Yellowjackets Return Home for In-State Battle with Orediggers

Yellowjackets Return Home for In-State Battle with Orediggers
The Montana State Billings women’s basketball team returns home for an in-state battle with the Orediggers of Montana Tech this Tuesday night. The Yellowjackets are back at Alterowitz Gymnasium since splitting a pair of games during the Thanksgiving break at the Hyatt Place Classic, hosted by UC-Colorado Springs. 
The Yellowjackets (4-1) enter the game after earning a 70-61 victory over UC-Colorado Springs, the second over the Mountain Lions in three games, and a 59-46 setback against Adams State. The loss was the first of the season for the ‘Jackets, snapping a four game winning streak, which was the longest to start a season since 2004-05.
In the win against the Mountain Lions, MSUB got off to a slow start, playing behind for much of the first half, but were able to take over the lead and ride a three point lead into the half when Ashley Reed hit a layup with one second remaining. UC-CS fought back in the second half to make a battle of the game, but the ‘Jackets again proved to be too much for the Mountain Lions, using an 11-1 run over the final 4:52 to shut the door. Kayla Ryan came away with 20 points and 12 boards to lead the way.
Turning around the next day, MSUB faced Adams State for the tournament crown. Again, the Yellowjackets got off to a slow start, trailing 21-20 going into the half as the bench was able to keep MSUB in the hunt. The Grizzlies would go on the attack in the second half however, opening up a 17 point lead at the most and winning by 13. Again, Ryan led the way for the Yellowjackets as the only player in double figures, 20 points and nine boards.
Coming into the game, Montana Tech is 6-1 on the young season after a 68-64 victory over Warner Pacific College Saturday evening. The Orediggers are being led by Jessie Depell who is averaging 17.0 points per game along with 3.20 boards per game. Also in double figures for Tech is Taesha Higbee, averaging 14.6 points per game. The Orediggers enter the game with the best record in the Frontier conference and are led by third year head coach Kerie Depell. Depell is no stranger to GNAC opponents as she had a tremendous career for the Falcons of Seattle Pacific University.
The series between the two schools dates back to Jan. 8, 1977. Since the inaugural match-up, the Yellowjackets have dominated the series, 34 wins against sevent losses, including takin the last 16. The ‘Jackets have never lost to the Orediggers at home, going 23-0 during the series history, but are just 10-7 in Butte. The last time MSUB lost to Montana Tech was back on Nov. 17, 1989, an 82-76 setback in Butte. The two schools haven’t met since Jan. 12, 2005, in Billings, a triumphant 82-59 victory for the Yellowjackets, in coach Woodin’s second year at the head position.

Theme Night
Tonight’s theme night is Military Night, Sponsored by the Montana Army National Guard. Any military personnel gets FREE admission to the game with their military ID card. Fans can check out the themes for any MSUB home game by clicking on the icon located on the MSUB homepage.

Ryan Named All-Tournament
Junior, Kayla Ryan, was named to the 2009 Hyatt Place Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament team this past weekend. Ryan scored 40 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the splits against UC-CS and Adams State. The 20 points in both games were season-highs as was the 12 boards in the victory over the Mountain Lions.

Improvement is Key
Through five games this season, freshman Ashley Reed has shown major improvement coming off the bench for the Yellowjackets. Currently, Reed is averaging 5.2 points per game with 3.6 boards and is shooting 55 percent from the field. Against UC-CS, Reed had her best game of the season, nine points and six rebounds with three steals in the Yellowjackets victory.

Size Doesn’t Matter
Although the Yellowjackets are giving up heighth to most of the opponents this season, the ‘Jackets are currently winning the battle of the boards against their competitors. MSUB is averaging 41.6 rebounds per game while the opponent is grabbing 40.6 per game. A rebounding margin of +1.0 for MSUB.

Taking Care of the Ball
Turnovers lead to points, fortunately, MSUB is winning the turnover battle on the season. To date, the Yellowjackets are turning the ball over 14.8 times per game, but are forcing 19.6 a game, a turnover margin of +4.8.

Quick Starts
The Yellowjackets are jumping on teams early in the game this season. So far, MSUB is outscoring the opponent 172-120 in the first half. The ‘Jackets are 4-0 when leading halftime.

