October 2007
Lady Bulldogs Host Walla Walla
Wednesday, October 31 2007
The University of Montana Western Lady Bulldogs host the Walla Walla University Wolves in a women’s non-conference college basketball game Friday, Nov. 2. Tip-off is 3 p.m. from the Straugh Gymnasium.
The game will be broadcast in southwest Montana on KDBM Radio and on internet from women’s basketball page on the Montana Western web site.
Montana Western is 2-1 on the season after going 1-1 on their weekend road trip to North Dakota. The Lady Bulldogs edged Minot State 58-55 and lost to Dickinson State 58-60.
Walla Walla is 0-2 on the season after a 94-38 loss to Eastern Oregon and an 86-58 loss to Cascade College.
“Walla Walla plays a lot of zone so we need to make good decisions on offense and attack their zone,” said Montana Western coach Kevin Engellant. “In our games against Minot State and Dickinson we did some good things, especially on the defensive end. We need to take better care of the basketball and execute in the half court.”
Jill Dana leads the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 17 points per game followed by Laura Shea with 11. Shea leads the team in rebounding with 6.7 per game followed by Chloe Mosey with 6.3 and Samantha James with six.
Montana Western averages 60.7 points a game and gives up 59.
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Lady Bulldogs Split North Dakota Trip
Sunday, October 28 2007
The Montana Western Lady Bulldogs went 1-1 on their weekend road trip to North Dakota.
On Friday afternoon, the Lady Bulldogs came from behind to beat Minot State 58-55. Western had trailed 22-25 at the half.
Freshman Kelly Pankrantz led the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points. Laura Shea led in rebounding with nine.
Saturday against Dickinson, it was the Lady Bulldogs who jumped out early and led 33-24 at the half. Dickinson mounted the second half comeback on the strength of their three point shooting.
Jill Dana led Montana Western with 17 points.
The Lady Bulldogs return to action on Friday afternoon when they host Walla Walla College.
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Lady Bulldogs Make North Dakota Trip
Thursday, October 25 2007
The University of Montana Western Lady Bulldogs travel to North Dakota for a pair of non-conference women’s college basketball games.
On Friday, Oct. 26, the Lady Bulldogs face Minot State in Minot, N.D. Tip-off is 4 p.m. from the Minot State University Dome.
On Saturday, Oct. 27, Montana Western is at Dickinson State. Tip off is 7 p.m.
Both Minot State and Dickinson State are NAIA Division II schools and members of the Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC)
Montana Western is 1-0 on the season after beating the University of Lethbridge 66-62 last Thursday. Senior Jill Dana led the Lady Bulldogs with 25 points. Montana Western trailed 32-26 at the half.
This will be Minot State’s first game of the season. Minot has played five scrimmages against area teams. Last year, Minot was 21-9 overall and 7-7 in the DAC.
“Minot is traditionally a very strong team,” said Montana Western coach Kevin Engellant. “They lost six to graduation, but they do return their leading scorer. Minot teams are very disciplined and play hard-nosed basketball. We will have to be ready to play.”
Dickinson State will play their first game of the season on Friday, Oct. 27 against Montana Tech. The Blue Hawks were 5-23 overall last year and 2-12 in the DAC.
“Last year was Coach (Guy) Fridley’s first year,” added Engellant. I know they are much improved. Dickinson has a lot of new faces on their roster. It is a situation similar to ours, blending the newcomers with the returning players.”
The Lady Bulldogs return to the Straugh Gymnasium on Friday, Nov. 2 to host Walla Walla College.
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Lady Bulldogs Open Season With Come From Behind Win
Thursday, October 18 2007
The Lady Bulldogs of the University of Montana Western opened their 2007-2008 season with a come-from-behind win over the University of Lethbridge in a women’s non-conference college basketball game.
Montana Western is now 1-0 on the season and Lethbridge is 3-4.
In the first half, Montana Western was hampered by cold-shooting, turnovers and first-game jitters. Lethbridge led by as many as eight points and led 32-26 at the half-time break.
Lethbridge maintained their lead over the first two minutes of the second half. The Lady Bulldogs then began to settle down and chip away at the lead on the strength of a 15-10 run. Montana Western took their first lead of the game 43-42 on field goal by Jamie Lake.
Lethbridge tied the game at 45-45 on a three-point basket but that was as close as the Pronghorns would get.
With 57 seconds remaining, Lethbridge cut the Lady Bulldog lead to one 61-60. Laura Shea made five of six free throws down stretch and freshman Nicole Tams’s steal with 10 seconds remaining sealed the Montana Western victory.
Jill Dana led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 25 points followed by Shea with 13 and Heather Brooks with 10. Samantha James led in rebounding with nine.
Candace Thompson led Lethbridge with 14 points followed by Stephanie Elford with 13 and Ashley McClenaghan with 12.
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Lady Bulldogs Tip-Off 2007-08 Season
Wednesday, October 17 2007
The University of Montana Western women’s basketball team tip off their 2007-2008 season when they host the University of Lethbridge in a non-conference women’s college basketball game, Thursday, Oct. 18.
Tip-off is 6 p.m. from the Straugh Gymnasium on the Montana Western campus.
Lethbridge is 3-3 on the season. The Lady Pronghorns made a three-game swing through Montana last week. Lethbridge beat Montana Tech and lost twice to Carroll College.
The Lady Bulldogs were 26-6 overall last year and finished second in the league with an 11-3 mark.
Head coach Kevin Engellant has the interesting problem of replacing 70 percent of the Lady Bulldog scoring from a year ago.
Gone from the line-up are four starters, three of whom earned All-Conference and All-American honors. Katherine Sunwall, Becky O’Neil Megan Schmitz and Crystal Kain all graduated.
“Obviously losing Katherine Sunwall and Becky O’Neil, arguably maybe the best post combo in the NAIA last year is a big loss.” said Engellant. “Those two played so well together and were so unselfish. Megan Schmitz had a great career as well and Crystal Kain played her role awfully well. We are going to miss those seniors but this is a new year and kids are going to have to step up in order for us to be successful.”
The lone returning starter is senior forward Laura Shea (5’10”) of Whitefish, Mont. Also returning from last year are senior forward Jill Dana (5’10”) of Forsyth, Mont., junior guards Genna Rucker (5’8”) of Bozeman, Mont. and Kaylee Williams (5’5”) of Seeley Lake, Mont.
Newcomers to the lineup are true freshmen post Chloe Mosey (6’0”) of Bremerton, Washington, guard Kelly Pankratz (5’5”) of Malta, Mont., and guard Nicole Tams (5’8”) of Lincoln, Mont.
Add to the roster, junior post Samantha James (6’0”) of Battle Ground, Washington and redshirt freshman guard Jamie Lake (5’6”) from Ronan, Mont. Finally, junior forward Amanda Lidstrom (5’9”) moves from junior varsity to varsity.
“There won’t be any one player we will have to rely on to score,” added Engellant. “I think this team is going to be fairly balanced and we are going to have to get our scoring from the inside as well as the outside.”
In the recent Frontier Conference coach’s poll, Montana Western was picked to finish seventh.
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