October 2005

Lady Bulldogs Roll Over Canadian Team
Saturday, October 29 2005

The Lady Bulldog basketball team raised their over record to 3-0 with a 69-44 victory over Brandon University of Manitoba, Canada.

Western was never threaten with all but two players on the roster scoring. Becky O'Neil led Western with 16 points followed by Crystal Kain with 15, and Billi Suhr with 14.

Western travels to Salt Lake for an exhibition game against the University of Utah on November 3.
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Lady Bulldogs Thump Eastern Oregon
Friday, October 28 2005
The University of Montana-Western downed Eastern Oregon 78-56 in a women’s non-conference college basketball game from Dillon’s Straugh Gymnasium.

With the game tied at 20 at the 8:17 mark of the first half, Western went on a 22-5 run to build a 40-25 lead and were never threatened from then on.

The game was foul plagued as three Lady Bulldogs and one Eastern Oregon Mountaineer fouled out. 52 fouls were called in the contest.

Crystal Kain and Laura Shea led Western with 17 points each, followed by Megan Schmitz with 12.

Tomorrow night, (Oct. 29) Western hosts Brandon University at 7:00 p.m.



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Lady Bulldogs Host Eastern Oregon
Thursday, October 27 2005
The University of Montana-Western Lady Bulldog basketball team swings back into action with two non-conference games from the Straugh Gymnasium.

The Lady Bulldogs host Eastern Oregon University on Friday, October 28 at 6:00 p.m. and Brandon University on Saturday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. Both games at the Straugh Gymnasium and both can be heard on KDBM radio, 1490 on the AM dial and over the Internet on Sportsjuice.com.

Western is 1-0 on the season after last Thursday's 73-56 win over the University of Lethbridge. The Lady Bulldogs were led by Becky O'Neil with 18 points and 12 rebounds. For her play, O'Neil was named the Frontier Conference Player of the Week. Western is ranked 18th in the first NAIA, Division I Top-25 poll of the season.

This will be Eastern's first game of the season. Eastern Oregon and Western last played in the 1999-2000 season and the Lady Bulldogs rolled to a 88-50 win in the Straugh Gymnasium.

“Eastern Oregon is a very fundamentally sound and a physical team,” said Western coach Kevin Engellant. “They run the court very well and are very active defensively. We need to keep them off the boards and take care of the basketball. Against the University of Lethbridge we played well at times, but we need a much more consistent effort against Eastern Oregon. These two games this weekend are important because we will be on the road until December and we face some very difficult and challenging games during this stretch.”

The Brandon University Bobcats, from Brandon, Manitoba, are currently 1-5 on the season.

The Lady Bulldogs play an exhibition game at the University of Utah on November 3, and then play in a preseason tournament in Salt Lake City November 10-12.
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Lady Bulldogs Open Season With Win
Thursday, October 20 2005
The University of Montana-Western Lady Bulldogs opened their 2005-06 season with a 73-56 win over the University of Lethbridge, Thursday night in Dillon.

First game jitters for the Lady Bulldogs kept the game close in the first half. Western built a lead of 13 mid-way through the first half. Turnovers and cold shooting let Lethbridge back into the game and the Lady Bulldogs led by only four, 32-28 at the half.

In the second half, after a cold-shooting first two minutes, the Lady Bulldogs found the range and slowly build their lead to 20 at the ten minute mark. Lethbridge could get no closer than 16 the rest of the way.

Becky O'Neil led Western with 18 followed by Megan Schmitz with 17 and Crystal Kain with 14. O'Neil also led the team in rebounds with 12.

Jessica Lynch led three Lethbridge players in double figures with 14 followed by Ciana Gregorio with 12 and Megan Campbell with 11.

Western returns to action Friday, October 28 when they host Eastern Oregon. Lethbridge plays at Montana Tech, Friday, October 21.

-WESTERN-
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Lady Bulldogs Tip-off Season
Wednesday, October 19 2005
MeganSchmitz.jpg The University of Montana-Western Lady Bulldog Basketball team tips-off the 2005-2006 season with a non-conference game against the University of Lethbridge, Thursday, October 20. Tip-off is 6:00 p.m. from the Straugh Gymnasium.

The game will broadcast locally on KDBM, 1490 on the AM radio dial, and over the Internet on sportsjuice.com.
Western finished last season with a 25-8 record and their sixth straight trip to the NAIA National Tournament. The Lady Bulldogs lost a 72-73 heartbreaker to Carroll College in the championship game of the Frontier Conference tournament.

Last season, Western played the University of Lethbridge twice, winning 82-42 and 78-63.

“We are looking forward to playing the University of Lethbridge,” said Western coach Kevin Engellant. “We've had two good weeks of practice and I like the direction we are heading. The first game of the season is good for a couple of reasons, one you get to play against someone else and secondly it lets you know what areas need improvement. We've had some very competitive games with University of Lethbridge in the past and I expect another good game this time.”

The 2005-06 Lady Bulldogs are a blend of experienced veterans and talented newcomers.
Juniors Megan Schmitz from Great Falls and Katherine Sunwall also from Great Falls are the returning starters. Sunwall led the team in scoring and rebounding with 15.3 points and 9.9 rebounds. Schmitz averaged 10.5 points.

Also returning from last season are senior Lindsey Scott of Dillon, junior Billi Suhr of Pony, and sophomore Laura Shea of Whitefish.

New faces in the line-up are juniors Becky O'Neil of Kalispell, Jennell Day of Olympia, Washington and Crystal Kain of Charlo, sophomore Colette Behrent of Columbus and freshman Genna Rucker of Bozeman.

O'Neil transfers to Western from Weber State where she led the Big Sky Conference in field goal percentage last season. Behrent transfers from MSU-Billings, Day transfers from Notre Dame de Amur and Kain transfers from Wenatchee Valley College. Rucker earned All-Conference honors for Bozeman Senior High.
Engellant will be without the services of Sunwall and Scott until volleyball season is over. Both are key players on the Lady Bulldog team vying for the conference title.






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