Career Resume
Robyn Blindwoman, formerly Robyn Milne, played basketball for the Yellowjackets from 2001-2005. She ranks 18
th all-time in points (1066) and leads the school annals in both blocked shots (278) rebounds (957). She set the school record for blocked shots in a season with 104 during the 2004-05 season. Blindwoman finished third in rebounding with 313 during the 2003-04 season and fourth with 290 in the 2004-05 season.
Not only did Blindwoman excel on the court but also in the classroom. She earned second and third team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, as well as first team CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in 2004-05.
Her on-the-court accolades also included being named ICAA (Independent Collegiate Athletic Association) Defensive Player of the Year (2004-05), and she earned first team All-ICAA honors that same year. She was a two-time NCAA Division II All-West Region selection (2003-2005).
Blindwoman helped lead the Yellowjackets to three NCAA Tournament appearances during her career and three 20-plus win seasons.
Feature Story: The Ultimate Teammate: Lady Jackets' Robyn Milne is as Nice as she is Talented (By: Joe Kusek/Billings Gazette, 2/15/2005) - Original Publication
Robyn Milne is a nice person. There is no other way to describe her. Milne could be a lot of other things - angry, revengeful, confused or arrogant - all for very good reasons.
But she is none of those.
Milne is nice to everybody.
She understands certain things are beyond her control. Like the former coach who turned her away from Montana State University.
Or the coaching carousel that has been the Montana State-Billings women's basketball program the last three years.
Nice has been her emotional anchor.
"Everything happens for a reason,” said Milne, refusing to delve into the negative. "The only thing you can control is your attitude and the effort.”
It's Milne's positive attitude that has carried her through turbulent times.
It's her consistent effort that has lifted her to heights of greatness at MSU-B.
The 6-foot-3 senior center is the ultimate teammate. Her motivation comes from playing for others. She does not want to let down her friends.
"No, those (the numbers) don't really matter to me,” she says honestly. "The only thing I care about is if we play well as a team. Even if we lose, I want to make sure we play well as a team.”
But its Milne's collegiate basketball numbers that demand attention.
She is already among the top 21 all-time shot blockers in NCAA Division II history. Milne has 248 entering this weekend's games against Grand Canyon. She needs four to reach the top 20.
"With my height, there is no reason I shouldn't be able to do something like that,” she says with a wave of her hands about her shot blocking abilities.
Milne is also second for career rebounds (876), third for rebounds per game (9.0) and 16th for career points (959). At her present scoring (12.1) and rebounding (10.0) pace per game, she is within reach of becoming only the second player in MSU-B history to have more than 1,000 points and 900 rebounds for a career.
But don't mistake the niceness for meekness.
Milne is a competitor.
A meek person does not carry her high school team to back-to-back Class C state basketball championships and a record of 103-4 over four years. Milne averaged 21.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.8 blocked shots a game as a senior in high school.
"I'm competitive in any sport I can play. Even checkers,” said Milne, who also helped Richey win the state volleyball title as a junior.
"In high school basketball, I was very stoic. Volleyball is more passionate. I'm trying to be more emotional on the basketball court.
Coaching carousel
Milne needed that stoicism coming out of high school. She initially gave a verbal commitment to Frank McCarthy, who was the head coach at MSU in Bozeman.
Robin Potera was hired to coach the Bobcats after McCarthy withdrew from consideration that spring. Milne 
and Potera met, with Milne leaving Bozeman needing another place to play.
"We reached a mutual decision that I wouldn't fit in,” said Milne, declining to go any further with the issue.
Milne considered Dickinson State in North Dakota, where many family members had attended. "I wanted to go out and make my own thing,” she decided.
MSU-B head coach Karyn Ridgeway was a late entry in recruiting Milne. Milne was coming to Billings in May of 2001 for the Montana AAU Little Sullivan Awards. She made it a combination trip by visiting with Ridgeway and the players.
"I knew a lot of the players ? Jess Henigman (Bridger) from volleyball and Kami Malnaa was from Glasgow,” Milne said. "I played with some of the team and they were just really nice to me. Great people and Karyn was just an amazing person.”
