Lady Jackets Face Bobcats Monday (11/6/05)

BILLINGS, MT – After three weeks of practicing against each other, the Montana State-Billings women’s basketball team finally gets to lace up against outside competition on Monday when the Yellowjackets travel to Bozeman for an exhibition game against the Montana State Bobcats.  Tip off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Worthington Arena in Bozeman.

Monday’s exhibition game will be the Jackets’ only preseason tune up.  The Yellowjackets open the regular season November 18 and 19 when they host the Holiday Inn/Chinook Wireless Yellowjacket Classic.  Traveling to Billings for the tournament will be Western Oregon, Hillsdale College, and Fort Lewis.  The Lady Jackets will meet Fort Lewis on Friday and Hillsdale on Saturday.

Under second-year coach Kevin Woodin, the Yellowjackets are seeking their tenth NCAA Tournament berth in a span of 13 seasons.  They were 21-7 last year and qualified for the NCAA West Regional.  MSU Billings joins the Heartland Conference and moves to the NCAA South Central Region this year.  The Yellowjackets were tabbed as the Heartland favorites last week in the conference’s preseason poll.

The Lady Jackets graduated just two players off last year’s squad and return four starters.  Forward Tanya Petersen (Sr., Billings, MT) has led the team in scoring the past two seasons at 15 ppg.  Junior forward Michelle Lieber (Gillette, WY) has averaged over eight rebounds a game in each of her two collegiate seasons.  The Jackets also return starting guards Jenny Langford (Sr., Reedpoint, MT) and Lisa Jellum (Sr., Gillette, WY).

The Bobcats are in a rebuilding year under first-year coach Tricia Binford.  They were 9-18 last year and graduated their top two scorers.  The Cats lost 91-69 to Carroll College in an exhibition game last Tuesday.  Despite the poor defensive performance against the Saints, the Bobcats had three players score in double figures.  Nubia Garcia, Whitney Connolly, and Alyssa Nelson each netted 13 points.