February 23, 2008

No. 2 Ranked Seattle Pacific Roll Past Jackets
   Box Score
   MSUB Season Stats

BILLINGS, Mont. – Powerhouse Seattle Pacific University used a balanced attack Saturday night to defeat the Montana State Billings women’s basketball team 82-63 at Alterowitz Gym.  The Falcons remain perfect at 24-0 with a 15-0 mark in the GNAC.  The Lady Jackets are 9-14 overall and 6-8 in league play.

Jackie Hollands led the Falcons’ offense netting a game-high 16 off 7-of-15 shooting.  Hollands also handed out a game-high eight assists. Libby Magnuson added 15 points while teammates Kelsey Hill and Beth Christensen chipped in 13 and 12 points respectively.

The Falcons mounted a double-digit lead at the 14-minute mark after a traditional three-point play by Christensen.  A 7-0 Yellowjacket run near the end of the half cut SPU’s lead to 11 but the Falcons responded to take a 19-point advantage into the locker room.

Stingy defense and solid shooting saw the Falcons pull away from the Jackets through the second half, clinching the win.

“Seattle Pacific dominated us in the first half in all facets of the game,” said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin.  “They were very aggressive and took us out of our comfort zone on both ends of the floor.  Our bench played their hearts out in the second half.  I was proud of the way they competed.  We need to learn from this game and bring a more focused effort to our next game.”

The Lady Jackets were led by Alira Carpenter’s (Lewistown) 13 points, all of which came in the first half.  Kayla Ryan (Big Timber) netted 12 points shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.  Dani Henderson (Reed Point) worked the lanes chipping in 11 points.  For the second game in a row junior Jen Smith (Belgrade) bested herself grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds in the game.

As a team the Jackets shot 44 percent from the floor and just 19 percent from the perimeter.  The team was effective at the free throw line connecting on 16-of 17 for 94 percent.  The Jackets outrebounded the Falcons 40-29 but committed 30 turnovers.

The Lady Jackets hit the road for a pair of conference games against Saint Martin’s (15-7, 8-5) on Thursday, February 28 before heading to Western Oregon (8-19, 5-10) for a contest on Saturday, March 1.  Thursday’s game will start at 7 p.m., while Saturday features a 5 p.m. start time.