2007-2008 Women's Basketball Weekly Release #3 (December 11)

This Week's Schedule

Week in Review

Following a 10-day break from competition, the Lady Yellowjackets are back in action against the University of Mary, Saturday, December 15 in Bismarck, N.D.  It will be the only game for MSUB in a 22-day span as the team is not scheduled to play until a two-game stint in Rohnert Park, Calif., December 28 and 29 against Sonoma State and Chico State.

In the Yellowjackets game against NAIA opponent University of  Great Falls, the Lady Jackets were pestered by the Argos through the first 12 minutes of the half.  Great Falls held a three-point lead following a layup by Laura Keaster, but  the Jackets responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Dani Henderson (Reed Point) and Carpenter (Lewistown) to regain the lead.  Carpenter drilled her third three-pointer of the game with 30 seconds left in the half to take a double-digit lead into the locker room.

“We played a pretty fast tempo in the first half,” said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin.  “We like that style of play.  Shantell (Marquis) and our other players did a good job of finding Alira and when she is open she is a great shooter. I was pleased with the play of our bench tonight.  They were definitely ready to play.  Quinn (Halvorson), Laura (Beach), and Mandy (Jacobs) did some very nice things on the court for us tonight.”

MSUB went into cruise control in the second half and led by as many as 31 points.  The Argos pulled off an 8-0 run in a two-minute span late in the half, but was not enough as the Jackets took the non-conference match from Great Falls.

“Dani played a solid game on both ends of the court and Jen (Smith) really battled on the boards,” added Woodin.  “Great Falls plays very hard and Coach Chaffin is doing a great job with their program.  They have many players who are difficult to guard, especially Keaster.”

Carpenter, who fell just one point shy of her career-high 30 points, knocked down six three-pointers and was 11-of-16 from the floor.  Henderson netted 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and grabbed a team-high nine boards.  Marquis (Cascade) chipped in nine points and made a game-high four steals. 

Yellowjacket Tidbits:
Prolific scorer, Alira Carpenter, is just 37 points shy of breaking into the 1,000 point club....she will likely join the ranks of 18 Lady Jackets in school history to score over 1,000 career points within the end of the month...Carpenter blew away the 3-point record last season scoring 88 threes in a single season....Her 151 career 3-pointers thus far are just 44 shy of breaking the school record for career threes set by Amy Winslow back in 1995-99...Kayla McPherson has come off the Yellowjackets' bench to average 11.8 points per game...McPherson's 10 three-points this season give her a career total of 94, just two short of breaking the top ten for career threes.

From the GNAC:
Division II Games: Central Washington 5-0, Alaska Anchorage 5-0, Seattle Pacific 4-0,  Seattle 4-0, Alaska Fairbanks 5-1, Northwest Nazarene 3-1, Saint Martin’s 3-1, MSU Billings 2-3, Western Washington 2-6, Western Oregon 1-3. West Region Games: Seattle 4-0, Central Washington 3-0, Saint Martin’s 3-0, Alaska Anchorage 2-0, Seattle Pacific 2-0, Northwest Nazarene 3-1, *MSU Billings 2-1, Alaska Fairbanks 2-1, Western Oregon 1-3, Western Washington 1-4.   (*MSUB region record includes games against schools in states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Western New Mexico and Colorado).

LAST WEEK: Monday   – Chaminade 43 at Alaska Anchorage 92.   Wednesday – Great Falls 70 at MSU Billings 92.  Thursday – Texas-Permian Basin 70 at Alaska Fairbanks 94; Cascade 62 at Northwest Nazarene 91; Seattle 73 at Evergreen State 53.  Friday– Texas-Permian Basin 55 at Alaska Anchorage 88; Warner Pacific at Saint Martin's, postponed until Dec. 14; SPU GNAC/CCAA Classic (Chico State 76, Western Washington 56; Seattle Pacific 53, Sonoma State 36); Corban 61 at Western Oregon 80.Saturday – Texas-Permian Basin 54 at Alaska Anchorage 84; Alaska Fairbanks 73 at BYU-Hawaii 48;  SPU GNAC/CCAA Classic (Sonoma State 62, Western Washington 49; Seattle Pacific 68, Chico State 60).

THIS WEEK: Monday   – Alaska Fairbanks at Chaminade, noon.  Tuesday– Alaska Fairbanks at Hawaii Hilo.  Friday – Western Oregon at Evergreen State, 5:30 p.m.; Warner Pacific at Saint Martin’s.  Saturday – MSU Billings at Mary; Western Oregon at Northwest, 3 p.m. 

NEXT WEEK: Monday   – Alaska Anchorage at Chaminade, noon.  Tuesday   – Las Vegas Great Western Shootout (Central Washington vs. UC San Diego, 11 a.m.; Western Washington vs. CSU Monterey Bay, 1 p.m.); Dixie State Classic (Seattle Pacific vs. CSU San Bernardino, 3 p.m.; Northwest Nazarene vs. Dixie State, 5 p.m.); Pacific Lutheran at Saint Martin's. Wednesday  – Alaska Anchorage vs. Nebraska-Kearney (at Hilo), 3 p.m.; Las Vegas Great Western Shootout (Central Washington vs. CSU Monterey Bay, 11 a.m.; Western Washington vs. UC San Diego, 1 p.m.); Dixie State Classic (Seattle Pacific vs. Dixie State, noon; Northwest Nazarene vs. CSU San Bernardino, 2 p.m.); Seattle at BYU-Hawaii, 5 p.m. Thursday  – Alaska Anchorage at Hawaii Hilo; WOU GNAC/CCAA Challenge (Humboldt State vs. Saint Martin's, 5 p.m.; Western Oregon vs. Cal Poly Pomona, 7 p.m.); Seattle at Hawaii Pacific, 2 p.m.

Friday - WOU GNAC/CCAA Challenge (Cal Poly Pomona vs. Saint Martin's, 2 p.m.; Western Oregon vs. Chico State, 4 p.m.).

THE REST OF DECEMBER: Friday (Dec. 28) – Sonoma State Invitational (Sonoma State vs. MSU Billings); UCSD GNAC/CCAA Challenge (Western Washington vs. Cal Poly Pomona, 5 p.m.; UC San Diego vs. Seattle Pacific, 7 p.m.).  Saturday (Dec. 29)  – Sonoma State Invitational (MSU Billings vs. Chico State, 5 p.m.); UCSD GNAC/CCAA Challenge (Seattle Pacific vs. Cal Poly Pomona, 5 p.m.; Western Washington vs. UC San Diego, 7 p.m.).  Monday (Dec. 31) – Albertson at Northwest Nazarene.

GNAC Coaches Poll: 1. Seattle Pacific (5) 99; 2. Alaska Anchorage  (4) 95; 3. Western Washington (1) 80; 4. Seattle 71; 5. 57; 6. Montana State Billings 56; 7. Central Washington 43; 8. Saint Martin's 24; 9. Western Oregon and Alaska Fairbanks 19. (Note: First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 11-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.).

ALL-TOURNAMENT:  UAA (Nov. 20-21) – Rebecca Kielpinski, UAA (MVP); Maria Nilsson, UAA; Kalhie Quinones, UAA.  Western Washington  (Nov. 23-24) – India Soo, WWU; Tara Holgate, WWU; Jamey Gelhar, SMU.  Northwest Nazarene (Nov. 23-24) – Jennifer Williams, NNU; Kristin Hein, NNU; Leada Berkey, WOU. UAA Glacier Classic (Nov. 30-Dec. 1) – Maria Nilsson, UAA (MVP); Dasha Basova, UAA; Rebecca Kielpinski, UAA; Cristina Bruketta, UAF; Sarah Herrin, UAA.  Seattle Pacific (Dec. 7-8) – Beth Christensen, SPU (MVP); Libby Magnuson, SPU; Kelsey Hill, SPU; Amanda Dunbar, WWU.

