February 2005

Lady Bulldogs Close Regular Season With Win Over Lewis-Clark
Saturday, February 26 2005
JIllFellervsLC2.jpg The University of Montana-Western broke open a close game in the second half for a 76-61 victory over Lewis-Clark Saturday night in Dillon.

Western raised their overall record to 23-6 and finished conference play with an 11-3 record, for a second place finish, and the number two seed at the upcoming conference tournament.

Lewis-Clark falls to 21-9 overall and 10-4 in conference play. The Lady Warriors will be the number three seed in the upcoming conference tourney.

In the first half, the two teams put on a fan-pleasing display of basketball. Western got untracked first and quickly built a six point lead, 8-2. Lewis-Clark quickly answered and cut the lead to 10-8 at the 15:36 mark. The Lady Bulldogs answered with 6-0 run and an eight point lead. Lewis-Clark came right back and quickly cut the lead to three, 20-17, and then went on a 9-4 run and took their first lead of the game 26-24. They maintained that lead until the 5:12 mark when Hillary Taylor's two free throws tied the game at 31. Western grabbed the lead back on a Hillary Taylor layup and it was a lead they would never lose. The Lady Bulldogs led at the half 40-36.

The two teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second half. Western built their lead to seven, but the Lady Warriors quickly cut it to four, 45-41 at the 15:43 mark. That was as close as Lewis-Clark got. The Lady Bulldogs gradually began to pull away and by the 7:00 minute mark, led 65-52. Lewis-Clark was forced to foul and Western put the game out of reach at the free throw line. The Lady Bulldogs outscored L-C. 36-27 in the second half.

Hillary Taylor led Western with 20 points and 8 eight rebounds. Megan Schmitz added 18 followed by Lindsey Scott with 12.

The Frontier Conference begins Wednesday, March 2 at the Maroon Special Events Center in Butte. Western will play their first game Wednesday at Noon.
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Lady Bulldogs Hold Off Westminster
Friday, February 25 2005
MeganSchmitzvsWestminster1.jpg The University of Montana-Western Lady Bulldogs downed the Westminster College Lady Griffins 70-61 in a Frontier Conference game from Dillon. With the win, the Lady Bulldogs are 10-3 in the Frontier and 22-6 overall. Westminster drops to 0-13 in the league and 3-24.

Neither team wanted to make a basket in the opening minutes of the first half. Western scored their first basket at the 17:23 mark and proceeded to score seven unanswered points before Westminster scored their first basket at the 13:38 mark. At the 3:25 mark, the Griffins went on a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 22-23 with a 1:02 remaining in the half. The teams traded baskets in the final seconds with Western leading 24-23 at the break.

Both teams got untracked in the second half. Western built leads of as many as seven points in the first eight minutes. At the 12:45 mark, Western went on a 14-3 run and led 54-39 with 8:04 remaining. Westminster cut the lead to 60-55 with 1:08 remaining. The Lady Bulldogs sealed the game at the free throw line in the game's final sixty seconds.

Hillary Taylor led Western with 16 points followed by Alyssa Matter and Megan Schmitz with 12. Jill Feller scored 11 in her first game since injuring her knee. Katherine Sunwall led the Lady Bulldogs in rebounding with 10.

Western hosts Lewis-Clark Saturday, Feb. 26 while Westminster travels to Butte to face Montana Tech.
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Lady Bulldogs Close Regular Season at Home Against Westminster and Lewis-Clark
Wednesday, February 23 2005
The University of Montana-Western Lady Bulldogs close out the regular season with home games against Westminster College on February 25 and Lewis-Clark State College on February 26. Both games tip-off at 6:00 p.m. from the Straugh Gymnasium. Saturday night is Senior Night with Jill Feller, Alyssa Matter and Hillary Taylor honored before the game.

Western is 21-6 overall and 9-3 in league after winning two games on the road. The Lady Bulldogs downed #14 Carroll College 67-63 last Thursday and Rocky Mountain 61-53 on Saturday. With the wins, Western moves to #20 in the latest NAIA Division I Top-25.

