Former Lady Griz standout comes to MSU-N

Montana State University-Northern women's basketball coach Chris Mouat is losing a top-notch assistant coach to an NCAA Division I program.

But Mouat has found an excellent replacement. Longtime MSU-N assistant Anna Bateman recently accepted a job at Big Sky Conference member Northern Colorado University, and Mouat recently announced the hiring of former Malta prep star and University of Montana basketball standout Juliann Keller.

Keller replaces Bateman, who worked as the lead assistant in the Skylight program the past five seasons.

Bateman is joining her former junior college coach, Jamie White at UNC.

"I am very happy for Anna to have the opportunity to make the jump to NCAA Division I basketball," Mouat said. She has been a trusted and loyal assistant coach and member of our athletic department, and she has done a great deal for our entire program. I can't thank her enough for all she has done over the past five years."

Meanwhile, Keller comes to Northern after gaining extensive experience in the coaching field the past few years. Upon graduating from UM, Keller coached in the girls program at Missoula Big Sky High School. She also spent a pair of seasons teaching and coaching in Kentucky, and was most recently the head girls basketball coach at Fort Benton High School.

Keller is a 2001 graduate of Malta High School and a 2005 graduate of the University of Montana, where she earned a bachelor of art's degree in Elementary Education.

Keller had a phenomenal basketball career at both the high school and collegiate levels.

At Malta, Keller was part of three Class B state championship teams with the M-Ettes.

With the Lady Griz, Keller played for seasons under legendary head coach Robin Selvig, She was part of an ultra-successful run at UM. Keller's Lady Griz teams made two NCAA tournament appearances and also reached the NIT once.

"We feel very fortunate to have Juliann join our staff," Mouat said. "She has done an outstanding job at Fort Benton, and her experience as a player in coach (Robin) Selvig's program is going to be an immediate positive for us. She has earned a reputation as a coach who works hard and will do whatever is necessary to see that the program is successful."