December 5, 2007

Lady Jackets Survive Early Scare Against Argos
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BILLINGS, Mont. – Alira Carpenter’s 29 points paced the Montana State Billings’ women’s basketball team in a 92-70 defeat over the visiting University of Great Falls Wednesday at Alterowitz Gym.  The Lady Yellowjackets, enjoying a three-game winning streak, are 3-3 overall, while the Argos are even at 5-5.

A spirited Great Falls team pestered the Yellowjackets through the first 12 minutes of the half as the Argos held a three-point lead following a layup by Laura Keaster.  The Jackets responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Dani Henderson (Reed Point) and Carpenter (Lewistown) to regain the lead.  Carpenter drilled her third three-pointer of the game with 30 seconds left in the half to take a double-digit lead into the locker room.

“We played a pretty fast tempo in the first half,” said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin.  “We like that style of play.  Shantell (Marquis) and our other players did a good job of finding Alira and when she is open she is a great shooter. I was pleased with the play of our bench tonight.  They were definitely ready to play.  Quinn (Halvorson), Laura (Beach), and Mandy (Jacobs) did some very nice things on the court for us tonight.”

MSUB went into cruise control in the second half and led by as many as 31 points.  The Argos pulled off an 8-0 run in a two-minute span late in the half, but was not enough as the Jackets took the non-conference match from Great Falls.

“Dani played a solid game on both ends of the court and Jen (Smith) really battled on the boards,” added Woodin.  “Great Falls plays very hard and Coach Chaffin is doing a great job with their program.  They have many players who are difficult to guard, especially Keaster.”

Carpenter, who fell just one point shy of her career-high 30 points, knocked down six three-pointers and was 11-of-16 from the floor.  Henderson netted 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and grabbed a team-high nine boards.  Marquis (Cascade) chipped in nine points and made a game-high four steals. 

As a team, the Yellowjackets were 34-of-69 from the floor for 49 percent and hit 11-of-24 from the perimeter for 46 percent.  The team was 13-of-22 from the line for a cool 59 percent.  MSUB out-rebounded the Argos 48-38.

The Argos’ Laura Keaster netted a game-high 31 points off 9-of-19 shooting from the floor.  Keaster was 4-of-7 from long range and 9-of-12 from the charity stripe.  Keaster’s teammate Jocelyn Moore had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Great Falls was 25-of-67 from the field for 37 percent and connected on 7-of-17 three-pointers for 41 percent.  The Argos went just 13-of-25 from the line for 52 percent.

“It will be nice to have 10 days before our next game as our players will be busy with final exams,” said Woodin.  “We understand it is important for us to continue to improve.  We have only scratched our potential as a basketball team.”

The Lady Yellowjackets are idle until Saturday, December 15th when they face University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.  Game time is 7:00 p.m. CST.