Lincoln Shocks Lady Jackets (2/2/07)
Box Score

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Unable to overcome a sluggish start, the Montana State-Billings women’s basketball team was upset by Lincoln University Friday night, 66-62.  The Yellowjackets dropped to 17-5 overall and 5-2 in the Heartland Conference.  Lincoln improved to 4-16 overall and 2-4 in the conference.

“We were defeated by a better team tonight,” said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin of the Blue Tigers.  “This is a difficult loss.  They outplayed and out-hustled us.  That’s how they won last week against St. Mary’s.  I look for them to be in the mix the rest of the way.”

After jumping to a 5-2 lead in the first 90 seconds on an Alira Carpenter (Lewistown, MT) 3-pointer and a Michelle Lieber (Gillette, WY) basket, the Yellowjackets saw the Blue Tigers quickly take over the game.  The Jackets’ last lead of the night came at 6-5 on a Lieber free throw. 

The Blue Tigers capped a 12-0 run with a Brezette Elder-Wade 3-pointer with 13 minutes left in the first half to seize an 11-point lead.  Lincoln led by as many as 16 in the half before taking a 39-26 lead into the break.

Lincoln maintained a double-digit lead for the first seven minutes of the second half before the Yellowjackets chipped away at the deficit.  A 3-pointer from Jetton Meadors (Billings, MT) with 13:11 to play finally cut the Tigers’ lead to single digits at 46-39.  A pair of Meadors free throws on the next possession got the Jackets to within five.

“We made a point at haltime that we weren’t going to fold up our tent,” said Woodin.  “We had a nice run in the middle of the second half to give ourselves a chance.  Anytime you spot a team that big of a lead, it takes a lot out of you.”

The Jackets didn’t run out of gas as much as they ran out of time.  MSUB was able to get within four points three different times between the 9:12 and 1:55 marks.  Each time Lincoln was able to withstand the surge.  The Yellowjackets finally seemed poised to catch the Tigers in the final minute when Carpenter dropped in a jumper from the elbow to pull MSUB within two at 64-62.  After a defensive stand in the final 10 seconds, the Jackets appeared to be breaking away for the tying basket when the Tigers’ Cherika Ramsey picked off a pass from Meadors to seal the win.

Lieber finished the night with a team-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from the line.  She also pulled down eight rebounds.  With her ninth point of the game, Lieber became the 18th player in school history with 1,000 career points.  Carpenter and Meadors each netted 13 points and combined for all six of the Yellowjackets’ 3-pointers in the game.  Shantell Marquis (Cascade, MT) added 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.  Dani Henderson (Reed Point, MT) grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.  The Jackets shot 38 percent from the field and made 6-of-16 from behind the arc.

Elder-Wade had her way with the Yellowjacket defense, scoring a game-high 25 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field.  She knocked down 5-of-7 from 3-point range and hit all six of her free throw attempts.  Tiffany Wolfe added 10 points.  The Blue Tigers scored 24 points off 21 Yellowjacket turnovers.

Despite the loss, Yellowjackets will still hold onto at least a share of first place in the Heartland Conference depending on other results this weekend.  However, MSUB’s climb up the NCAA South Central Region rankings will surely be reversed.  The Jackets were ranked tenth in the region last week and jumped all the way to fifth this week.  The upset at the hands of the Blue Tigers, who now have a .200 winning percentage, will likely send the Jackets south in the poll.

The Yellowjackets and Tigers will meet in a non-conference game in Jefferson City on Saturday.  Tip off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. MST.  The game will be aired live on AM 970 KBUL in Billings and on the internet at www.msubillings.edu/athletics.