Jackets Earn Tenth Straight Win (1/14/06)
Box Score

SAN ANTONIO, TX – Hitting the hardwood for the third road game in four days, the Montana State-Billings women’s basketball team earned their fourth Heartland Conference win in a row downing St. Mary’s (TX) 70-57 Saturday in San Antonio.  The win marks the tenth straight for the Jackets improving them to 11-4 overall and 4-1 in league play.  The Rattlers drop to 8-7, 2-1 in the Heartland.  This was an important win for the Jackets. It places them into first in the Heartland Conference standings.

“The team is doing a great job,” said head coach Kevin Woodin.  “Three games in four days is hard, but we gutted it out and the team’s character really showed.”

The Lady Jackets led the Rattlers wire to wire opening up a 7-0 lead in the first four minutes of the half.  The Rattlers put themselves on the board on a made field goal by Charlena Rode at the 16:34 mark.  With 6:05 left on the  clock, two made free throws by the Rattlers brought them within one.  Jenny Langford (Sr., Reed Point, MT) knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Jackets the lead by four.  The Rattlers' Becca Herbst answered back 21 seconds later with a three of her own to bring St. Mary’s within one with 5:38 left in the first half.  That would be the closest the Rattlers would get to the Jackets.  A 3-pointer by Shannon Harvey (Jr., Billings, MT) at the buzzer sent the two teams into the locker room 37-30, Jackets leading.

A six-point run by the Rattlers early in the second half bought the two teams within three points.  However, the Jackets ran away with the game from that point forward building the lead to as many 15.  The Yellowjackets were sent to the free throw line nine times in the second half shooting 100 percent.  Overall the Jackets went 18-of-20 from the line.

“The team is shooting well from the free throw line.  We talked about the importance of free throws earlier in the season and the team has done a nice job executing.  Michelle is playing unbelievably well.  Her competitive fire is second to none and teamed with Tanya they are a great pair of posts to have on the court.”

As a team the Jackets shot 90 percent from the line, knocked down eight 3-pointers and grabbed 44 rebounds.  Michelle Lieber (Jr., Gillette, WY) led all scorers with 22 points and a career tying 13 boards.  Lieber shot 6-of-10 from the field and went 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.  This game marks the third double-double for Lieber in the three-game road trip.  Tanya Petersen (Sr., Billings, MT) added 17 points and grabbed eight boards on the game and handed out four assists.  Petersen went 6-of-9 from the field and knocked down three 3-pointers in the game.  Alira Carpenter (Fr., Lewistown, MT) posted nine points and five rebounds.  Harvey added six points to the teams’ tally on two first-half 3-pointers.

The Rattlers’ top scorer and second leading scorer in the Conference, Flavia Azinheira was averaging 17.6 points per game before being sidelined with an injury.  All eight Rattlers that checked into the game scored.  Becca Herbst led the team netting 10 points and seven rebounds.  Juanita Merchant and Ashton Benford each added nine and eight points respectively.

“The Heartland Conference tournament is still a long way off so we are just looking to keep winning on the road,” added Woodin.  “So many factors can change between now and then so we are just going to take it one day at a time.”

The Yellowjackets will travel to Jefferson City, Missouri January 21 to play Heartland Conference opponent Lincoln University (0-12, 0-2) in league play.  The Jackets return home to host conference opponent St. Edward’s January 28.  Tip off is 6 p.m.