Lady Jackets Survive Scare, Win Seventh Straight (1/4/07)
Box Score
Game Photos
Coach Woodin post game comments

BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State-Billings women’s basketball team rallied late in the second half to overcome a five point deficit in winning their seventh straight game Thursday.  The Lady Jackets downed the visiting Texas A&M – International Dustdevils 82-64 in non-conference action at Alterowitz Gym.  The win improved the Jackets to 9-3 overall and 1-0 in league play while the Dustdevils fell to 3-7.

The Dustdevils came out of the locker room determined to give the Jackets grief and that is exactly what they accomplished through most of the first half.  The Lady Jackets built a six point lead with 12:30 to play in the half, but an inspired Dustdevil team allowed the Jackets just a three-point cushion heading into the locker room 35-32.

“We struggled in the first half and didn’t really know what to expect of them (Dustdevils),” said head coach Kevin Woodin.  “They protected the ball well, especially on the perimeter, and held a good rhythm throughout the first 20 minutes.”

Back–to–back layups by the Devils’ Vanessa Villarreal at 18:18 of the second half forged TAMUI into their first lead of the game by two. The usual three-point hot-shooting Lady Jackets were stopped by the Devils until the 14:14 mark of the second half.  Jetton Meadors (Billings, MT) made the Jackets' first three of the game nearly six minutes into the second half.  The first of only five threes posted by the Jackets cut the Dustdevils' lead to two, but the favor was immediately returned by the Devils’ Jermina Tomlinson.

The Dustdevils were ahead by five with 13 minutes left in regulation when the Lady Jackets’ Jen Smith (Belgrade, MT) sparked the Jackets’ offense converting a layup into a three-point play.  Not going down without a fight, the Devils tied the game for the ninth time at the 8:30 mark.  Finding the open looks, the Lady Jackets knocked down three 3-pointers in a three-minute span for their first double-digit lead of the game.  The Lady Jackets continued to pound the ball from both inside and outside cruising to the 18-point win.

“The key in the second half was to make a few big shots to get us going,” added Woodin.  “Everyone contributed and hung together.  I think you always need to play better in the second half than you do the first and thankfully we were able to do that tonight.”

Four Lady Jackets scored in double figures with Smith and Michelle Lieber (Gillette, WY) leading the team with 18 points apiece.  Lieber recorded her fifth double-double of the season shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 8-of-11 from the line.  She also grabbed 10 boards.  Smith’s 18 points were a career-high on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.  Meadors and Kayla McPherson (Glendive, MT) netted 10 and 13 points respectively with Shantell Marquis (Cascade, MT) handing out a career-high nine assists.

As a team the Lady Jackets were 28-of-67 from the field and just 5-of-15 from three-point range.  The Jackets pulled down 37 boards and had 17 steals in the game to the Dustdevils' five.  Thirty-two of the Jackets' 82 points came from the Devils' 30 turnovers.

The Dustdevils’ Tomlinson led all players with 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range.  Villarreal added 16 points and six rebounds.  The 6’2” Nicole Gibson blocked five shots and netted eight points.

The Lady Jackets will defend Alterowitz Gym January 6 and 7 against Heartland Conference rival St. Edward’s University (2-9, 1-0).  Friday’s game is for the lead in the conference as both the Jackets and Hilltoppers are 1-0.  Saturday’s game will be a regional counter with both games tipping off at 5:30 p.m.