November 2005
Lady Bulldogs Win Three at Sarsfield Classic
Monday, November 28 2005
The Lady Bulldogs raised their record to 10-1 with three wins at the Sarsfield Classic in Butte.
On Friday, Western dominated #22 Campbellsville University in every catagory in a 83-33 thumping. Western led 46-12 at the half. Every Lady Bulldog scored in the rout led by Becky O'Neil's 16 points. Megan Schmitz added 15 followed by Billi Suhr with 14. Western outrebounded Campbellsville 48-31 led by Katherine Sunwall with 12.
On Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs had a bigger challenge in Black Hills State. Western was ice cold in the first half, hitting only 38% while Black Hills was red-hot, hitting 55% to lead at the break 33-29.
Western thawed out and got untracked in the second half as they outscored Black Hills 53-37 on the way to an 82-70 victory.
Three players scored in double figures led by Becky O'Neil with 28, Megan Schmitz with 19 and Katherine Sunwall with 11. O'Neil also pulled down 15 rebounds.
On Saturday, Western fell behind early to seventh ranked Oklahoma City. Once again, cold-shooting plagued Western as they shot only 36% from field while Oklahoma City hit on 53% of their shots. The Lady Bulldogs roared out of the gate in the second half and quickly tied the game and then grabbed the lead. Western outscored Oklahoma City 51-37 in the second half on the way to a 79-75 win.
Becky O'Neil led five Western players scoring in double figures. O'Neil scored 21 followed by Katherine Sunwall with 14, Crystal Kain and Billi Suhr with 13 and Megan Schmitz with 11.
Western hosts Johnson and Wales on Friday, December 2.
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Lady Bulldogs Face Nationally Ranked Teams at Sarsfield Classic
Tuesday, November 22 2005
The Lady Bulldogs team will compete in the Sarsfield Classic in Butte, Friday, Nov. 25 through Sunday, Nov. 26. All games will be played at the HPER Complex on the Montana Tech campus.
Western is 7-1 on the season after winning two games at the Mountain West Bank Classic in Helena. The Lady Bulldogs beat Dickinson State 71-47 and California Baptist 84-63.
On Friday, Western plays the Campbellsville University Tigers at 6:00 p.m. Campbellsville is 2-3 on the season. Their last game was an 84-61 win over St. Francis on November 12. Campbellsville was ranked 22nd in the NAIA Division I Pre-Season Poll.
On Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs face the Black Hills State Yellowjackets at 4:00 p.m. Black Hills is 3-2 on the year. Last weekend, the Yellowjackets lost two games on a trip through Colorado. Black Hills lost to Colorado State-Pueblo 71-82 and Metro State 87-53. Western and Black Hills last met in the 2003-2004 season with Black Hills winning 62-69. Black Hills is ranked 25th in the Division II pre-season poll.
On Sunday, Western plays Oklahoma City University at 3:00 p.m. Stars. Oklahoma City is currently 5-0 on the season and were ranked seventh in the pre-season poll. They extended their unbeaten streak to five games with a 78-49 win over Huston-Tillotson on Tuesday night.
“This will be a very challenging weekend as all three opponents we face are nationally ranked,” said Western coach Kevin Engellant. “Campbellsville and Oklahoma City are perennial national contenders and both have very talented rosters to go along with their tremendous tradition. Oklahoma City has played in the last 7 national championship games, winning 4 of them. Playing a team of this caliber in the non-conference is a great opportunity for our program. Defensively it will take another tremendous effort and it will be important to control the boards and take care of the basketball.”
Western returns to action December 2 when they host Johnson and Wales.
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Lady Bulldogs Win Two at Mountain West Tournament
Monday, November 21 2005
The Lady Bulldogs raised their record to 7-1 with a pair of wins at the Mountain West Bank Classic over the weekend.
On Friday, Western downed Dickinson State 71-47. The game marked the return to the lineup of Katherine Sunwall and Lindsey Scott. Both were members of the Lady Bulldog volleyball team.
