Hillsdale Charges Past Lady Jackets (11/19/05)
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BILLINGS, MT – A solid defensive effort carried Hillsdale College over Montana State-Billings, 66-53, Saturday night at the Holiday Inn/Chinook Wireless Yellowjacket Classic.  The Chargers remained unbeaten on the season, improving to 3-0.  The Yellowjackets dropped to 1-1.  In the evening’s early game, Fort Lewis downed Western Oregon 82-54.

Hillsdale 66, MSU Billings 53 (Box Score)

The Chargers stifled the Yellowjacket offense most of the evening, holding the Jackets to just 32 percent shooting from the field.  MSU Billings made only 18 field goals in the game and was 3-of-20 from 3-point range. 

The teams traded leads throughout the first 14 minutes of a low scoring first half.  The Yellowjackets’ last lead of the half came on an Angie Lessard (Sr., Elizabeth, CO) jumper at 7:29.  Gretchen Rocco scored three possessions later for Hillsdale, giving the Chargers a 15-14 lead they wouldn’t relinquish for another 20 minutes.

The Chargers built a 26-20 halftime lead and didn’t trail until the 6:40 mark of the second half.  The Yellowjackets were able to close the gap and force three ties in the second half, but couldn’t take the lead until a pair of Jenny Langford (Sr., Reedpoint, MT) free throws put them ahead 48-47. 

Hillsdale responded with a Julie Slot 3-pointer to regain the lead, and the Chargers never trailed again.  Forward Nikki Wustman took over the final five minutes, scoring eight of her 21 points during that span.

“They owned the last part of the game,” said Yellowjacket coach Kevin Woodin.  “We did a good job in the second half of getting back into it.  We made some key stops after halftime and made a few shots to gain some confidence.  Alira Carpenter (Fr., Lewistown, MT) came in off the bench and gave us a spark offensively.  Over the last five or six minutes we didn’t play very well and that was a tribute to them.  They took us out of our things and we missed a couple shots we shouldn’t have.”

Wustman also grabbed 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double for the Chargers.  Four of her rebounds were on the offensive end.  She was 8-of-13 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.  Slot finished with 13 points, knocking down both of her 3-point attempts.  Jodie Haines added nine points and two assists for the Chargers.  Lauren Fewins chipped in eight points and pulled down nine boards. 

The Yellowjackets were led by Tanya Petersen’s (Sr., Billings, MT) 22 points and 13 rebounds.  She was 7-of-12 from the field and 7-of-10 from the line.  Petersen and Carpenter were the only two Yellowjackets to shoot over 50 percent from the field.  Carpenter was 4-of-6 off the bench for 11 points.

Langford and Michelle Lieber (Jr., Gillette, WY) each added five points for the Yellowjackets.  Lieber also had 10 rebounds and a game-high three assists.

“They’re a solid team,” said Woodin of the Chargers.  “Even thought we did not win the game, I think we benefited from playing a team of this quality.  It will help us down the road.  This was a great game for us to play at this time of the season.  Hillsdale is an experienced and talented team, and they made the key plays in the final five minutes to win the game.” 

The Yellowjackets will take to the road for three games over the Thanksgiving break, beginning with the West Texas A&M tournament on November 25 and 26.  MSU Billings will face regional opponents Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M.  They’ll wrap up the trip on November 28 with their Heartland Conference opener at Oklahoma Panhandle State.

“We head for Texas on Wednesday for a tough tournament,” said Woodin.  “It’s important because both teams we play are in our region.  We’ll finish the trip at Oklahoma Panhandle in our first conference game.  It will be a real test for us to play three games over a five day period.”

The Yellowjackets won’t return to Alterowitz Gymnasium for a game until December 16 when they host St. Martin’s.  They’ll play five straight home games between mid-December and January 7.

Fort Lewis 82, Western Oregon 54 (Box Score)

The Skyhawks earned their first win of the season to improve to 1-1.  Western Oregon dropped to 0-2.  Fort Lewis shot 55 percent from the field and held the Wolves to just 16 total field goals.

Ten different players scored for Fort Lewis in the game, including three in double figures.  Kelly Goodman led all players with 18 points.  Stephanie Kosters finished with 14 points, and Katie Bodaness added 10 off the bench.

Western Oregon was paced by 16 points and a dozen rebounds from Leada Berkey.  Kori Seymour netted 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting.