Lady Jackets Survive Upset Minded Wolves (Jan. 26, 2005)
Box Score

BILLINGS, MT – It was neither easy nor pretty, but the MSU Billings women survived Western Oregon’s upset bid Wednesday night, winning 65-56.  The Yellowjackets, ranked ninth in the West Region, improved to 14-4.  The Wolves, losers of nine straight entering the game, dropped to 4-12.

Despite the nine consecutive losses, Western Oregon played an efficient first half and led by two at the break, 34-32.  Second chance points and 3-pointers buoyed the Wolves in the opening 20 minutes.  They out rebounded MSU Billings 18-10 in the half, 6-1 on the offensive end.  They also connected on 5-of-10 from behind the arc with five different players scoring from outside.

“This was an important win for us,” said Yellowjacket coach Kevin Woodin.  “I was proud of our players for hanging in there and finding a way to win.  Western Oregon came to play tonight and I was very impressed with their offensive execution.  Several of their players presented difficult match ups for us and they shot the ball well tonight, especially in the first half.” 

The Yellowjackets contained Western Oregon’s outside shooting in the second half, holding the Wolves to 2-of-9 from 3-point range.  MSU Billings still wasn’t able to pull away from a game that was tight throughout.  There were seven ties in the first half and five in the second with a total of 17 lead changes in the game.

The Yellowjackets took the lead for good on a Tanya Petersen (Jr., Billings, MT) jumper with 10:56 to play, but Western was never down by more than two possessions.  MSU Billings finally found some breathing room in the final five minutes of the game, holding the Wolves scoreless from 5:29 to 1:27.  In that span, Robyn Milne (Sr., Richey, MT) was 4-of-6 from the free throw line and Jenny Langford (Jr., Reedpoint, MT) connected on an 3-pointer.

Langford’s 3-pointer, her third of three in the game, gave the Jackets their first double digit lead of the night at 64-54 with 2:53 to play.  The only basket MSU Billings allowed after that point was a Shannon Talbott jumper with 1:27 remaining.

Milne led the Yellowjackets with 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots.  The four blocks moved her from No. 23 to No. 22 in NCAA Division II history for career blocked shots with 239. 

Petersen finished with 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting and six boards.  MSU Billings shot 42 percent from the field in the game.  Langford added 12 points, hitting 4-of-9 from the field and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. 

Sophomore Shannon Harvey (Billings, MT) was 3-of-6 from 3-point range, netting 16 points in the game.  She scored 10 first half points to help keep the Jackets close.  Michelle Lieber (So., Gillette, WY) finished with four points and Jessica Bratton (So., Casper, WY) added two for the Yellowjackets’ only other scoring. 

The Wolves were led by Talbott’s 19 points and nine rebounds.  She was 7-of-12 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point.  WOU shot 42 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range.  Leada Berkey finished with 15 points and Kagney Kohne added 13.  Michelle Laski led all players with five assists with only one turnover. 

“I felt our depth played a key role in the game, and we made some critical free throws down the stretch,” added Woodin.  “Angela Lessard played a key role tonight off the bench, but our entire team contributed to this victory.  We are excited about our opportunity to play at North Dakota State on Saturday.  Obviously, they are a great program and a great team but we are looking forward to the challenge.”

The Yellowjackets face the Bison at 7:00 p.m. at the Bison Sports Arena in Fargo.  The Bison are a perfect 18-0 on the season and are trying for their first unbeaten season since 1994-1995 when they won their fourth of five NCAA Division II national championships.  NDSU is in the second year of its five year reclassification to NCAA Division I.  The Yellowjackets will host the Bison on February 12.