Sunwall made the most of her return by scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Billi Suhr led the team with 13 points. Also scoring in double figures were Becky O'Neil with 12 and Crystal Kain with 10.
On Saturday night, four Lady Bulldogs scored in double figures as Western won 84-63 over California Baptist.
Megan Schmitz led the way with 19 points followed by O'Neil with 18, Sunwall with 16 and Kain with 10. O'Neil and Sunwall were also in double figures in rebounds with 11 and 10.
Western returns to action at the Sarsfield Classic in Butte, Friday, Nov. 25, Saturday, Nov. 26 and Sunday, Nov. 27.
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Lady Bulldogs Compete in Helena Tournament
Thursday, November 17 2005
The Lady Bulldogs travel to Helena to compete in the Mountain West Bank Classic Friday, Nov. 18 and Saturday, Nov. 19.
Western, 5-1 on the season, faces Dickinson State on Friday and California Baptist on Saturday. Both games tip-off at 6:00 pm from the Carroll College P.E. Center.
The Lady Bulldogs went 2-1 last weekend at the Holiday Inn Classic In Salt Lake City. Western lost to Westmont 52-66 and defeated Albertsons College 76-62 and #12 Azusa Pacific 88-86.
Dickinson is 1-3 on the season after losing to Jamestown College 57-83, Rocky Mountain 47-59 and Carroll 44-76. Their lone win was their season opener when they beat Rocky 52-42
California Baptist is 3-0 entering the weekend tournament. The Lions own wins over Southern Oregon 70-55; Walla Walla 75-38; and Simpson College 84-46.
“This weekend we face two more quality teams in Dickinson State and Cal-Baptist,” said Western coach Kevin Engellant. “Dickinson is athletic and they play aggressive on both ends. Cal-Baptist has a lot of transfers and is expected to be one of the top teams in the very tough Golden State Athletic Conference. With Katherine and Lindsey joining our team we will have more depth at both the post and guard positions. Beating Azusa Pacific last weekend was definitely a big win but we need to continue to get better with each game.”
Becky O’Neil leads Western in scoring and rebounding with 16.2 ppg and 8.5 rbp. Megan Schmitz follows with 15 points followed by Crystal Kain with 11.5 points. The Lady Bulldogs are averaging 72.7 points per game while giving up 61.7.
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Lady Bulldogs Upset #12 team at Westminster Tournament
Monday, November 14 2005
The Lady Bulldogs went 2-1 at the Westminster Tournament over the weekend.
In their first game, the Lady Bulldogs were ice-cold in their game against Westmont. Western shot only 33% from the filed on their way to a 52-66 loss. Becky O'Neil led the Lady Bulldogs with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Against Albertson, the Lady Bulldogs played much better on their way to a 76-62 win. Four players scored in double figures led by Laura Shea with 15 followed by Megan Schmitz with 13, Billi Suhr with 12 and O'Neil with 10.
In the their final game of the tournament, Western faced off against Azusa Pacific, the 12th ranked team in the NAIA.
Western got off to a quick start and controlled the tempo of the game. The Lady Bulldogs led at the half 42-35.
In the second half, Azusa mounted a comeback as they hit 6 of 12 three point baskets. Western held of Azusa with a combination of good defense and timely baskets to post an 88-86 win.
Becky O'Neil led the Bulldogs with 35 points followed by Megan Scmitz with 29.
Western travels to Helena to compete in the Carrol College tournament. Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19.
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Lady Bulldogs to Compete in Salt Lake City Tournament
Wednesday, November 9 2005
The University of Montana Western Lady Bulldog basketball team travels to Salt Lake City, Utah to compete in the Holiday Inn Classic Thursday, November 10, Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12.
The Lady Bulldogs are 3-0 on the season with wins over the University of Lethbridge, Eastern Oregon and Brandon University.
