Lady Jackets Pull Out 58-44 Win Over Humboldt State (Dec. 17, 2004)
Box Score

BILLINGS, MT – On a night when baskets were hard to come by, the Montana State-Billings women’s basketball team used a surge in the final six minutes to defeat Humboldt State, 58-44.  The win improved the Yellowjackets to 6-2 on the season, dropping Humboldt to 3-6.  The same two teams will meet again Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Alterowitz Gymnasium.

“In the first half they did a great job on our posts,” said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin.  “We struggled to get good looks inside.  In the second half we did a little better job of penetrating and getting the ball inside.  Defensively I thought we were solid and we were able to make crucial free throws down the stretch.  But overall, we’ll have to play a lot better if we’re going to come out with a win tomorrow.  They’re a solid team and both teams play a similar style.  We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Neither team was able to establish any offensive rhythm in the first 20 minutes of the game and combined to shoot 19-of-57 from the field before going into the locker room tied at 24-24.  The Lumberjacks shot 39 percent from the field in the first half and 31 percent from the game.  The Jackets shot 29 percent in the opening half and 30 percent in the game.

The Yellowjackets pulled away for their largest lead of the game midway through the second half when Tanya Petersen (Jr., Billings, MT) scored three straight points to give MSUB a 40-34 advantage.  The Lumberjacks stayed within reach for the next six minutes before the Jackets were able to open a double-digit lead.

Michelle Lieber (So., Gillette, WY) sank a pair of free throws with 4:13 to play to give MSU Billings a 46-41 lead.  That started a 9-0 run that put the Yellowjackets ahead 53-41 with 1:39 remaining.  MSU Billings hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute to put the game out of reach.  Lisa Jellum (Jr., Gillette, WY) made four straight from the charity stripe in the final 30 seconds and finished with seven points.

Petersen and Lieber scored 13 points apiece to lead all scorers.  Lieber also grabbed ten rebounds for the double-double.  Shannon Harvey (So., Billings, MT) had two 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.  Robyn Milne (Sr., Richey, MT) added six points and a game-high 14 rebounds.  She also blocked three shots and handed out three assists.

The Lumberjacks were paced by 12 points from Kelly Fay and 10 points from Jenna Washington.  Fay was 2-of-6 from behind the arc and 4-of-4 from the line.  Washington had a team-high eight rebounds.

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