Lady Jackets Unstoppable (2/3/06)
Box Score      Game Photos

BILLINGS, MT –  Thirteen in a row.  That is the number of consecutive wins the Lady Jackets have put on the board.  The team earned their seventh Heartland Conference win Friday night at Alterowitz Gym where they downed Lincoln University 62-45.  The win improves the Jackets to 14-4 for the season and 7-1 in the Heartland.  The Blue Tigers drop to 0-17 and 0-7 in league play.

Two three-pointers by Tanya Petersen (Sr., Billings, MT) and one by Alira Carpenter (Fr., Lewistown, MT) in the first four minutes of play jumped the Jackets out to the early six point lead.  A three-pointer by the Blue Tigers’ Keyaira Stepps at the 18:49 mark of the half put them on the board.  The Jackets then went on a 16-point run holding the Tigers scoreless for eight minutes for a sixteen point lead with 11:25 left to play in the half.  The Lady Jackets built comfort room leading by as many as 17, but the Tigers battled back to head to the locker room down 34-25 at the end of the half.

“We shot the ball very well from the perimeter in the first half,” said Lady Jacket head coach Kevin Woodin.  “The team’s focus was to stop the Blue Tiger’s inside play and I think we did that well.  We jumped out to the early lead in the first half, but I think that might have hurt us a bit in the second.  I say that because we didn’t move the ball well and they defended us very well tonight."

The Blue Tigers went into the locker room down by nine and came out blazing in the second half climbing to within four points of the Jackets on a lay-up by the Tigers’ Nadine Nomendoue at the 14:15 mark.  Three different Lady Jackets scored three-pointers in the following seven minutes of play to seal the win.

“We wanted to limit our number of turnovers and we did not do very well in that area,” added Woodin.  “Lincoln came out very determined in the second half and controlled the tempo well.  They were patient and disrupted our timing a bit.  We needed to adjust to their style of play and we were able to do that.  Anytime you come away with a double-digit win, you have to be pleased.  Shannon Harvey (Jr., Billings, MT) gave us a good spark and Tanya did well blocking.  We had good stops on defense in the last ten minutes of the game and we found ways to score.  We play our best when it counts the most.”

The Lady Jackets were led by Petersen with 14 points.  Her second to last point of the game gave her the twelfth spot in the Jacket record books with 1,184 career points.  Petersen also had four blocked shots and six rebounds.  Harvey netted 11 points and shot 3-of-5 from three-point range to give her sixth place for career three-pointers with 108.  Carpenter added 10 points.  The Jackets’ bench combined for 25 of the team’s total points.  As a team the Jackets shot 19-of-45 from the field, 12-27 from behind the arc and 12-of-18 from the free throw line.

The Blue Tigers were led by Sylvia Guldalian with 16 points and 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range.  Tasha Morgan grabbed 10 boards, four points and three steals.  As a team the Tigers shot 17-of-52 from the field, 5-of-10 on three-pointers and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.

“It is difficult to play the same team two nights in a row as each will make necessary adjustments,” added Woodin.  “Hopefully we will execute better and we will look to limit our turnovers.  I feel that when we turn the ball over as many times as we did tonight, we limit our shooting opportunities.  Our bench played a key role in tonight’s game.  When we play back to back games it allows those players that maybe didn’t play a critical role one night, often come through the following night."

The Lady Jackets will play a non-conference regional counter against Lincoln University Saturday night at Alterowitz.  Tip of is 6:00 p.m.