Milestone Watch
With a weeekend split, MSUB head coach, Kevin Woodin, recorded his 92nd career victory. With eight more wins, coach Woodin will become the third coach in MSUB women’s basketball history to record 100 wins at the school. With 10 more victories, Woodin would tie Ted Anderson (1982-87) for second on the school’s all-time wins list with 102.

A Winning Attitude
Among active Division II coaches, coach Kevin Woodin entered the season ranked 39th in career winning percentages. His 88-53 record at the beginning of the season gave him a .624 winning percentage. With the three wins already, Coach Woodin holds a .632 win percentage.

Kautzmann Garners POW Honors
The 5-10 sophomore scored 63 points and also had 21 rebounds, five assists and seven steals as the Yellowjackets won three games in seven days to start the season 3-0, all by double-digit margins.
The Nampa, ID native shot 56.1 percent from the floor (23-41), 43.8 percent from the three-point line (7-16) and 90.9 percent from the free throw line (10-11) in wins over UC-Colorado Springs, University of Mary and Chadron State College
Against UCCS, Kautzmann scored 24 points to help lead MSUB to a 91-57 rout of the Mountain Lions. In the win over Mary, she scored a career-high 26 points and five boards. Against Chadron State, Kautzmann set another career-high, this time in rebounds, with 11.

Let the Record Show
Sophomore guard Kalli Stanhope ignited a Yellowjackets victory in the season opener (Nov. 15), scoring a career-high 28 points which included a school record eight three-pointers, in defeating UC-Colorado Springs, 91-57.
She broke the previous record of seven which was held by four other Yellowjackets, including the school’s all-time leading scorer, Alira Carpenter.
Stanhope’s eight trey’s were part of 16 drained by the team, just one shy of the school record, 17. 

Refuse to Lose... Home Openers
The Nov. 6 home opener win was not only the second consecutive season opener victory, it was the 17th season in which the Yellowjackets have won their home opener.
To find the last time MSUB dropped a home opener, you have to travel back to the 1991-92 season when the Yellowjackets fell to Eastern New Mexico, 72-70, on Nov. 22.

Ninety? No Problem
Scoring 90 points happens more often than you think for Yellowjacket teams.  Last season it happened four times and it’s been 16 years since the last time MSUB failed to score 90 points in a game during a season, the 1992-1993 season.

Basketball Battles Breast Cancer
The women’s basketball team is doing its part in the fight against breast cancer. During the first six home games this season, MSUB is taking donations for every three-pointer that is made by the team or just general donations.
75 percent of the proceeds go to a local Billings family that has amassed the expensive medical bills that go into fighting the disease. The other 25 percent goes toward the women’s basketball program.
All anyone has to do is pick up a flyer at any home game or go onto the MSUB website and print off the flyer, then fill out the information and return to the athletics department.

Women Ink Montana Products
Coach Kevin Woodin announced the signings of Bobbi Knudsen and Corie Smith to play for the Yellowjackets starting in 2010-2011.
Knudsen, a 5-8 guard from Malta High School, is a three year letterwinner in basketball and has also earned letters for cross country and track. For her career, Knudsen has averaged 11.0 points per game with 5.5 rebounds, and has shot 59 percent from the floor.
Last season, Knudsen was named to the all-conference and all-state teams in helping Malta to district and divisional championships, leading to a runner-up finish at the state tournament. In all, she has helped MHS to three consecutive district and divisional titles with one state championship in 2007.
Smith, a 5-11 forward, has had a successful basketball and track career at Belgrade High School in Belgrade, MT. Last season, Smith led the Central ‘A’ Conference in 12 rebounds per game and was top-ten in field goal percentage (45.6 percent), steals (35) and scoring (9.89 ppg).
In 2007-08, Smith was named honorable mention all-conference and then last season, earned second team all-conference while being named to the first team Central ‘A’ all-divisional tournament team. Smith also helped lead BHS to a divisional championship in 2009.

