Leia Beattie Joins Lady Griz Coaching Staff In Missoula

Meet the Griz is a series where we tell the stories of Montana Grizzlies athletes, coaches and contributors.

Meet Leia Beattie - Newest Edition to the Montana Lady Griz Coaching Staff

If you read the name 'Leia Beattie' and thought to yourself, "Hmmm, do I know the name 'Beattie' from someone else?"

Yes. Yes, you do.

Leia's mom, Kelly, played for the Montana Lady Griz under her maiden name Pilcher, but married into the Beatties.

Leia's Aunt, Carla, played for the Lady Griz as Carla Beattie before marrying into the Cunneen family.

So you could imagine that when Leia committed to play basketball at the neighbors' in Bozeman, it was jarring to hear for the family.

"It was, at first, a little bit of a hard pill to swallow," explained Beattie. "But they were extremely supportive of me. Whatever I did, wherever I was gonna go, they were gonna be there."

Beattie drives in a game against the Lady Griz. Credit: Montana State Athletics

Leia and her family have gone through the Big Sky gauntlet. First, it was rooting on the Lady Griz legacy from mom and aunt's playing days. Then, it was trading the colors in for blue and gold for Bozeman before ending her career in Flagstaff with Northern Arizona.

Now, Leia finds herself back in Missoula, where the family legacy began.

With a familiar face!

"I've known Nate Harris (Lady Griz Head Coach) for a while now. We kind of go back for a while now. We kind of go back to when he recruited me when I was in high school and he was at Angelo State," explained Leia.

"He knows both of my parents from way back when when he played at Montana Tech - knew my dad through that, so kind of go way back just going through the Montana grapevine."

Lady Griz Head Coach Nate Harris. Credit: University of Montana Athletics