Milne signed the morning of the Little Sullivan Awards.
Milne joined a team loaded with upper-class leaders. She played in all 28 games as a freshman and averaged 4.8 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. Milne set the freshman record for blocked shots with 57.
Instead of towering over opponents, she now saw them eye to eye.
"The game is so much more physical,” said Milne. "In high school, I was a hands-off post player. And I had never played man-to-man defense that much. In high school, it was predominantly zone, while college is predominantly man-to-man.
"The first year was very enlightening. I had very supportive teammates who helped me. I was just trying to absorb it all.
"One thing I kept thinking was I hope I don't let them down. I was the only scholarship they gave out that year.”
Perfect timing
Milne watched and learned as the team played in the NCAA tournament both her freshman and sophomore seasons. She also watched Henigman block a school-record 272 shots during her career. Henigman still ranks 14th all-time in NCAA Division II.
"If you ask Jess, a lot of the blocking comes from volleyball. Just the timing of it,” explained Milne. "I learned a lot from her. I would sit on the bench and watch other players' tendencies.”
Milne was second all-time for blocks at MSU-B by the end of her sophomore year. The past two seasons, teams have tried to work their offenses away from her long shot-altering arms.
"It's a role,” said Milne of her defense. "I see other teams move away.
"They go somewhere else and be somebody else's problem,” she finished with a laugh.
Ridgeway decided not to return after Milne's sophomore year. The move was part of a tumultuous two months for the program during the spring.
"I was sad to see Karyn leave,” said Milne, who became the team leader during the turmoil. "I knew the team had lost a lot, the five seniors and we would have to prove ourselves all over again.
"You just have to stick together. All of us knew it could tear us apart. We had to stick together on the basketball court.”
Milne embraced the leadership role, on and, off the court. She thrived in the up-tempo, freelance system installed by new coach Melissa Slone, averaging a double-double of 14.4 points and 11.6 rebounds a game. Milne earned second-team All-West Region honors.
Slone tried to toughen up Milne by having other players foul her on almost every play during practice.
"My arms, from my shoulder down to my wrist, would just ache,” Milne recalled. "There were days I was frustrated. It was, 'Get off me.' "
The Yellowjackets finished 16-11 with a difficult road schedule, but began to fracture internally toward the end of the season. Slone resigned soon after.
"Through everything, the good times and the bad times, it was a learning experience,” Milne said. "I wouldn't change any of them. I learned with our road schedule, going 16-11 was pretty good.
"You've got to roll with the punches. It just has to be about basketball when you're there. We did a good job of staying focused on the season. We knew the hard times would pay off.”
Finishing strong
Kevin Woodin, who was an assistant with Ridgeway, took over for Slone. Woodin became Milne's third coach in four years.
"I was looking forward to having a successful season,” Milne said of her senior year.
She opened with a flourish, scoring 29 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in a win over Western Washington. Western Washington is ranked No. 2 in the West Region.
Milne followed with career-high 31 points and 11 rebounds in a victory against Ohio Valley.
Milne has posted 26 double-doubles (points-rebounds) during her four years as a Yellowjacket.
"It's hard to say what my motivation was when I first came here,” she said. "I guess I should have set some goals. I just wanted to come in and not let anybody down.
"The best decision was coming here for school. It was the right fit for me.”
Milne is the team's only senior but still brings a youthful exuberance to practice and games. She rarely complains about long road trips.
"Every time we go some place, I'm amazed and grateful for that opportunity and for all the things we've got to do,” said Milne, whose family runs a 1,900-acre farm 14 miles outside Richey. "I still feel I'm seeing everything through freshman eyes.
"As a senior, I do know where we need to go when we get a gym. I'm able to point out the right hallway.”
Richey, a secondary English education major, plan to do her student teaching this fall in Billings.
Not defined by basketball, Milne takes more than points, rebounds and blocked shots away from MSU-B.
"I look back at the memories with great people,” she said. "I'm not going to remember a certain score or a certain game. I'll remember all the fun we had.
"I knew I could play. I didn't know exactly what level.”