Last weekend, Westminster College lost to UGF 90-78 and MSU-Northern 71-67. The two losses dropped Westminster to 0-12 in league play and 3-23 overall. When the two teams played a month ago, Western won in Salt Lake City 74-61,

“This is a big weekend for us,” said Western coach Kevin Engellant. “It is important we play well and continue to build momentum for the conference tournament next week. Westminster is a better team than their record and they will be hungry for a win. Shalee Fackrell is the leading scorer in the conference, and Lindsey Huffman is a very talented point guard. We need to do a good job defending these two players and control the boards.”

Fackrell leads Westminster and the Frontier in both scoring and rebounding 22.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. She leads the NAIA in scoring and is third in the nation in rebounding. Also scoring in double figures for Westminster is Lindsey Huffman with 16.7 points a game. Huffman leads the league in free throw shooting with a sizzling 87.9%. Westminster averages 61.6 points per game while giving up 73.3 points per game.

Last weekend, Lewis-Clark beat MSU-Northern 91-71 and Great Falls 80-54. With the two wins, the Warriors are now 9-3 in conference play and 20-8 overall. Lewis-Clark won in January in Lewiston 68-74. Lewis-Clark didn't crack the top-25 but did receive votes.

“LC-State beat us at their place a month ago and they have another very talented team,” added Engellant. “Nikki Haerling had a big game last time so we need to do a better job defending her. Ashley Baker and Kendra West are always a concern in the post. Western/LC-State games are always very competitive and hard fought games, and I expect more of the same this time.”

Baker leads Lewis Clark in scoring and rebounding with 16 points and 9.96 rebounds a game. Haerling is next with 14.4 points a game. In the first meeting, Haerling scored 30 against the Lady Bulldogs. Baker leads the Warriors in rebounding with. Lewis-Clark is second in the Frontier in scoring offense with 75.8 points a game, and third in the league in scoring offense, giving up 64.4 points a game.

Despite sitting out the last four games, Jill Feller continues to lead Western scoring with 15.7 points per game. Also scoring in double figures is Kathrine Sunwall with 15 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Megan Schmitz is averaging 13.6 points and Hillary Taylor is next with 11.4. Western averages 73.3 points while giving up 60.1 points.
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Lady Bulldogs Down Rocky Mountain
Sunday, February 20 2005
Western broke open a tight game with a 10-0 run midway through the second half that carried the 23rd ranked Lady Bulldogs to a 61-53 Frontier Conference victory. Western is now 9-3 in league play and 21-6 overall.

Rocky looked to be poised for an upset as they controlled the first half, building leads by as many as eight. The Lady Bulldogs battled back for a 34-34 tie at halftime.

The Lady Bears had the upper hand in the first twelve minutes of the second half. With Rocky leading 48-43, the Lady Bulldogs went on their 10-0 game-breaking run. Heather Kennedy's layup at the eight minute mark gave the Western a 49-48 lead, and a lead they would never lose.

Megan Schmitz led Western with 15 points followed by Katherine Sunwall with 13 points and eighteen rebounds and Hillary Taylor with 12 points.

Western closes out the regular season when they host Westminster College on Friday, Febuary 25 and Lewis-Clark on Saturday, February 26
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Lady Bulldogs Edge Carroll
Friday, February 18 2005
Three players scored in double figures as the Lady Bulldogs edged Carroll College 67-63 in a Frontier Conference thriller Thursday night from Helena. The loss was the first at home for Carroll, and revenged an overtime loss in Dillon in January.

The game lived up to its billing and was close and hard fought from beginning to end. Carroll jumped out to an early lead and held that lead throughout the the game's first ten minutes. The Lady Bulldogs went on a 14-4 run to take a 27-26 lead. Carroll answered with an 8-0 lead, followed by a 7-0 Western run to close the half with the scored tied at 34.

The second half was almost identical to the first half with the teams trading baskets and leads. In the first meeting, Western had the opportunity to win the game at the free throw line, but missed seven of eight tries in overtime. In this game, tremendous defense and pressure free throws sealed the victory for the Lady Bulldogs.

