Lady Jackets Dump Fairbanks for Second Straight Win in Alaska (Dec. 20, 2003)
Box Score

ANCHORAGE, AK – A stingy defense and newfound shooting touch helped MSU Billings to a 69-58 victory over Alaska-Fairbanks at the Glacier Classic Saturday night.  The win gives the Lady Jackets their first back-to-back wins of the season and improves their overall record to 5-5. 

The MSUB defense set the tone early in the game, holding the Nanooks to 24-percent shooting in the first half.  The Jackets led 26-17 at the break as UAF made only eight field goals in the half.  MSU Billings led by as many as 11 when Jenny Langford’s 3-pointer gave the Lady Jackets a 23-12 lead with 6:02 to play in the half.  Langford led five double figure scorers for the Yellowjackets with 18 points.  She was 4-of-5 from 3-point range and is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers a game this season.

The Yellowjackets used a 16-8 run to open the second half, extending their lead to 17 in the first seven minutes.  Back-to-back baskets from Tanya Petersen and Sophia Forney gave the Jackets a 42-25 lead with 13:03 to play.  Petersen netted 15 points and Forney added 10 in the game. 

The Nanooks were able to cut the Jackets’ lead to single digits with 5:22 to play when Adrienne Taalak’s 3-pointer capped a 22-9 Fairbanks run to trim the Yellowjacket lead to 56-47.  Taalak scored a game-high 27, but the Yellowjackets didn’t allow another Nanook into double figures.

Beginning with a pair of Robyn Milne free throws at the 3:34 mark, MSU Billings connected on ten consecutive free throws to end the game.  Milne was 4-of-4 from the line and scored 14 points.  She also grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds and matched her career high for blocked shots with six.  Jenny Auer was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe to lead the Lady Jackets to an 84-percent outing at the line (21-25).  Auer finished with 12 points, hitting two of MSUB’s eight 3-pointers.

The Lady Yellowjackets are idle until they travel to the UC-San Diego Invitational on December 29 and 30.  They will face Central Washington and Humboldt State at the tournament.  MSU Billings is now 4-3 against West Region teams with five-straight regional road games on the schedule between December 29 and January 10.