Cardinals Fly Past Lady Jackets (2/10/07)
Box Score
 

SAN ANTONIO, TX – Every team has a tough game, and Saturday's was Montana State-Billings' toughest loss of the season.  The Yellowjackets fell 65-37 to University of the Incarnate Word in Heartland Conference action. The last time the Lady Jackets scored under 40 points in a game was December 1, 1978 when they scored 37 points against Montana State University.

Saturday’s loss drops the Jackets to 18-7 overall and 6-3 in the conference, while the Cardinals improve to 11-12 overall and 5-3 in league play.  The Jackets still remain in first place in the conference standings with the Cardinals stepping into the number two spot.

The Cardinals opened up a six-point lead early in the half but the Lady Jackets’ Jen Smith (Belgrade, MT) gave the Jackets the 11-12 lead on back-to-back jump shots at the 11:45 mark.  That was the last lead of the ball game for the Yellowjackets.  Over a span of 4:04 the Cardinals owned the court going on a 15-0 run to take a 19-point advantage into the locker room. 

"It was just a tough night for us, and we shot uncharacteristically poor," said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin.  "Incarnate Word played good defense and kept us off balance.  They played better and earned the the win tonight."

A seemingly insurmountable Cardinal lead only grew in the second half of play.  The Jackets could not stop the bleeding as Incarnate Word continued to build its lead to as many as 29.  At the 11:59 mark of the second half, the Jackets’ Kayla McPherson (Glendive, MT) hit MSUB’s lone 3-pointer of the game bringing the lead back to 21.  Although the Jackets had plenty of open looks, the ball refused to drop through the net.  Coupled with the hot shooting of the Cardinals’ Nia Torru, both from the paint and long range, the night belonged to the Incarnate Word.

Smith led the Yellowjackets scoring 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 5-of-10 from the charity stripe.  Smith also grabbed seven boards in the game.  Dani Henderson (Reed Point, MT) netted six points and had four rebounds.  Heartland Conference leading scorer Alira Carpenter (Lewistown, MT) had a tough night connecting on just 2-of-15 from the field and 0-of-9 from long range, but handed out a career-high six assists in the game.

As a team, the Jackets shot 27 percent from the field on 13-of-48 shooting.  Hitting just 1-of-15 from 3-point range, the Lady Jackets were a cold 6.7 percent.  They were out-rebounded in the game 44-31.

The Cards’ Torru notched a double-double to lead all players with 24 points and 13 rebounds.  Torru was 9-of-15 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range.  Brittany Hardy and Cinnamon Kava each added eight points.

Incarnate Word was 25-of-56 from the field, 10-of-21 from the perimeter, and 5-of-12 from the line.  The Cardinals hit eight of their 10 three-pointers in the first half and recorded seven steals in the game.

"It is important that we play well Monday against St. Mary's," added Woodin.  "Even though it is not a conference game, we need to get back on track."

The Yellowjackets will play a non-conference game against St. Mary’s University (8-14, 4-4) Monday, February 12 in San Antonio.  The Jackets downed the Rattlers 59-57 February 8.  Following Monday’s game the Lady Jackets play their final home game of the season hosting University of Texas-Permian Basin Saturday, February 17.  The game will see Michelle Lieber (Gillette, WY) and Jennifer Skrifvars (Brea, CA) play their final game at Alterowitz Gymnasium as the team celebrates its two seniors.