GNAC PLAYER-OF-THE-WEEK: Beth Christensen, Seattle Pacific (G, 5-5, Sr., Enumclaw, WA) was named the Most Valuable Player in the GNAC/CCAA Challenge at Brougham Pavilion.  Christensen only scored six points, but had 15 assists and five rebounds and contributed to a defense that held Sonoma State and Chico State, which came into the tournament with a combined one loss, to a .298 shooting percentage in 17 and 18-point victories.

QUOTABLE: “What Beth (Christensen) accomplished last weekend can’t be seen on a shat sheet,” SPU coach Julie van Beek said.  “She did an outstanding job directing the offense and made some amazing passes. . .She demonstrated amazing floor leadership in both games.  In addition to her passing, she led the charge on defense, which set the tone in both wins.  Both Sonoma and Chico who have point guards who like to drive and Beth’s defensive pressure prevented them from penetrating.”

HONORABLE MENTION: Ruby Williams, Alaska Anchorage (F, 5-10, Jr., Phoenix, AZ – Maryvale & Central Arizona) scored 41 points on 18 of 29 shooting and also had 22 rebounds, three assists and two blocks as the Seawolves ran their record to 9-0 with three more home victories. . .Sheena Brown, Alaska Fairbanks (G, 5-8, Jr., Fairbanks, AK - Lathrop) scored 38 points (12-28 FG) and also had 13 rebounds, eight assists and nine steals in wins over Texas-Permian Basin and BYU-Hawaii.

AROUND THE GNAC: Seattle Pacific’s Libby Magnuson (23 points, 4 assists, 5 steals) and Kelsey Hill (20 points, 16 rebounds, 7 blocks) and Western Washington’s Amanda Dunbar (27 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals) joined Beth Christensen on the all-tournament team in the GNAC/CCAA Challenge. . .Alaska Anchorage has won a school-record 25 straight home games, including a school-record tying 21 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex and four at Sullivan Arena.  . . .GNAC teams have a combined won-loss record of 48-15, a .762 winning percentage.  Conference teams are 34-15 against Division II schools, including 21-9 against West Region opponents, though officially the region record is 23-10 because of the NCAA’s “contiguous states” rule.

TEAM NOTES
Alaska Fairbanks: Alaska Fairbanks earned 24- and 25-point victories 48 hours, 3000 miles, and one red-eye flight apart.  After defeating Texas-Permian Basin 94-70  Thursday night in Fairbanks, the Nanooks outscored BYU-Hawaii 73-48 Saturday in Laie, Hawaii.  Sheena Brown (38 points), Sarah Herrin (31), Kari Reabold (23), Nicole Bozek (22) and Cristina Bruketta (21) all averaged in double figures in the two wins.

MSU Billings: Alicia Carpenter had 29 points – one off of her career-best - on 11 of 16 shooting including six of eight three-pointers as the Yellowjackets extended their win streak to three games with a 22-point win over Great Falls.

Northwest Nazarene:  Jennifer Williams scored 20 points on nine of 11 shooting and had 10 rebounds and Kristin Hein also had a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) in a 29-point over Cascade.  The Crusaders had a 55-31 rebounding advantage in the victory.

Saint Martin’s: The Saints’ lone scheduled game against Warner Pacific was postponed because of the conditions on I-5 between Portland and Lacey.  The game was rescheduled for this Friday at 7 p.m.

Seattle: Quinn Brewe made eight of 10 shots and had 19 points and nine rebounds and Cassidy Murillo scored 14 points as the Redhawks  stayed unbeaten in seven games with a 20-point win over Evergreen State.  Seattle U. shot 52.8 percent (28-53) in the win.

Seattle Pacific: Seattle Pacific had a 25-point lead at one point against Chico State before settling for an eight-point win.  Last year, Chico beat the Falcons in the NCAA Regional semifinals.  The Falcons handed Sonoma its first loss of the season, holding the Seawolves to eight first-half points.

Western Oregon: Leada Berkey scored 16 points and Whitney Chase had 11 as the Wolves handed Corban a 19-point loss.  The Wolves will gain the services of former NCAA Division III All-American Vanessa Wyffels this week following the end of the fall term at Western Oregon.  In three previous collegiate seasons (two at Division I Wagner and one at Willamette), Wyffels has 984 career points and 501 career rebounds.

