Lady Yellowjackets Roll at Western Oregon (Feb. 22, 2005)
Box Score
MONMOUTH, OR – The Montana State-Billings
women’s basketball team cruised to an important West Region win
Tuesday night, shutting down Western Oregon for a 59-34 win. The
Yellowjacket defense was dominating, holding the Wolves to just 25
percent shooting from the field.
MSU Billings, ranked eighth in the West
Region, improved to 18-6 overall with three games to play. The
Yellowjackets will play at Rocky Mountain on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
That game can be heard on AM 970 KBUL. They will finish the
season on March 3 and 5 at Western New Mexico. Winning the final
three games will most likely assure the Jackets of a berth in the
NCAA Tournament. The top eight teams in each region qualify for
the tourney.
Western Oregon jumped out to an 8-2 lead in
the first four minutes behind 3-pointers from Kagney Kohne and
Shannon Talbott. The Jackets’ Michelle Lieber (So., Gillette, WY) tied the game at 10-10
with 13:45 left in the first half. Tanya Petersen’s (Jr., Billings, MT) basket 30 seconds later
gave MSU Billings its first lead and the Jackets never trailed
again.
“They jumped out on us 8-2, but we responded
well,” said Yellowjacket coach Kevin Woodin. “We played very good
defense and were able to rebound the ball well. We extended our
zone a little and tried to take the 3-point shot away more than
last time.”
The win was the second of the season for the
Jackets against the Wolves. WOU almost upset MSU Billings in
January in Billings before the Yellowjackets pulled away late for
a 65-56 win.
After building a 31-18 halftime lead, the
Yellowjackets scored the first 14 points of the second half to
blow the game open, building a 45-20 lead. Including the final
1:17 of the first half, in which the Wolves (5-19) did not score,
the Yellowjackets held WOU scoreless for a span of 12:01.
Petersen led a balanced Montana
State-Billings attack with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting. She
also had six rebounds. Senior Robyn Milne (Richey, MT) added 15 points and 10 rebounds for
the 28th double-double of her career. She was 7-of-9
from the floor and also blocked five shots. The five blocks give
Milne 87 for the season and 261 for her career. She now ranks 17th in NCAA II history and needs 11 to tie the school record.
“We exploited our size advantage,” said
Woodin. “We did a nice job of getting the ball inside. The
guards fed the posts nicely and that was the key to the game. It
was a complete effort on both ends of the court. Our depth was a
factor as well. When we subbed, we didn’t have any drop off. At
halftime we talked about having a strong second half. I was
pleased with the defensive intensity coming out after half.”
Lieber was also in double figures with 12
points. She was 5-of-6 from the field and grabbed eight
rebounds. Kayla Frize (Jr., Miles City, MT) added seven points off the
bench and handed out three assists. Lisa Jellum (Jr., Gillette, WY) and Jenny Langford (Jr., Reedpoint, MT) each scored three points.
Langford had a game-high six assists.
As a team, the Yellowjackets shot 49 percent
from the field and out rebounded the Wolves 41-28. MSU Billings
was just 4-of-15 from 3-point range, but the Jackets’ three post
players scored 46 of the team’s 59 points.
Talbott led the Wolves with 15 points and
nine rebounds. Only four players found the scoring column for
Western Oregon. Leada Berkey and Kohne added eight points apiece.
“I think we’re improving (with our focus),”
added Woodin. “I was happy last week that we won two different
styles of games. We seem to be flexible and able to win with
different styles. That’s a tribute to our players. We have three
tough games left, but I think we’re playing well.” |
