the 2024-25 season.
2025-26 Big Sky Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Benthe Versteeg, Sacramento State (Preseason Most Valuable Player)
Mack Konig, Montana
Taylee Chirrick, Montana State
Kourtney Grossman, Eastern Washington
Avery Waddington, Montana
Hope Hassmann, Idaho
Starch Madness
The 2026 Big Sky Basketball Championships in Boise, Idaho will take place from March 7-11 inside Idaho Central Arena. Visit
StarchMadness.com for more details.
2025 Big Sky Women's Basketball Schedule (Week 11)
Thursday, Jan. 15
Sacramento State at Northern Arizona // 6:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
Portland State at Northern Colorado // 6:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
Weber State at Eastern Washington // 7:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
Idaho State at Idaho // 7:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
Saturday, Jan. 17
Portland State at Northern Arizona // 2:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
Montana at Montana State // 2:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+/Scripps)
Sacramento State at Northern Colorado // 2:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
Weber State at Idaho // 3:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
Idaho State at Eastern Washington // 3:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
Monday, Jan. 19
Northern Arizona at Montana // 2:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
Northern Colorado at Montana State // 2:00 p.m. MT (ESPN+)
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