Lady Yellowjackets Roll at Western Oregon (Feb. 22, 2005)
Box Score

MONMOUTH, OR – The Montana State-Billings women’s basketball team cruised to an important West Region win Tuesday night, shutting down Western Oregon for a 59-34 win.  The Yellowjacket defense was dominating, holding the Wolves to just 25 percent shooting from the field. 

MSU Billings, ranked eighth in the West Region, improved to 18-6 overall with three games to play.  The Yellowjackets will play at Rocky Mountain on Friday at 7:00 p.m.  That game can be heard on AM 970 KBUL.  They will finish the season on March 3 and 5 at Western New Mexico.  Winning the final three games will most likely assure the Jackets of a berth in the NCAA Tournament.  The top eight teams in each region qualify for the tourney.

Western Oregon jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first four minutes behind 3-pointers from Kagney Kohne and Shannon Talbott.  The Jackets’ Michelle Lieber (So., Gillette, WY) tied the game at 10-10 with 13:45 left in the first half.  Tanya Petersen’s (Jr., Billings, MT) basket 30 seconds later gave MSU Billings its first lead and the Jackets never trailed again.

“They jumped out on us 8-2, but we responded well,” said Yellowjacket coach Kevin Woodin.  “We played very good defense and were able to rebound the ball well.  We extended our zone a little and tried to take the 3-point shot away more than last time.”

The win was the second of the season for the Jackets against the Wolves.  WOU almost upset MSU Billings in January in Billings before the Yellowjackets pulled away late for a 65-56 win.

After building a 31-18 halftime lead, the Yellowjackets scored the first 14 points of the second half to blow the game open, building a 45-20 lead.  Including the final 1:17 of the first half, in which the Wolves (5-19) did not score, the Yellowjackets held WOU scoreless for a span of 12:01.

Petersen led a balanced Montana State-Billings attack with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting.  She also had six rebounds.  Senior Robyn Milne (Richey, MT) added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the 28^th double-double of her career.  She was 7-of-9 from the floor and also blocked five shots.  The five blocks give Milne 87 for the season and 261 for her career.  She now ranks 17^th in NCAA II history and needs 11 to tie the school record.

“We exploited our size advantage,” said Woodin.  “We did a nice job of getting the ball inside.  The guards fed the posts nicely and that was the key to the game.  It was a complete effort on both ends of the court.  Our depth was a factor as well.  When we subbed, we didn’t have any drop off.  At halftime we talked about having a strong second half.  I was pleased with the defensive intensity coming out after half.”

Lieber was also in double figures with 12 points.  She was 5-of-6 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds.  Kayla Frize (Jr., Miles City, MT) added seven points off the bench and handed out three assists.  Lisa Jellum (Jr., Gillette, WY) and Jenny Langford (Jr., Reedpoint, MT) each scored three points.  Langford had a game-high six assists.

As a team, the Yellowjackets shot 49 percent from the field and out rebounded the Wolves 41-28.  MSU Billings was just 4-of-15 from 3-point range, but the Jackets’ three post players scored 46 of the team’s 59 points. 

Talbott led the Wolves with 15 points and nine rebounds.  Only four players found the scoring column for Western Oregon.  Leada Berkey and Kohne added eight points apiece.

“I think we’re improving (with our focus),” added Woodin.  “I was happy last week that we won two different styles of games.  We seem to be flexible and able to win with different styles.  That’s a tribute to our players.  We have three tough games left, but I think we’re playing well.”