Lady Jackets Hang on for Second Win over St. Martin’s (November 30, 2002)

BILLINGS, MT – The MSU Billings women’s basketball team shot 88-percent from the free throw line in the second half to defeat St. Martin’s College for the second night in a row, 63-58.  Senior Natalie Visger made 15-of-17 free throws in the game to finish with a game-high 23 points.  She also had six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and three steals as the Lady Jackets improved to 4-1.

For the second straight night both defenses were able to control the tempo with each team shooting below 40-percent from the field in the game.  The match-ups seemed to favor the defenses in the two-game series as the Yellowjackets picked-up two five-point wins in low scoring games. 

The difference in Saturday’s game was free throw shooting.  MSUB made 23-of-32 from the charity stripe, and St. Martin’s (0-4) made 18-of-24.  The Saint’s held a 47 to 36 rebounding edge, including 18 to 8 on the offensive end, but they only managed to shoot 30-percent from the field in the game.

Martina Kartikova led the Saints for the second night, scoring 20 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.  Brandi Riel added 15 points as both players made 7-of-8 free throws.

With the Yellowjackets playing with a reduced lineup, a number of young players were on the floor for significant minutes.  MSUB is without senior guard Amy Bantz (torn ACL) and sophomore center Robyn Milne (broken hand).  However, the veterans took control when the game was on the line.  Senior Jessica Bachmann scored nine points; senior Jessie Henigman added eight points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots; senior Joan Langford made two 3-pointers for six points; and sophomore Kayla Frize scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

After playing four of their first five games at home and all five games in the state, the Lady Jackets will hit the road next week when they travel to California for two games.  They will play at Cal State-Stanislaus on December 6 and at Sonoma State on December 8.  MSUB lost to Sonoma State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.  The next home date for the Jackets will be December 14 when they host MSU-Northern.