Western Washington:  Injuries continue to plague the Vikings, who have lost four straight to fall to 2-6.  Starting guard India Soo missed WWU’s two games in the GNAC/CCAA Challenge with an Achilles tendon injury. Two other senior starters were earlier lost for the season with injuries and a third in redshirting because of an injury.   WWU was outshot .411 to .370 and outrebounded 86-68 in losses double-digit losses to Chico State and Sonoma State.
 

Upcoming Opponents

(webpage) - The Marauders, currently 4-3 overall, are relying heavily on senior Nicci Landdeck's ability to shoot and rebound.  Landdeck leads Mary averaging 18.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.  In fact, Lanndecck has scored more than a quarter of Mary's total points this season off steady shooting from the floor.  She is 55-of-91 for 60 percent.  Teammate Kayla Rogers is averaging 8.7 points per game and is handing out a team-leading 3.86 assists per game.

The Marauders were swept in Alterowitz Gym Nov. 23-24 by Regis University and NW Missouri State at the Chinook Wireless/Clock Tower Inn Classic.  The Yellowjackets and Marauders did not face each other in the tournament.  In recent action, Mary posted a 69-67 OT win against Southwest Minnesota State.

As a team, Mary is shooting 43 percent from the floor and 35 percent from long range.  The team has out-rebounded their opponents 39-33.

All-time Series:  The two teams are tied 2-2
Last Meeting: MSUB def. UM 69-63 on Dec. 15, 2006
Note: The Jackets and Marauders are playing exactly one year to the date since MSUB last won

The Standings

2007 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Standings
(Through games of Dec. 10, 2007)

The Polls

NCAA West Region (first poll released in February)

The GNAC Leaders

Click HERE for 2007 GNAC stats leaders.

The Players

The Last Time in Yellowjacket Volleyball

A player scored at least 40 points— Feb. 25, 1992 (Sherry McQuinn, 40 vs. Alaska Fairbanks)

A player scored at least 30 points — Feb. 24, 2007 (Michelle Lieber, 32 vs. St. Edward's)

A player made at least 15 field goals — Feb. 19, 2000 (Codi Schmitz vs. SEattle)

A player made seven 3-pointers — Dec. 30, 2006 (Alira Carpenter vs. Oklahoma Panhandle)

A player made six 3-pointers— Dec. 5, 2007 (Alira Carpenter vs. Great Falls)

A player made five 3-pointers — Feb. 17, 2007 (Alira Carpenter vs. Texas - Permian Basin)

A player made at least 15 free throws — Nov. 30, 2002 (Natalie Visger vs. St. Martin's)

A player made at least 10 free throws— Feb. 24, 2007 (Michelle Lieber, 12/15 vs. St. Edward's)

A player had at least 20 rebounds — Dec. 20, 2003 (Robyn Milne, 22 vs. Alaska-Fairbanks)

A player had at least 15 rebounds— SNov. 17, 2006 (Michelle Lieber, 16 vs. Western Oregon)

A player had at least 10 assists— Feb. 19, 2000 (Deena Bartu, 13 vs. Seattle)

A player had at least 5 assists — Nov. 24, 2007 (Shantell Marquis, 5 vs. Regis University)

A player had a least 5 blocked shots - Feb. 18, 2006 (Tanya Petersen, 6 vs. St. Mary's)

A player had at least 5 steals— Dec. 1, 2007 (Shantell Marquis, 5 vs. Colorado School of Mines)

A player had a double-double — Dec. 1, 2007 (Shantell Marquis, 10pts/10reb vs. Colorado School of Mines)

The team scored at least 100 points — Jan. 18, 2005 (100 vs. Western new Mexico)

The team scored at least 90 points— Dec. 5, 2007 (92 vs. Great Falls)

The team allowed at least 100 points — Jan. 22, 1998 (102 by Seattle Pacific)

The team made at least 40 field goals — Feb. 19, 2000 (44 vs. Seattle)

