BILLINGS, Mont. – The 2010-2011 edition of the Montana State Billings women's basketball team gets underway Saturday at 2 p.m. versus Metropolitan State College of Denver in Alterowitz Gymnasium. The Yellowjackets open the regular season at home for the third-straight season, and eighth in the past nine years.
The Yellowjackets are coming off a 1-2 record in three exhibition games. MSUB defeated Montana Western 77-73 in the first exhibition game, then dropped two, tough decisions at Montana State (81-71) and at Rocky Mountain College (68-65). In both the Montana State and Rocky games, the Jackets were right there at the end, but couldn't quite close the door.
MSUB raced out to a 21-4 lead at Rocky on Tuesday, only to see the Battlin' Bears come racing back with a 16-2 run of their own in a wild first half. The Jackets then closed the half with a 7-0 run for a 30-20 lead at intermission.
“It was nice to get off to a good start,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said after the game. “We were doing a good job on the boards and allowing them just one shot. Both my team and I knew Rocky would get back into the game and they chipped it away. I was pleased with the last couple of minutes of the first half as we built the lead back to 10.”
Rocky kept chipping away at the deficit in the second half, and took its first lead on a banked home 3-pointer from Amie Jensen with 1:58 left for a 62-61 lead. MSUB regained the lead, moments later, but good free throw shooting by the Battlin' Bears in the final minute helped Rocky to the 68-65 win.
“The second half we didn't play very well,” Woodin said. “Give Rocky credit, they shot the ball better than us. We played a little streaky and foul trouble was a factor. We had some rotations we weren't comfortable with on the floor. Overall, we will use this as a learning experience and get ready for the regular season. We do know we need to play better in the last 3-4 minutes of the game as that has been a problem of ours so far.”
In the three exhibition games, the Yellowjackets had some impressive numbers as senior transfer Beata Bak led the team averaging 21.7 points per game. She made a team-high 25 field goals and pulled down 6.7 rebounds per game. Senior Kayla Ryan averaged a double-double with 17.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Ryan led the team with 17 made free throws in 22 attempts. Freshman Bobbi Knudsen was a pleasant surprise off the bench as she averaged 11 points per game and knocked down a team-high seven triples.
Woodin, beginning his seventh season at the helm of the Yellowjacket program, is going for his 100th win in the season opener. He is 99-69 at MSUB, and is the third winningest coach in school history. Woodin has a .589 winning percentage, and only trails Ted Anderson (102) and Frank McCarthy (191) in wins.
The Yellowjackets were selected preseason fifth in the Great Northwest Athletic conference last month by the league's coaches. MSUB returns second team all-conference selection in senior Kayla Ryan. Ryan averaged 13.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last season. She was 10th in scoring and led the league in rebounding. Ryan went to the charity stripe 138 times making 114, which was good for third-best in the league in attempts.
Also returning for the Yellowjackets this season is senior Sarah McNamee who was the squad's second leading scorer in her first year as a Yellowjacket as she averaged 12.6 points and averaged three rebounds per game. She led the team in steals with 41. Multi-sport athlete, junior Kalli Stanhope, averaged 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds last season as a sophomore. She averaged 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds as a sophomore and tallied 69 assists. Stanhope also plays on the women's golf team. Senior Mandy Jacobs also returns as she contributed 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds to go along with 20 blocks last season.
Joining the Yellowjackets this season is Montana State transfer Beta Bak who hails from Stalowa Wola, Poland. Bak played in 31 games as a junior for the Bobcats and will add her 6-2 frame to the interior for the Yellowjackets. In addition, junior multi-sport athlete Brooke Tolman also joins the team, a junior transfer from Central Wyoming College as well as five freshmen. Tolman currently is playing on the Yellowjacket volleyball team.
The five freshmen include Lisa Laslovich from Anaconda, MT, Bobbi Knudsen from Malta, MT, Corie Smith from Belgrade, MT, Amanda Proefrock from Belle Fourche SD, and Kelsey Armstrong from Buffalo, WY.
“My staff and players are very excited about our team this year,” Woodin added. “We return several key players and have some talented newcomers. We are looking forward to the upcoming season and the initial GNAC tournament after the regular season concludes.”
For the first time in league history, there will be a postseason conference tournament. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The top eight teams in the league will be included with the higher seed hosting games in each round. The championship is scheduled for Sat., Mar. 5, at the highest remaining seed.
Metro State returns three starters from last year's 17-12 team that finished 11-8 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Roadrunners must replace their leading scorer from last season in Chelsea Williamson, but return RMAC Defensive Player of the Year in Kristin Valencia. They also have returning second-leading scorer Brandi Valencia who averaged 8.8 points per game. Metro State does return four of its top five scorers from a year ago.
First year head coach Tanya Haave replaces Linda Lappe, who took over the reins at the University of Colorado. Haave comes to Metro State from the University of San Francisco where she 36-86 for USF.
The Roadrunners were picked sixth in the RMAC preseason coaches poll. Kristin Valencia was chosen as Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and was named to the preseason all-conference team.
MSUB leads the all-time series 14-6. The Roadrunners have won the past two meetings, including an 89-64 win on Dec. 19, 2009, in Denver. MSUB's last win in the series came Dec. 6, 2008, with a 65-61 win in Billings. The Jackets lead the all-time series in Billings 7-1, and 7-5 in Denver.
The game can be seen live on the internet at the Yellowjackets' new home for internet video at http://msub.nmtvsports.com/. Live stats also are available by going to the women's basketball schedule page and clicking on live stats for the Metro State game.
