2004-2005 Women’s Basketball Wrap Up

BILLINGS, MT – The tradition continued for the Montana State-Billings women’s basketball team in 2004-2005.  With a new coach at the helm—the team’s third in as many years—the Lady Jackets returned to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time since 1994.

Under head coach Kevin Woodin, who took over the program after years of success at Billings West High School, the Lady Jackets earned the eighth seed in the NCAA West Regional with a 21-6 regular season record.  Coach Woodin was honored as the DII Independent Coach of the Year after guiding the Yellowjackets to a 21-7 overall record and a berth to the NCAA Tournament. 

MSUB was ranked seventh in the region for several weeks prior to the tournament selection and won eight of their final ten games.  Despite the Jackets’ only two losses during the home stretch coming to unbeaten North Dakota State, MSU Billings still dropped into the eighth seed at tournament time.

That left the Jackets facing host and top seeded Seattle Pacific in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.  An ice cold shooting night on the Falcons’ home floor ended the Jackets’ season with a 71-47 loss.  MSU Billings wasn’t alone, however, as SPU went on to with the regional title with two more blowouts and advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II National Championship game.

The Lady Jackets’ final regular season as an independent (they’ll move to the Heartland Conference next year) saw them go 13-2 at home and 7-4 on the road.  Of their six regular season losses, two were to NDSU and one was to Chico State, which was the No. 2 seed at the West Regional tournament.  Spaced across the regular season were a six game winning streak, a five game winning streak, and two four game winning streaks.  Only once all season did MSU Billings lose back-to-back games.

With such a successful season on the court, the postseason accolades and awards were plentiful for the 2004-2005 Lady Yellowjackets.  From team, university, and regional honors to national statistical rankings, the Jackets made their mark on the women’s basketball season.

Coach Woodin presented individual awards at a team banquet at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center following the season.  Robyn Milne was named the team’s Most Valuable Player.  The senior center from Richey, Mont., was second on the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game.  She led the team in rebounding (10.4 rpg), assists (3.2 apg) and blocked shots (3.7 bpg). 

Milne’s 104 blocked shots set a new single season school record.  She also set school career records for rebounds (957) and blocked shots (278).  Milne’s 1,066 points rank her sixteenth in school history, and she is just the second player in school history with over 1,000 points and 900 rebounds.  Milne was ranked nationally in two individual statistical categories.  She was sixth in NCAA II for blocked shots per game and 25^th for rebounding average. 

Milne received a number of awards in her senior season, including her second team MVP honor.  For the second straight year she was named to the All-West Region second team.  She was also named to the NCAA Division II Independent First Team and was the NCAA Division II Independent Defensive Player of the Year.  Accomplished on and off the court, Milne was a CoSIDA Academic District VII First Team selection and was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Third Team.

One of Milne’s most prestigious awards of the year came when she was announced as one of the University’s two Outstanding Seniors for 2005.  Milne graduated with a degree in education and a 3.91 GPA.  She was involved in Sigma Tau Delta and the English Honor Society, and has worked as a teaching assistant for English 150 classes. Off-campus, she worked as a coach at the Billings Bees Basketball Camp and read to children in various schools as part of the outreach done by the women's basketball program.

The Lady Jackets’ Offensive MVP award went to Tanya Petersen.  The junior forward from Billings, Mont., led the team in scoring for the second straight year.  She averaged 15.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.  She was also named to the NCAA Division II Independent Second Team.  In three seasons Petersen has scored 941 points, ranking her eighteenth in school history. 

Michelle Lieber was named the Defensive MVP.  The sophomore forward from Gillette, Wyo., averaged 8.9 points and 8.1 rebounds a game in her first season as a Yellowjacket.  She transferred to MSU Billings after one year at Wyoming.  Usually assigned to guard the opposing team’s best player, Lieber also had 21 steals and 14 blocked shots on the season.

Angie Lessard was selected as the Most Improved Player on the 2004-2005 Yellowjackets.  The junior guard from Elizabeth, Colo., transferred to MSU Billings from Otero JC.  She played sparingly in the early part of the season, but became a defensive spark during the Jackets’ stretch run to the NCAA Tournament.  Lessard averaged 1.4 points a game and added 33 assists and 18 steals.

The team’s Most Inspirational award was shared by Kayla Frize and Shannon Harvey.  Frize, a junior guard from Miles City, Mont., almost did not play this season following her fourth knee surgery last year.  She ended up playing in all 28 games this season, averaging 4.4 points 1.4 assists per game.  Frize will not return for her senior season of eligibility after completing her degree this spring.  Harvey, a sophomore guard from Billings, Mont., also battled through injury for much of the season.  Along with an injured hand, she held off on knee surgery until after the NCAA Tournament.  Harvey averaged 7.5 points a game and led the team with 54 made 3-pointers.  She tied the school single-game record with seven 3-pointers in a win over Humboldt State in December.

The Yellowjacket Award, given to the player who best exemplifies the positive qualities of the program, was given to Jenny Langford.  The junior guard from Reedpoint, Mont., started all 28 games and averaged 7.1 points and 2.3 assists per game.  She was second on the team with 44 made 3-pointers.  After three seasons, Langford ranks fourth in school history with 134 career 3-pointers.

In the NCAA’s final Division II women’s basketball statistical rankings, MSU Billings was ranked in the top 45 in five team statistical categories.  The Yellowjackets were also ranked 31^st in the nation for won-lost percentage after going 21-7 (.750).

The Yellowjackets qualified for their ninth NCAA Tournament in the past 12 seasons behind a solid defense.  MSUB ranked fifth in NCAA II for field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 34.1 percent from the floor.  The Jackets were also 27^th for scoring margin (+11.4), 30^th for scoring defense (57.6 ppg allowed), 32^nd for rebound margin (+6.0), and 45^th for free throw percentage (73.4). 

MSU Billings narrowly missed making the top 50 for 3-point shooting.  The Yellowjackets averaged 6.0 made 3-pointers per game to rank 53^rd in the nation.