The team shot over 60% from the field— Dec. 2, 2005 (62.1% vs. Metro State)

The team shot over 50% from the field — Jan. 27, 2007 (57.8% vs. Incarnate Word)

The team made at least 15 3-pointers - Feb. 17, 2007 (15 vs. Texas Permian Basin)

The team made at least 10 3-pointers— Feb. 8, 2007 (10 vs. St. Mary's)

The team made 30 free throws — Jan. 7, 2007 (31 vs. St. Edward's)

The team made 25 free throws — Jan. 27, 2007 (26 vs. Incarnate Word)

The team had at least 60 rebounds— Nov. 17, 2006 (64 vs. Western Oregon)

The team had at least 30 assists — Dec. 16, 2005 (30 vs. St. Martin's)

The team had at least 25 assists - Feb. 17, 2007 (28 vs. Texas Permian Basin)

The team had at least 20 assists— Jan. 4, 2007 (21 vs. Texas A&M-International)

The team had at least 10 blocked shots — Jan. 3, 2005 (10 vs. Northwest Nazarene)

The team had at least 5 blocked shots — Feb. 2, 2007 (5 vs. Lincoln)

The team had at least 20 steals— Feb. 14, 1998 (20 vs. Montana Tech)

The team had at least 15 steals— Jan. 4, 2007 (17 vs. Texas A&M-International)

The School Records (records that include 2007-2008 in bold)

Points
Game - 1. Shelley Altrogge (43)
Season – 1. Shelley Altrogge (691); 5. Alira Carpenter (542)
Career – 1. Tera Silivius (1,630); 22. Alira Carpenter (858)

Field Goals
Game - 1. Evonne Goroski (16/26)
Season – 1. Shelley Altrogge (282); 10. Alira Carpenter (196)
Career – 1. Evonne Goroski (680)

Field Goal Percentage
Game - 1. Alicia Cahill, 100% (10/10)
Season – 1. Michelle Lieber (68.1)
Career – 1. Michelle Lieber (66.45)

3-Pointers
Game - 1. Alira Capenter, 7/11
Season – 1. Alira Carpenter (88); 4. Kayla McPherson (64)
Career – 1. Amy Winslow (194); 5. Alira Carpenter (133); 13. Kayla McPherson (84)

3-Point Percentage
Game - 1. Alira Carpenter, 100% (5/5)
Season – 1. Becky Jacobs (50.00); 9. Alira Carpenter (42.51)
Career – 1. Amy Winslow (43.30); 2. Alira Carpenter (40.30); 5. Kayla McPherson (39.81); 10. Jetton Meadors (36.27)

Free Throws
Game - 1. Shelley Altrogge (16/21)
Season – 1. Sherry McQuinn (184)
Career – 1. Sherry McQuinn (392)

Free Throw Percentage
Game - 1. Sherry McQuinn, 100% (13/13)
Season – 1. Alira Carpenter (88.57)
Career – 1. Lisa Jellum (84.50)

Rebounds
Game - 1. Grace Grabofsky (26)
Season – 1. Shelley Altrogge (376)
Career – 1. Robyn Milne (957)

Assists
Game - 1. Deena Bartu (13)
Season – 1. Amy Winslow (183)
Career – 1. Amy Winslow (585)

Blocked Shots
Game - 1. Jessie Henigman (9); 36. Shantell Marquis (4)
Season – 1. Robyn Milne (104); 20. Shantell Marquis (20)
Career – 1. Robyn Milne (278) No. 13 in NCAA DII History

Steals
Game - 1. Colleen Day Wiechman (9); 2. Shantell Marquis (8)
Season – 1. Amy Winslow (112); 4. Shantell Marquis (73)
Career – 1. Amy Winslow (343)

Schedule & Results

The Coaches

Kevin Woodin, Head Coach
Kevin Woodin enters his fourth season as the head women's basketball coach at MSU Billings in 2007-2008.  He has posted a 61-26 overall record in his first three seasons, capturing two Heartland Conference regular season titles and once conference tournament championship.  Two of Woodin's three teams have qualified for the NCAA Tournament.  His first win of the 2007-2008 season will move him to No. 3 in school history for career wins.

