BILLINGS — Mandy Morales will not return as girls basketball coach at Huntley Project.
Huntley Project School District Superintendent Mark Wandle told MTN Sports via email Tuesday afternoon:
“There was a contract renewal timeline that was not met by some of our staff. All employees who didn’t meet this standard were given a notice of a rescinded contract. This was done verbally, in person, as well as with a written letter, and followed up with another letter,” Wandle stated.
“With administration approval we are hiring some of those people back at our next board meeting. The administrative recommendation is to open up the girls basketball contract.
“Coach Morales was not fired and we value her time and effort as a Huntley Project Red Devil.”
The Huntley Project School District on Monday posted job openings to social media for both high school head girls basketball and junior high girls basketball coaching positions. The Yellowstone County News was first to report the parting of ways Tuesday.
Morales was named head coach at Huntley Project in the spring of 2021 and spent three seasons at the helm. The Red Devils won the Southern B divisional championship this past season before placing third at the state tournament. They also won the Southern B crown in 2023 and then placed fourth at state that year.
Expectations for the Huntley Project girls will again be high in 2024-25 with the return of prolific senior guard Paige Lofing, who recently committed to play at Gonzaga.
Prior to becoming a coach, Morales was a standout player. She began her high school career at Huntley Project as a freshman but transferred to Billings West where she helped the Golden Bears to two Class AA girls basketball championships. She was Montana’s Gatorade player of the year in 2004.
Morales signed to play in college at Arizona State before moving to the University of Montana, where she starred for legendary coach Robin Selvig. At UM, Morales was twice named Big Sky Conference player of the year. She scored 1,959 points and dished out 587 assists in her time with the Lady Griz.
