2005-2006 Women’s Basketball Preview:
Lady Jackets Aim for Another Tourney Appearance

BILLINGS, MT – New conference.  New region.  New opponents.  Same goal.  When the Montana State University-Billings women’s basketball team started practice on October 15, they set out to make their tenth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last thirteen seasons. 

The Lady Yellowjackets qualified as the No. 8 seed in the NCAA West Regional last year where they lost out to eventual national runner up Seattle Pacific.  It was the ninth trip to the West Regional in a span of twelve years for MSU Billings; it was also the final trip to the West Regional.  Beginning with the 2005-2006 season the Yellowjackets will play in the South Central Region and the Heartland Conference.

“I’m very excited for this season,” said second year head coach Kevin Woodin.  “I feel more prepared for the season to start after getting the job so late last year and missing the recruiting process.  I’m a lot more comfortable this year.  I have a great staff to work with.  I want us to improve each month throughout the season.  I think we’ll have a good chemistry.  We have quality student-athletes, and I feel very fortunate to work with them.  If we work hard and play together this has a chance to be a special season.”

Despite all the unknowns associated with a new region, Montana State-Billings will not have to qualify for the NCAA Tournament as an independent this season.  For the first time since 1999 the Yellowjackets will be vying for a conference championship and its accompanying automatic berth to the Big Dance.

“I’m really excited about the schedule,” said Woodin.  “We were able to get 26 Division II games.  In addition, we’re very excited to play an exhibition game at MSU-Bozeman on November 7.  I think the quality of our schedule is improved.  I like the flow of the schedule.  Obviously it’s nice to be in a conference now.  Plus we have several opponents in November and December that are traditionally good teams that will help us prepare for the conference season.”

In years past MSU Billings has had to schedule all 27 games independently.  Woodin’s job this off season was much easier.  Nineteen of the maximum 27 dates were scheduled for him by the Heartland Conference.  The Yellowjackets will play 18 regular season games against Heartland teams with 12 of those counting toward the conference standings.  In addition to those 18 games, the top four teams during the conference season will qualify for the season-ending conference championship tournament held March 3-4 at the top seed.

Said Woodin, “We’re expecting a great tournament here to open the season on November 18 and 19 when Western Oregon, Hillsdale College, and Fort Lewis come to Alterowitz for the Holiday Inn/Chinook Wireless Yellowjacket Classic.  Then the tournament at West Texas A&M the following week will give us a good measure of the type of basketball played in our new region.  West Texas A&M is a consistent NCAA Tournament team.”

The Yellowjackets will play eight non-conference games in November and December before starting the heart of the Heartland schedule in January.  Included in the non-conference schedule are Hillsdale, Fort Lewis, Eastern New Mexico, West Texas A&M, Metro State, Regis, St. Martin’s, and Abilene Christian.  Of those eight teams, St. Martin’s, Metro State, Regis, Abilene Christian, and West Texas A&M were NCAA Tournament qualifiers last year.

The Lady Jackets’ first official conference game will be November 28 when MSU Billings plays at Oklahoma Panhandle State on the Monday following the West Texas A&M tourney.  Starting January 4 they will face Heartland Conference teams exclusively. 

“It’s a good challenge for us,” said Woodin of the non-conference slate.  “We have a lot of quality non-conference games, including five teams that went to the tournament last year.  We were able to get 21 regional games, so our strength of schedule looks pretty good.”

Those eight non-conference games—particularly the South Central Region games against Abilene Christian and West Texas A&M—are important for early regional rankings.  But once the conference season begins, all seven Heartland teams are in the race for the conference’s automatic bid to the tournament.  The winner of the season-ending tournament, and not the winner of the regular season, will receive the automatic trip to the tourney.

“It’s exciting to know that after the non-conference schedule, no matter how you’ve done, everyone in the conference will be starting at the same point,” said Woodin.  “We have a lot of respect for the Heartland teams, but we don’t know a lot about them.  Four years ago we played St. Mary’s and Incarnate Word, and they were quality programs.  Last year with an independent schedule, we had big games sprinkled throughout the schedule.  There was no consistency or rhythm.  Now there’s a rhythm to the schedule.  Our non-league schedule will prepare us for the conference.  Obviously the West Region has been very good for many years.  This region must be good as well since the last two national champions (Washburn and Drury) came out of it.”

The 2005-2006 version of the Yellowjackets will look very similar to last year’s team.  The only losses to graduation were all-region center Robyn Milne and guard Kayla Frize.  Seven players who saw extensive action last year return to anchor the lineup.  Joining the seven veterans will be five true freshmen, all products of Montana high schools.

“We have four starters returning,” said Woodin.  “I’m very excited about the recruiting class coming in.  I think we’ll be a different team.  Losing Robyn, a 6-3 center in the middle who was a great shot blocker and rebounder, will change our style.  Just because we’re different doesn’t mean we can’t be better.  Last year we would begin the game with three posts in the lineup and usually have two in at all times.  This year we’ll probably play a lot with four guards and one post.  We have two experienced post players in Tanya Petersen (Billings, MT) and Michelle Lieber (Gillette, WY).  I think we will be a more up-tempo team than we were last year.”

Petersen and Lieber are the top two returning scorers from last year’s squad.  Petersen led the team in scoring for the second year in a row, averaging 15.4 points per game.  She enters the season at No. 18 in the career school record book with 941 points and this season will become the seventeenth Lady Yellowjacket to eclipse 1,000 career points.  Lieber added 8.9 ppg last year and is the top returning rebounder at 8.1 rebounds per game.  That pair of six-foot forwards could create match up problems for a lot of teams. 

