Lady Yellowjackets Hold On for Ten Point Win (Feb. 17, 2004)
Box Score

BILLINGS, MT – Three players scored in double figures Tuesday night as Montana State-Billings won its third game in a row, downing Western New Mexico 71-61.  The Yellowjackets improved to 13-11, dropping the Mustangs to 9-11.

Tanya Petersen scored a team-high 21 points, 15 coming in the second half, to lead the Yellowjackets to their eighth regional win.  MSU Billings is 8-7 against West Region teams with two regional games remaining, Thursday and Friday against Western New Mexico.

The Yellowjackets ran to an early 8-0 lead in the first three and a half minutes.  Robyn Milne scored four of the eight points in the paint for the Jackets.  The Mustangs countered with a 12-2 run of their own to take a 12-10 lead by the 12:30 mark of the first half.  There were four ties in the first half as the Yellowjackets took a 29-26 lead into the break.

Neither team was able to put together a run in the first five minutes of the second half, with Natalie Lara’s layup with 15:24 to play pulling the Mustangs to within three points at 38-35.  Lara scored ten points in the game.

The Yellowjackets were finally able to pull away to a double-digit lead by the midpoint of the second half.  Four points each from Milne and Lisa Jellum gave MSUB a 51-41 advantage with 9:45 to play.  Milne scored 16 points in the game, adding nine rebounds and six blocked shots.  Jellum scored nine points on 3 of 4 shooting from the field.

MSU Billings held its double-digit lead until the final two minutes of the game, leading by as many as fourteen.  The Mustangs’ Ivana Stojkovic converted a three-point play in the paint with 2:02 remaining to cut the lead to 62-53.  Stojkovic scored a game-high 29 points and had 13 rebounds.  WNMU’s Bernice Castro led all players with 15 boards.

Lara hit back-to-back 3-pointers for Western to trim the difference to six with 1:10 to play.  The Mustangs committed six fouls in the final 1:15 in an attempt to stop the clock and extend the game.  The Yellowjackets answered by connecting on 7 of 12 free throws, enough to finish with a ten point win.

The Yellowjackets and Mustangs play again on Thursday and Friday with both games tipping off at 7:00 p.m. at Alterowitz Gymnasium. 

Click HERE for photos of the Lady Yellowjackets vs. Western New Mexico, February 17, 2004