Lady Yellowjacket Seniors to Play in Final Home Stand This Weekend (February 21, 2003)

BILLINGS, MT – Fans of MSU Billings women’s basketball will have one more opportunity to watch one of the most successful senior classes in Yellowjacket history this weekend when the Lady Jackets host West Region rival Western New Mexico on Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday’s game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. with Sunday’s starting at 4:00 p.m.  Both games can be heard live on News Radio 970 AM.

While the best Lady Yellowjacket recruiting class of all-time may be debatable, the 2003 seniors have reason to make a strong argument on their own behalf.  In their four years, they have posted a 76-30 record and have qualified for two NCAA Tournaments.  The 2002 senior class had a four-year record of 85-30.  The class of 2001 went 83-32, and the Elite Eight class of 1999 was 84-32.

The Yellowjackets’ main focus this weekend will be their fight to maintain their No. 4 position in the West Region poll.  If they can manage two wins against Western New Mexico this weekend, the Yellowjackets will likely qualify for their second straight NCAA Tournament and their third in four years.   However, they will also be attempting to leave their mark on the school record book by extending their school-record home winning streak of 28 games.  The last time the current seniors lost in Alterowitz was to Western Washington on January 27, 2000.  They were able to avenge that loss this season when they defeated the Vikings 72-71 in overtime on December 18.

The heart of the 2003 Lady Yellowjackets has been forward Natalie Visger.  This season she became only the fifth Lady Jacket in the program’s rich history to eclipse the 1000-point and 700-rebound marks.  Entering the final two weeks of the season, she has 1122 career points and 739 rebounds. 

Visger, a Gillette, Wyoming product, has also shot 82 percent from the free throw line in her career.  She is currently shooting 84 percent from the line this season and should easily surpass the school record for career free throw percentage of 80.26 established by Krista Fjelstad.  While becoming the most accurate free throw shooter in school history, she could also climb into the top five in school history for free throws made.  Her 260 to date place her 8^th all-time, and she has a legitimate shot at catching Amy Winslow’s 280 for 5^th place.

Along with the career free throw records, she could finish as high as 10^th or 11^th on the career scoring list.  Her 1122 points are currently 15^th, but with at least four games remaining (and possibly more tournament games) she could climb quickly.  If she continues at her current pace of 15 points per game this season, she will add at least 60 points to her total, giving her 1182.  That would place her one point behind Alicia Cahill’s 1183 in 11^th place.  Brandy Hamblin is in the 10^th spot at 1255.

Visger is also approaching the top tier of the school record book for career rebounds.  Her 739 currently places her 4^th on the career list.  She needs 22 more rebounds to overtake Theresa O’Donnell for 3^rd at 761.   Hamblin (932) and Cahill (810) top the career rebounds list.

Joining Visger as a long-term fixture in the Yellowjacket record book will be fellow senior Jessie Henigman.  The 6-2 senior holds the top three school single-season records for blocked shots, the single-game record for blocked shots, and the career record for blocked shots.  Henigman, a native of Bridger, Montana, established single-season records as a sophomore and junior, swatting 66 blocks in each season.  She surpassed her own mark this season and is currently at 74.  With each blocked shot, she add to her own school record.

In her four years, Henigman has amassed 245 blocked shots, setting the school record by over 170.  Becky Jacobs is 2^nd with 72 career blocks.  Hengiman’s 245 blocks places her 19^th in NCAA Division II history for blocked shots in a career.  She climbed from 21^st to 19^th with 10 blocks in three games last week.  She will have an opportunity to potentially move up three spots over the final weeks of the season.  She needs seven more blocks to reach 18^th, eight more to reach 17^th, and ten more to reach 16^th.  

The third Yellowjacket senior moving toward the top of the career record book is guard Joan Langford.  Langford recently passed Colleen Day to move into 3^rd place for career three-pointers made.  She currently has 133.  Amy Winslow holds the school record with 194, followed by Kami Malnaa with 171.

Langford is also currently 11^th all-time for three-point percentage at 31.6 percent, passing Heather Reiter.  Megan Dickerson is 10^th at 32.1 percent.  After transferring from Weber State, the Reedpoint, Montana native has played in 75 games and scored 602 career points as a Yellowjacket.  The 46 three-pointers she has made this season also tie her for 6^th all-time in the Yellowjacket single-season record book.  She is tied with her own 46 from the 2000-2001 season.  Five more three-pointers will move her to 5^th on the single-season list, tying Winslow.

Possibly one of the toughest defenders in Lady Yellowjacket history, senior guard Jessica Bachmann has quietly established herself as an effective scorer as well.  She is averaging 11 points per game this season and has eclipsed the 700-point mark for her career.  She currently has 729 career points, placing her 23^rd on the career list.  She needs eight points to pass Jacobs for 22^nd and is 42 points short of Dana Fiedler for 21^st.

For the past couple seasons, Bachmann has been the defender assigned to the opposition’s best guard.  But since her freshman season, she has been consistent on the offensive end as well.  A native of Gillette, Wyoming, Bachmann has played in 93 games for the Jackets and connected on 101 three-pointers and 100 free throws.  Her 101 threes place her 5^th on the Yellowjacket career list, just two behind Tera Silvius for 4^th.  Her 34.4 percent career three-point percentage ties her with Malnaa for 10^th all-time.

The floor leader for the Yellowjackets for the past two seasons had been point guard Amy Bantz.  A standout at Grass Range High School, Bantz signed with the Yellowjackets in 1999 to play her college basketball just a few hours from home.  She played in every game as a sophomore and junior, guiding the Yellowjackets’ offensive attack. 

In the first scrimmage of this preseason, she tore her ACL and missed the first five regular season games.  She has played in the last 17 wearing a brace to support the injured knee.  Playing limited minutes as a result of the injury, she has nevertheless provided valuable leadership to the many young Yellowjacket players.  Bantz needs just five more points to reach the 300-point mark for her career.  She also has 116 career assists and has been a career 72 percent free throw shooter.

Immediately following Sunday’s game against Western New Mexico, there will be a ceremony honoring the five Yellowjacket seniors.  Tickets for Saturday’s and Sunday’s games can be purchased at the gate or by calling Yellowjacket Athletics at 657-2369.