January 8, 2008

Carpenter’s Sharp-Shooting Garners GNAC Honor

BILLINGS, Mont. – Montana State Billings guard Alira Carpenter has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference player of the week for the week of December 31-January 6.  Carpenter, a junior from Lewistown, Mont., is the Lady Jackets first basketball recipient of the award this season.

Alira Carpenter

Carpenter scored 53 points as the Yellowjackets had two second-half comebacks in Alaska.  Carpenter had 27 points against Alaska Fairbanks including 11 in an 18-0 run as MSUB rallied for a 60-51 win.  She netted 26 points against Alaska Anchorage two nights prior, including 10 in the second half when the Yellowjackets rallied from a 49-31 deficit before losing the game by two.  For the week, Carpenter accounted for 42 percent of MSUB’s point total, making 19-of-38 shots, nine of 20 from behind the arc.  She was also a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

The Yellowjackets are set to host a pair of conference games January 10 and 12 at Alterowitz Gym.  On Thursday, the Jackets face Central Washington University (9-0, 1-0), while they will meet Western Washington University (3-10, 1-1) on Saturday.  Both days feature a doubleheader with the women preceding the men’s games.   Tip off for Thursday is 5:30 p.m., while Saturday will feature a 5 p.m. start time.  All home games feature live stats, live video streaming, and internet broadcast and can be found on the Yellowjackets web site.