Western’s first opponent of the tournament is the Westmont College Lady Warriors of Santa Barbara, California. Tipoff is 6:00 p.m. from Westminster College. This will be Westmont’s first game of the season. Last year, Westmont was 14-15 overall and and 11-9 in the Gold Coast Athletic Conference.
Friday afternoon at 4:00 pm, Western faces Albertsons College of Caldwell, Idaho. Albertson is 1-1 on the season entering the weekend tournament. Albertson played two games against MSU-Northern in Havre a week ago. Albertson defeated Northern 80-77 and then lost the following night 72-55. Last year, Western downed Albertson at the Westminster Tournament 70-53.
Saturday at 2:00 pm, Western plays the Azusa Pacific Cougars. This will be Azusa’s first game of the season. Last year, the Cougars were 24-11 on the season and 14-6 in the Gold Coast Athletic Conference. Azusa also advanced to the NAIA National Tournament.
“We face three very good opponents this weekend at the Westinster
Tournament.” said Western coach Kevin Engellant. “Westmont, Albertson and Asuza Pacific are very talented teams with good shooters. Defensively we need to continue to improve and make sure they don't get any open looks from the perimeter. Rebounding will be another key to these games.”
Crystal Kain leads five Lady Bulldogs scoring in double figures. Kain averages 14.3 pts per game followed by Megan Schmitz with 13.3 ppg, Becky O’Neil with 13 and Billi Suhr and Laura Shea with 10.7 per game. O’Neil leads the team in rebounds with 8.7 per game. Western is averaging 73 points per game while giving up 52.
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Lady Bulldogs Fall to University of Utah
Tuesday, November 8 2005
The Lady Bulldogs lost to the University of Utah 57-86 in an exhibition women's college basketball game played in Salt Lak City, Utah.
Early in the game, Western stayed with Utah, an NCAA Division I school and nationally ranked. The Lady Bulldogs scored the game's first basket on a Becky O'Neil lay-up. Utah quickly answered with two baskets of their own to lead 5-2. A Crystal Kain 3-pointer tied the game at 5. Utah took the lead back on the next possession. Western battled on even terms with the Lady Utes over the game's first seven minutes. Utah gradually pulled away and by halftime, led 47-25.
In the second half, Western, led by junior guard Megan Scmitz, made a run at the Utess, but could not overcome Utah's big lead. Scmitz scored 16 points in the second half. Also scoring in double figures for the game were O'Neil with 12 and Crystal Kain with 10.
Next for the Lady Bulldogs, a return trip to Salt Lake to compete in the Holiday Inn Classic hosted by Westminster College Nov. 10-12.
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Lady Bulldogs Face University of Utah
Wednesday, November 2 2005
The University of Montana-Western Lady Bulldog basketball team travels to Salt Lake City for an exhibition game against the University of Utah, Thursday, Nov. 3. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m. from the Huntsman Center.
Western is 3-0 on the season after last weekend’s wins over Eastern Oregon and Brandon University.
Utah is an NCAA, Division I school. The Utes were ranked 21st in the ESPN/USA Today’s Coach’s Poll. Utah finished last year with a 26-8 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The team features Kim Smith and Shona Thorburn, who shared Mountain West Conference Player of the Year award as juniors and each earned All-America honors last season.
“Playing a team the caliber of the University of Utah is a tremendous
challenge,” said Western coach Kevin Engellant. “We've played some great teams the past few years, but University of Utah is best team we have ever played. They have it all! They are big, athletic, and very talented and they have one of the best players in the country in Kim Smith. It will be important that we limit our turnovers and take the open shot. We need to enjoy the experience of competing against a top 20 team.
The Lady Bulldogs are averaging 73 points a game with five players averaging in double figures. Crystal Kain leads the way with with 14.3 points a game followed by Megan Schmiz with 13.3, Becky O’Neil with 13 and Billi Suhr and Laura Shea with 10.7 each.
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