Lady Yellowjackets Upset No. 13 Western Washington
in OT (December 18, 2002)
BILLINGS, MT – The streak
continued for the MSU Billings women’s basketball
team Wednesday night as the Lady Yellowjackets upset
13th-ranked Western Washington University
72-71 in overtime for their 26th consecutive home victory. The last time MSUB lost
at home was to Western Washington on January 4,
2001. The win pushes the
Yellowjackets season record to 7-2 and 6-1 in the
West Region.
Senior Natalie Visger scored a game-high 23 points to carry a Yellowjacket
team that has been plagued by injuries. After
losing starters Amy Bantz and Robyn Milne earlier in the season, the Jackets lost reserve
guard Lisa Jellum to a knee injury in the first half of Wednesday’s
game. Bantz has returned to the lineup to
contribute limited minutes, but Milne will be out
until after Christmas with a broken hand.
Despite a tough night shooting
the ball against the Vikings-MSUB shot only
32-percent from the field-the Yellowjackets made the
clutch shots. Trailing by five with under three
minutes to play, Joan Langford made a stop-and-pop jumper on the left baseline
to draw the Jackets to within three at 60-57. On
the next trip down the floor, Visger drained her
only 3-point attempt of the game to tie the score at
60.
After WWU took a 64-62 lead
with under a minute to play, freshman Tanya Petersen tied the game at 64 with 40 seconds remaining.
Petersen finished the game with a career-high 12
points and played a career-high
23 minutes. Neither team was able to convert
of the final half minute, forcing the overtime
period.
The Yellowjackets drew first
blood in overtime on Petersen’s basket in the lane.
MSUB led until Megan Quarterman put the Vikings
ahead 70-68 with just under three minutes to play.
The Yellowjackets scored the next four points on
two Petersen free throws with 2:30 left and a Joan
Langford lay-up off a steal with 1:30 remaining.
Western Washington had its
chances at the free throw line down the stretch.
The Vikings missed 3-of-4 attempts from the line in
the final minute. Quarterman’s runner as the buzzer
sounded was off the mark, giving the Jackets their
seventh win of the year and their sixth within the
West Region.
Visger was 12-of-15 from the
free throw line and completed the double-double with
a career-high 16 rebounds. She played 42 of the 45
minutes in the game. Petersen added eight rebounds
and made 5-of-8 field goal attempts. Joan and Jenny Langford also notched double-digits for the Yellowjackets
with 10 points apiece, and Jessica Bachmann added nine points.
Western Washington, which falls
to 4-2, was paced by Susan Rodgers’ 21 points and 11
rebounds. Stacey Miller added 13 points and
Quarterman finished with 11.
The Yellowjackets hit the road
for their next five games, all against West Region
teams. They will play at Northwest Nazarene on
December 20 and at Western Oregon December 27 and
28. The Lady Jackets will open the New Year at a
tournament in Hawaii against Seattle and
Alaska-Fairbanks on January 2 and 3 respectively. |