Yellowjackets Predicted Seventh
Montana State Billings women’s basketball was picked to finish seventh in this year’s GNAC standings according to the preseason coaches poll. The ‘Jackets were selected in front of Central Washington and Alaska Fairbanks. Last season, MSUB finished 8-8 in the conference and looks to build on that record with the outside shooting. Ahead of the Yellowjackets, Alaska Anchorage was the preseason favorite, followed by Seattle Pacific, Northwest Nazarene, Western Washington, Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon.

2009-2010 Season Preview
The Montana State Billings women’s basketball team is looking forward to the 2009-2010 season. The Yellowjackets return two starters and seven letter winners from a team that placed fifth in the always competitive Great Northwest Athletic Conference a year ago. The ‘Jackets face a very challenging schedule this season, but one that should prepare them for competition in one of the premier conferences in the country.
One of the toughest tasks this season will be replacing last years’ senior class, especially Alira Carpenter. Carpenter concluded her illustrious career at MSUB, scoring 2,000 career points to become the first player in school history, male or female, to complete the feat. Also gone are Jen Smith and Jetton Meadors who combined to score over 16 points per game last season.
All seven returners are expected to make an impact on this year’s squad, especially the two seniors, Shantell Marquis and Rachel Hansen. Both will team with Kayla Ryan and Mandy Jacobs as team captains this season. Marquis, one of two starters from last year, averaged 7.6 points in 30.7 minutes per game. She also led the team in blocked shots (29), assists (106) and rebounds per game (5.6). MSUB looks forward to the return of Hansen as she missed most of last season with an injury.
The other five returners expected to contribute this season are Ryan, Jacobs, Callie Kautzmann, Kalli Stanhope and Melissa Porter. Ryan, a junior, is the second starter returning this season. She averaged 11.4 points per game, 6.7 rebounds and shot 69 percent from the charity stripe in 638 minutes of work. Jacobs, also a junior, contributed 4.1 points per game and shot 50 percent from the line last season. Kautzmann, Stanhope and Porter, all sophomores, now look to step into more key roles as second year players. All three saw extensive playing time for head coach Kevin Woodin last season, and he expects them all to make an impact right away. “Each of the returners has worked very hard to improve their game this off season and I’m excited to see the progress play out on the court,” Woodin said.
The program will see plenty of fresh faces this season as coach Woodin welcomes junior transfer Sarah McNamee and four other freshmen to the team. McNamee, a 5-9 guard, joins the Yellowjackets from Carroll College where she averaged 3.4 points per game and shot 30 percent from the field. Joining McNamee are Kylee Denham, a 5-8 guard, Ashley Reed, a 6-0 forward, Kelcy Lott, a 5-6 guard and Monica Hollowell, a 5-6 guard. “This group of newcomers is very athletic and versatile,” Woodin said. “They possess the talent to allow us to play the tempo we would like and are able to play multiple positions which will help us greatly.”
Coach Woodin believes that this year’s strengths are going to be overall team speed, player versatility and depth from the bench. “I believe we have excellent team speed and we hope to devise a system where that can be used to its advantage,” said Woodin. “We also possess several players who can play more than one position. This will help us tremendously, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Depth is strength that I hope our team will have. With five new players, the jury is still out on how they will impact our team, but I have a good feeling about this group.”

Women’s Basketball History
Women’s basketball has traditionally been the most successful program at Montana State Billings. The Yellowjackets have qualified for the NCAA tournament 11 times since 1987 and 10 times since 1994. The program debuted in 1973 under the direction of head coach Nancy Monger. Since that time, nine of the eleven coaches have compiled overall winning records at MSUB.
Hall of Fame coach Frank McCarthy has won the most games with 191 wins against 91 defeats. During his ten seasons, McCarthy guided MSUB to five NCAA tournament appearances. His 1998-1999 team enjoyed MSUB’s finest season by winning a school record 25 games and advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight.
Current coach Kevin Woodin has posted 88 wins in his first five seasons to rank third in school history, behind McCarthy (191) and Ted Anderson (102). The Yellowjackets have captured two regular season championships, one conference title and two NCAA tournament berths under Woodin’s direction.
Last season, Alira Carpenter became the first player, male or female, in MSUB history to record 2,000 career points, and just the fourth collegiate player in the state of Montana to reach the milestone. She was awarded the Little Sullivan Award, just the third MSUB athlete to win the award and the second female basketball player (Robyn Milne, 2001).