Woodin became the Lady Yellowjackets' eleventh head women's basketball coach when he took over on July 23, 2004.  He had been the head girl’s basketball coach at Billings West High School for the past ten seasons.  In that time, he led the Lady Bears to a 138-81 record (.630), including back-to-back Class AA state titles in 2003 and 2004.  Woodin’s Bears were a perfect 23-0 in 2004's title run and won the final 36 games Woodin coached at the school.  He earned Montana AA Coach of the Year honors in 2003 and 2004, and was a finalist for the award in 1999 and 2002.

A native of Libby, Mont., Woodin graduated with a degree in mathematics from Carroll College in 1987.  While teaching and coaching at O’Dea High School in Seattle, he earned his masters degree in Athletic Administration from Seattle Pacific University in 1992.  Woodin taught mathematics at O’Dea High School from 1987 to 1994 while also coaching boy’s basketball, golf and tennis.  He was named O’Dea’s Outstanding Teacher of the year in 1990-1991 and the Metro League Golf Coach of the Year three times.

Woodin moved to Billings in 1994 to take over the girl’s program at West High School where he has also taught mathematics.   Along with leading the Lady Bears to State AA tournament hardware in four of his last six seasons, Woodin was also an assistant coach on the Montana All-Star Team and an Executive Committee member and coach for the Treasure State Classic.  At West High, Woodin coached 19 players who went on to play collegiate basketball.

Before the Montana High School Association moved the girl’s basketball season to the winter, Woodin was a part time assistant coach at MSU Billings from 2000-2003.  Responsible for practice and game planning, recruiting, scouting, individual skill development, travel and coordinating the Billings Bees camps, Woodin helped the Lady Yellowjackets to two NCAA Tournament appearances in three seasons.

Woodin has been married to his wife Paula for 20 years, and they have three children (Kayleen, 14; Toria, 11; Garrett, 9).  His parents, Pete and Loretta Erickson, formerly of Roundup, Montana, reside in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

Natalie Visger, Assistant Coach
The 2007-2008 season will be Visger's second as a full-time assistant for the Lady Jacket basketball team.  She is a 2003 graduate of Montana State University-Billings.  She earned a bachelor of science degree in biology with a minor in chemistry, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a 3.91 GPA.  As a senior in 2003 Visger was named the Outstanding Biology Senior.

“I am very excited to have Natalie join our staff at MSUB,” said Woodin.  “She brings a tremendous amount of experience to the program, both as a player and as a coach.  We are very fortunate to have her, and I am confident she will have a positive impact upon our program.  Natalie’s duties will include directing and assisting with the pre- and postseason weight training and conditioning program, game and practice preparation, recruiting, film exchange, scouting, academic monitoring, travel arrangements, basketball camps and tournaments, and individual skill development.”

Visger was a four-year standout on the basketball court for the Lady Yellowjackets.  As a two-time team captain she helped the Yellowjackets reach three NCAA Tournaments in four years.  As a freshman and sophomore Visger was an All-Pacific West Conference selection.  As a senior she was named the Montana State University-Billings Outstanding Female Student-Athlete.

Known as a tenacious competitor, Visger made several impressions in the Yellowjacket record books.  She still ranks twelfth in school history for scoring with 1,219 career points.  She is also in the career top 10 for free throws made, free throw percentage, rebounds, and rebounding average.

After graduating in 2003, Visger played professionally in Europe for three seasons.  In 2003-2004 she played for TV-Langen in Langen, Germany.  She finished the season ranked second in the league for scoring average at 20.7 ppg. 

In 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 Visger played for ASG Theresianum Mainz in Mainz, Germany.  In the ‘04-‘05 season she was again second in the league for scoring at 18.5 ppg and led her team to a second place finish in the league.  Last year along with playing for the Women's first team, which again finished second in the league, she was the head coach for the Women's third team.  In addition to playing professional basketball, Visger, who speaks fluent German, worked as a document translator for STI Security Training International GmbH in Wiesbaden, Germany.

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