UM-Western taps Britt Cooper as next women’s hoops coach

by Daily Inter Lake
| June 29, 2023 12:00 AM

DILLON — After a nationwide search, Montana Western stayed in-house for its next women’s basketball coach, elevating assistant coach and former Lady Bulldog star Britt Cooper.

The announcement came Tuesday; Cooper replaces former coach Lindsey Woolley, who she played for from 2015-19 — culminating in the Lady Bulldogs’ 2019 NAIA Tournament championship.

“I am extremely excited to be the next head coach at Western. This program has meant a lot to me over the last eight years and I cannot wait to continue building on the culture Coach Woolley has created here," Cooper said in a Montana Western release. “We have a great group of ladies that are dedicated to the sport, and I am so happy I get to be a part of helping them grow on and off the court.”

Cooper is the eighth women’s basketball coach in school history, and was named interim coach when Woolley resigned on June 7 to take an assistant’s position at Utah State. The Lady Bulldogs went 215-129 in his 11 seasons and Cooper, a Harrison native, is one of his 29 all-Frontier Conference players.

Following her playing career she spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at NCAA Division II Angelo State, earning a Master’s degree in coaching. She then spent a season at her high school alma mater, teaching math and coaching the Wildcats girls basketball team for once season. She then joined Woolley’s staff at Western this past season.

I am so happy for Britt and this opportunity to take over the women's basketball program at Montana Western,” Woolley said in the statement. “She knows what it takes to have success at an institution like Montana Western because she has not only played here and coached here, but she bleeds Bulldog red.”

The Lady Bulldogs are coming off a 28-6 season and their 15th NAIA Tournament appearance, which ended with a loss in the quarterfinals. Their roster includes sophomore forward Emma Anderson out of Glacier High School, and recent Flathead High graduate Maddy Moy signed a letter of intent to join Western’s program this coming school year.