Lady Jackets Escape Marauders (12/15/06)
Box Score
Game Photos
Coach Woodin post game audio

BILLINGS, MT – All three starting guards scored in double figures to lead the Montana State-Billings women’s basketball team to a 69-63 win over visiting University of Mary on Friday night at Alterowitz Gym.  The win was the third in a row for the Yellowjackets, who improved to 5-3.  Mary dropped to 3-6.

After falling behind early, Mary made a 12-1 run during a three-minute span late in the first half.  Kristin Bear’s jumper gave Mary a 27-19 lead with 4:37 to play in the half.  The Yellowjackets responded by outscoring the Marauders 12-2 in the final four and a half minutes of the half to go to the locker room with a 31-29 edge.  Alira Carpenter (Lewistown, MT) scored 18 of the Jackets’ first half points while the rest of the team was a combined 5-of-23 from the field in the half.

“I thought that was an important time in the game,” said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin of the run to end the first half.  “We got off to a pretty good start, but in the middle of half they were in a rhythm.  I thought Kayla Rogers really hurt us with her penetration.  We lost Corrie Villegas who had three 3-pointers in the first half.  We knew she could step out there.”

The Yellowjackets tightened up the perimeter defense in the second half, limiting the Marauders to just one 3-pointer in the half.  That came from Villegas, who accounted for four of the team’s six 3-pointers on the night.  After Mary tied the game twice in the first minute of the second half, the Jackets pulled away and never trailed again.  Their largest lead of the half was 10 with 15 minutes to play.

“It helped that we had that six, seven point lead going into the last five minutes,” said Woodin.  “We tried to spread it out.  A couple times we didn’t get the shot we wanted, but it did milk the clock a little bit.  Then down the stretch we made our free throws.”

Carpenter scored a game-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field.  She was 4-of-5 from 3-point range, hitting all four of her long range attempts in the first half.  Backcourt mates Shantell Marquis (Cascade, MT) and Jetton Meadors (Billings, MT) scored 13 and 11 respectively.  The 13 points were a career high for Marquis.  She also had a team-high six rebounds.

Michelle Lieber (Gillette, WY) was held to just five points on six free throw attempts.  She was held without a field goal for just the third time in her career at MSUB, but she added two blocks and a career-high four steals on the defensive end.  Dani Henderson (Reed Point, MT) added seven points and five rebounds.  The freshman also had a career-high three assists.  Jen Smith (Belgrade, MT) chipped in seven points off the bench.

The Marauders were led by Nicci Landdeck’s 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting.  She helped Mary outscore MSUB 32-28 in the paint.  Villegas finished with 13 points with nine of them coming in the first half.  Rogers added 11 points and four assists, and Bear had 10 points. 

The Yellowjackets leave Saturday for the Hoop ‘N Surf Classic in Honolulu, HI.  They will take on South Central Region opponents Abilene Christian and Missouri Southern at the tournament next Tuesday and Wednesday.  The Lady Jackets next play at home on December 30 when they host Oklahoma Panhandle State in the Heartland Conference opener.