Lady Jackets Stumble at Home, Fall to St. Martin’s (Jan. 6, 2005)
Box Score

BILLINGS, MT – Turnovers plus poor shooting added up to a Yellowjacket loss Thursday night as Montana State-Billings fell to St. Martin’s, 59-50.  The Lady Jackets turned the ball over 21 times and shot just 32 percent from the field—16 percent from beyond the arc—in their first home loss in over a year.  MSU Billings dropped to 10-3 while St. Martin’s improved to 8-2.

“I was very impressed with St. Martin’s tonight,” said Yellowjacket coach Kevin Woodin.  “They did an excellent job of defending the interior in the first half and we had several missed opportunities.  To be honest, I felt fortunate to only be down nine.  In the second half, I felt the key to the game was between the 15 and eight minute marks.  We finally got some offensive continuity and made a few shots, but unfortunately, we couldn’t get the key stops we needed.  You have to give St. Martin’s a lot of credit.  Kartikova is an outstanding player but I was very pleased with Michelle Lieber’s defense on her, however, many of their other players stepped up.  Hopefully, we will learn from this game and it will help us become a better team in the future.”

The Yellowjackets led 2-0 on a Robyn Milne (Sr., Richey, MT) basket to open the game.  That was the only lead MSU Billings would enjoy in the game.  The Saints’ Whitney Golob converted on a 3-point play a minute later and St. Martin’s didn’t trail again.  The Saints led 30-21 at halftime.

The Saints led by no more than nine throughout the second half, but the Yellowjackets could only get as close four.  Tanya Petersen’s (Jr., Billings, MT) layup with 8:03 remaining pulled the Jackets to within four for the last time.  St. Martin’s rallied to extend its lead to nine points down the stretch.

Four Saints finished in double figures led by Beth Layton’s 21 points.  She was 4-of-8 from 3-point range and 3-of-5 from the free throw line.  Julia Eisentrout added 17 points, and Lindsay Ford finished with 10.  Ford was 3-of-8 from behind the arc.  The Yellowjackets held Martina Kartikova to just two points and eight rebounds.  She entered the game averaging over 20 points a game.

The Yellowjackets were led by Michelle Lieber’s (So., Gillette, WY) double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds.  She was 6-of-10 from the field.  Petersen finished with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting.  Milne grabbed 11 rebounds and scored six points.  Lisa Jellum (Jr., Gillette, WY) added eight points and four assists.

The Yellowjacket guards combined to shoot 2-of-20 from 3-point range in the game, and the team hit just 4-of-25.  MSU Billings dominated the boards with a 45-33 advantage, but the 21 turnovers more than countered the rebounding difference.  The Jackets’ last home loss was on November 18, 2003 when Sonoma State won at Alterowitz.

MSU Billings next plays on January 12 when the Jackets host Montana Tech.