“We have a great inside presence with Tanya and Michelle,” said Woodin.  “Tanya has already established herself as a great scorer.  She’ll be looked at in that manner again, but she’ll need to be a more defensive presence for us this year without Robyn in the middle.  The opposite is true for Michelle.  She is a great post defender, but we’ll ask her to be more offensive minded.  She has an excellent shot.  If she’s more aggressive in looking for her shot, that will help our team immensely.”

Around the perimeter the Yellowjackets return five guards who saw action in all but one game last season.  Seniors Jenny Langford (Reedpoint, MT) and Lisa Jellum (Gillette, WY) started all 28 games.  Juniors Shannon Harvey (Billings, MT) and Jennifer Skrifvars (Brea, CA) played in all 28 games, while senior Angie Lessard (Elizabeth, CO) played in 27 games. 

Woodin said, “I think we’ll be very solid on the perimeter.  From a coach’s standpoint, it’s a great feeling to return a starting point guard (Jellum).  I look for Lisa to have an outstanding season.  She has the ability to do a lot of things very well.  It’s also a good feeling to have another senior guard returning in Angie Lessard.  She was one of our most improved players throughout the second half of the season last year.  She really became a solid defensive player and a consistent offensive performer.”

Two of the most prolific 3-point shooters in school history will join Jellum and Lessard in the backcourt.  Langford made 44 threes last year as a junior in averaging 7.1 ppg.  Her 134 career triples rank her fourth in school history and she will likely climb the list quickly in 2005-06.  Jenny needs just 15 3-pointers to catch her sister Joan for No. 3 on the career list and is 60 short of the all-time record of 194 held by Amy Winslow. 

Harvey has quickly climbed into the top 15 in school history in just two seasons.  With a team-high 54 threes last year as a sophomore, she sits in twelfth on the career list with 70.  She’ll break the all-time top 10 with her seventeenth 3-pointer this season.  Last year Harvey also tied the school single game record with seven 3-pointers against Humboldt State.

“We return two outstanding 3-point shooters,” said Woodin.  “Jenny has started the last two years, moving to shooting guard last year.  I think she’ll be much more comfortable this year, so I look for great things out of her.  Shannon had a very solid season shooting last year.  I’m expecting her to be more versatile.  She recovered very well from off-season knee surgery.  I’m looking for both Jenny and Shannon to be more aggressive off the dribble.  That will give us more balance offensively.  Jennifer Skrifvars gives us a little bit of everything.  She’s very versatile, and we’ll look for her to be a defensive stopper for our team.”

With a solid core of returning players, the Yellowjackets may need just a couple of the freshmen to step into supporting roles in order to compete for the conference title.  However, Woodin already has high praise for his first collegiate recruiting class.  The newcomers include Alira Carpenter from Lewistown, Jetton Meadors from Billings, Rachel Hansen from Lolo, Kayla McPherson from Glendive, and Jen Smith from Belgrade.

“Kayla McPherson and Jen Smith are going to help us a lot,” said Woodin.  “They’re extremely good athletes that have skills to play multiple positions.  Kayla has a great 3-point shot, which will be important in stretching the defense.  I’m expecting Jen’s competitiveness to help us in defending the post.

“Jetton and Rachel are both excellent athletes who have the ability to play both the point and the shooting guard positions.  They possess the speed and defensive ability to help us in our full court defensive scheme.  Alira will primarily play on the wing, both as a shooting guard and a small forward.  One of her greatest assets is her consistency.  She has excellent court awareness.  I look for her to make an immediate impact on our team.”

With the new conference alignment, Woodin’s second year at the helm already promises to be historic.  Just how special a season the Yellowjackets have will depend on several factors.  Among those are blending veteran and freshman players, adapting to a new region, and competing for a conference championship for the first time in seven years.  Despite the various challenges, expectations are high within the team as evidenced by their motto: “One Team, One Goal.”  That goal, of course, is a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

2005-2006 Lady Yellowjacket Schedule
Nov. 7 – at Montana State-Bozeman (exhibition), 7:05 p.m.
Nov. 18-19 – Holiday Inn/Chinook Wireless Yellowjacket Classic
Nov. 18 – Fort Lewis College, 8:00 p.m.
Nov. 19 – Hillsdale College, 8:00 p.m.
Nov. 25 – vs. Eastern New Mexico (at Canyon, TX), 2:00 p.m.
Nov. 26 – at West Texas A&M, 6:00 p.m.
Nov. 28 – at Oklahoma Panhandle State, 7:00 p.m.
Dec. 2 – at Metro State, 7:00 p.m.
Dec. 4 – at Regis, 2:00 p.m.
Dec. 9 – MSU Billings Alumni Game, 7:00 p.m.
Dec. 16 – St. Martin’s, 7:00 p.m.
Dec. 20 – Abilene Christian, 7:00 p.m.
Jan. 4 – Western New Mexico, 6:00 p.m.
Jan. 6 – Oklahoma Panhandle State, 6:00 p.m.
Jan. 7 – Oklahoma Panhandle State, 2:00 p.m.
Jan. 11 – at Incarnate Word, 6:00 p.m.
Jan. 12 – at Incarnate Word, 6:00 p.m.
Jan. 14 – at St. Mary’s, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 21 – at Lincoln, 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 28 – St. Edward’s, 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 3 – Lincoln, 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 4 – Lincoln, 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 10 – at St. Edward’s, 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 11 – at St. Edward’s, 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 15 – Incarnate Word, 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 17 – St. Mary’s, 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 18 – St. Mary’s, 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 24 – at Western New Mexico, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 25 – at Western New Mexico, 5:30 p.m.
Mar. 3-4 – Heartland Conference Tournament
Mar. 10-13 – NCAA II South Central Regional