Yellowjacket Archives

BILLINGS, MT – Holding their breath through the buzzer, the Montana State – Billings Lady Jackets survived a late surge by Incarnate Word, holding on to win 66-65 Sunday night at Alterowitz Gym. The win is the sixth-straight by the Jackets who improved to 17-4 overall and 5-1 in the Heartland Conference. The Cardinals, downed for the second night in a row, fall to 9-11 and 3-2 in the league standings.

Alira Carpenter (Lewistown, MT) and Shantell Marquis (Cascade, MT) combined for the Lady Jackets' first 10 points of the contest giving MSUB the 10-5 lead at the 16:56 mark. Midway through the first half, the Cardinals went on a 7-0 run tying the game at 25 apiece on a 3-point conversion play by Nia Torru. The lead exchanged hands with less than a minute to play in the half on Cardinals’ Danielle Farriel’s lone 3-pointer of the game. Jen Smith (Belgrade, MT) drove to the basket for the late lay-up sending the teams to the locker room knotted at 32-32.

After a brief one-point Cardinal lead early in the second half, the Jackets were poised to put the game away leading by eight with 6:17 to play in the ball game. Two 3-pointers by Torru less than a minute apart cut the Jackets' lead to four. Reminiscent of Saturday’s game, the Jackets and Cards traded the lead five times in the final three minutes of the game. A Yellowjacket foul with 35 seconds to play sent the Cards’ Ieasha Sledge to the line. Sledge hit the pair to draw within one possession of the lead. Following a missed attempt by the Jackets with four seconds on the clock, Farriel carried the ball up the court for the Cards but never got a shot off before time expired.

“I was very proud of our players for battling hard tonight," said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin. "I had a feeling this game was going to be a tight one and we were very fortunate to come out on top. We struggled at times defensively and you have to give UIW a lot of credit for that. They run their sets very well and Farriel and Torru made a lot of plays for them. Offensively, we did some good things but I felt we were stagnant at times and we suffered through a couple of droughts. Jetton did a nice job of penetrating the defense from the point guard position, especially in the second half," added Woodin. Her drive and pass off to Jen (Smith) to give us a 3-point lead in the last minute was a critical play in the game.”

Battling the flu, Carpenter led the Lady Jackets netting 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 from the perimeter. Working the lane in place of Lieber was Smith who came off the bench to score 15 points, 10 of which came in the paint. Lieber was sidelined by an injury sustained earlier in the week. Smith also grabbed seven rebounds in the game. Dani Henderson (Reed Point, MT) narrowly missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. She was 4-of-11 from the floor and a steady 6-of-7 from the line. Marquis added 11 points.

The Lady Jackets’ bench combined for 21 points on 23-of-53 shooting from the field and 6-of-18 from 3-point range. The Jackets were 14-of-19 from the line for 74 percent.

Three players scored in double figures for the Cardinals, led by Torru's 22 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field and 2-of-8 from long range. She was 4-of-5 from the line and grabbed six boards. Farriel and Sledge scored 15 and 12 points respectively with Brittany Hardy grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.

As a team, the Cardinals were 25-of-59 from the field and 4-of-18 from 3-point range. Incarnate Word out-rebounded MSU–Billings 36-32.

“This was a total team victory as all of our players and staff contributed in one way or another," said Woodin. "Our schedule down the stretch is very difficult but it is a challenge that we are looking forward to. I really enjoy coaching this team. They are very tough minded and sincerely care about one another.”

The Lady Jackets will travel to Jefferson City, MO, to face Lincoln University (3-16, 1-4) for a Heartland Conference game Friday, February 2, followed by a non-conference counter Saturday, February 3. Game times are set for 4:30 p.m. MST both nights and can be heard live on AM 970 KBUL or on the Yellowjackets’ Athletics website.