Lady Jackets Outrun Antelopes, 67-46 (Feb.
18, 2005)
Box Score
BILLINGS, MT – For the Montana State-Billings
women’s basketball team, it’s a good time of year to be playing
solid defense. The Yellowjackets put the clamps on visiting Grand
Canyon Friday night and coasted to a 67-46 win.
The victory—the Jackets’ sixteenth of the
year against just six losses—was an important West Region win for
a team that is fighting for an NCAA Tournament berth.
MSU Billings is ranked eighth in the latest West Region power
poll, and eight teams are invited to the tournament. With five
games remaining, every win is important down the stretch.
“We know we have to finish strong,” said
senior center Robyn Milne. “We’re lucky enough to have five regional games
at the end of the season.”
Milne was a big reason the Yellowjackets
controlled the first of those five regional games on Friday. (MSUB
also has one non-region game remaining.) She recorded her 27th career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and topped
off the night by swatting five shots on the defensive end. Her
fifth block, which came with 11:20 to play in the game, moved her
into a tie as the nineteenth most prolific shot blocker in NCAA
Division II history. She has 253 career blocked shots with at
least five games (plus any NCAA Tournament games) to chase down
former teammate Jessie Henigman’s school record of 272.
“The offense feeds off great defense,”
concluded Milne. “We’ll definitely work on that for tomorrow. We
had some breakdowns on offense tonight, but we made up for it with
defense. Great defense produces great offense.”
The Jackets’ defense led to 38 first half
points and a 12 point halftime lead. Grand Canyon (10-12) shot
just 24 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes while the
Yellowjackets connected on nearly 52 percent from the floor.
Milne and fellow post player Michelle Lieber had their way in the paint the entire half and
the MSUB perimeter players were 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Milne and Lieber combined for 16 first half
points, outscoring the ‘Lopes 16-4 in the paint. The easy looks
inside led to open looks from the outside with four Yellowjackets
connecting from downtown. Jenny Langford’s 3-pointer with 7:46 to play in the half
opened a 30-11 lead.
Grand Canyon’s Jennifer Cobb kept the game
from turning into a runaway with 13 of her team’s 24 first half
points. She sparked a 13-8 Grand Canyon run to finish the half.
Cobb finished with a game-high 19 points, hitting 4-of-8 from
3-point range. Backcourt mate Kelly McCree dropped in 15 points
as the two combined for 34 of the team’s 46 points.
“We definitely see those match up problems,”
said Yellowjacket coach Kevin Woodin. “Sometimes we have trouble
controlling that third or fourth perimeter player. Cobb and
McCree are very tough to guard. They can shoot, and they have the
ability to take it to the basket. We’ll need to help some more on
them tomorrow.”
Fourteen was as close as Grand Canyon could
get in the second half as the Yellowjacket defense held the ‘Lopes
to7-of-27 shooting. After a Cobb 3-pointer with 15:35 to play cut
the Jackets’ lead to 43-29, MSU Billings used a 16-2 run to break
the game open.
The ‘Lopes outside tandem wasn’t enough to
counter the inside punch of the Yellowjackets. MSUB’s big three
of Milne, Lieber and Tanya Petersen were a combined 17-of-31 from the field for 38
points. They also combined for 24 rebounds while none of the
three played more than 26 minutes. The Yellowjackets held a 56-34
rebounding edge with 16 offensive rebounds leading to 16 second
chance points.
“We controlled the inside,” added Woodin.
“All three of our post players played well. It’s important for us
to establish the inside game first, then that opens up the
perimeter.”
Petersen led the Yellowjackets with 16 points
on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. She was also 2-of-2 from
beyond the arc. Lieber finished with 12 points and nine rebounds,
and guard Shannon Harvey came off the bench to score 11 points. Eleven
different Yellowjackets found the scoring column with the bench
contributing 23 points—16 in the second half.
“In a back-to-back series, it’s key to be
able to go deep into the bench on the first night,” said Woodin.
“We were able to do that tonight. I think that will help us
tomorrow night.”
The Yellowjackets and ‘Lopes square off at
7:00 p.m. Saturday at Alterowitz Gym. It will be the final home
game of the season and “Senior Night” for Milne and Kayla Frize,
who will each be honored following the game. The Yellowjackets
finish the regular season with four straight on the road.
Note: With her 10 points Friday,
Milne has 969 career points. She needs just 31 in her final five
games to become the sixteenth player in school history to score
1,000 points. She also needs 13 rebounds to reach 900 for her
career. Brandy Hamblin is the only player in school history with
over 1,000 points and 900 rebounds.
Click HERE for photos of
the Lady Jackets vs. Grand Canyon |
