Box Elder's Kyla Momberg inks with Montana Western

Montana Western is becoming a home away from home for Box Elder Lady Bears.

On Monday, senior Kyla Momberg announced she signed an NAIA letter of intent with the Montana Western women’s basketball team. Her choices came down to the Bulldogs and Casper College in Casper, Wyoming. After a family loss, Momberg realized how important family is so she decided on the Bulldogs to play with her sister Joelnell and stay close to family.

"Having family around makes everything so much easier," Momberg said. "Not everybody gets an opportunity to be able to play with their sister in college so I thought that was a cool opportunity to take so that's what helped me seal the deal."

Momberg has had a stellar high school career for the Bears. During her career, she has earned all-state and all-conference honors. Last season, she and Bears took third in the District 9C to qualify for the Northern C Divisionals. Momberg also spent one season playing at Mead High in Spokane.

Momberg will be joining a strong program as the Bulldogs are 7-2 this season and have finished in the top three of the Frontier Conference standings. Not only does Momberg look forward to playing with her sister, she also looks forward to playing in a small town like Dillon and getting to know her teammates. Former Box Elder star Lilly Gopher also played for the Dawgs.

"I really enjoyed the girls on my visit," Momberg said. "I just really enjoyed the small town atmosphere."

Western head coach Lindsay Woolley came all the way up from Dillon for the signing to make it official. He has had an eye on Momberg the past few years and already knew her sister, so he did not waste a chance to make her an offer once he knew she was interested in playing for them.

"She does everything really well and from the point guard position to have some scoring and to have someone that sees the floor like she does will make us a lot better," Woolley said. "We're super excited about her IQ and her feel and her knowledge of the game."

The Bears open their season this weekend at the All-American Indian Shootout in Billings.