Katherine Sunwall led Western with 15 points followed by Hillary Taylor with 13 and Megan Schmitz with 12.

The win raised Western's conference record to 8-3 and their overall mark to 20-6. The Lady Bulldogs play at Rocky Mountain on Saturday.
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Lady Bulldogs Edge Montana Tech in Frontier Conference Thriller
Friday, February 11 2005
KatherineSunwallvsMTech1a.jpg The Lady Bulldogs edged Montana Tech 70-67 in a Frontier Conference showdown from the Western's Straugh Gymnnasium. The win raises Western's league record to 7-3 and their overall record to 19-6.

Western got off to a quick start for an early lead in the first half and built leads of as many as eight until the 13 minute mark when Tech went on a 10-0 run and led 17-15 at the 8:00 minute mark. Westerm answered and tied the game at 20 before Tech went on another run, this one 8-0 and led 28-20. After a Western time-out, The Lady Bulldogs went on a 10-2 run and tied the game at 30 with a minute and a half left in the half. A Tech basket with 20 seconds remaining gave the Lady Orediggers a 32-30 half-time lead.

Megan Schmitz opened the second half with a three-point basket and tthe Lady Bulldogs had the lead back at 33-32. It would be a lead Western would never lose, but the game was never secure as the Orediggers continued to battle back. The Lady Bulldogs would build a lead, and Tech would come battling back to cut the lead. Western held on, but barely. Poor free throw shooting almost spelled doom for the Lady Bulldogs as they shot an icy cold 14 of 28 from the charity stripe.

Five players scored in double figures for Western led by Megan Schimtz with 14, Hillary Taylor with 13, Katherine Sunwall and Billi Suhr with 12 each and Alyssa Matter with 11.

Western hits the road for games at Carroll on Thursday and Rocky on Saturday.
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Lady Bulldogs Down Skylights
Saturday, February 5 2005
KatherineSunwallvsMSUN1.jpg The Lady Bulldogs revenged their first conference loss when they downed the MSU-Northern Skylights 71-54 Saturday night from the Straugh Gymnasium. Western is now 6-3 in league play and 18-6 overall.

The teams battled on even terms in the game's first five minutes as they traded baskets and leads. Billi Suhr's three-point field goal at the 16 minute mark of the first half gave the Lady Bulldogs a 9-7 lead and a lead they were never to lose. Lindsey Scott hit a three-point field goal as the first half ended to give Western a 34-22 lead.

Western open the second half with a 12-7 run to lead 46-29 at the 15 minute mark. The Skylights cut the lead to nine several times but could get no closer.

Hillary Taylor led Western with 17 points followed by Megan Schmitz with 11 and Katherine Sunwall with 10. Sunwall led both teams in rebounding with 14.

Western hosts Montana Tech, Friday, February 11.
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Lady Bulldogs Host MSU-Northern and University of Great Falls
Wednesday, February 2 2005
The Lady Bulldogs host the University of Great Falls Lady Argos on Friday, February 4 and the MSU-Northern Skylights on Saturday, February 5 in a pair of key Frontier Conference games. Tip-off is 6:00 p.m. both nights.

Western is 16-6 on the season and 4-3 in the Frontier after last weekend's road split at Lewis-Clark and Westminster. The Lady Bulldogs lost at Lewis-Clark 68-74 and won at Westminster 74-61.
The University of Great Falls fell to 9-12 overall and 3-4 in league play after last Saturday's loss to MSU-Northern at Havre. Western beat the Lady Argos 80-64 in Great Falls a month ago.

“These are very important games,” said Western coach Kevin Engellant. “In order to stay in the conference race we need to win our home games. Great Falls is a very talented offensive team, and they are very good at getting to the free throw line. We need to limit their dribble penetration and control the boards. Kim Freeman is their key and she is playing extremely well, but they have other players who are capable of having a big game.”

Kim Freeman leads Great Falls in scoring with 17 points a game, second best in the conference. Also scoring in double figures for the Lady Argos is Nichole Neill with 13.5 points and Dana Ball with 13.3 points per game. Jayla McPherson leads the Lady Argos in rebounding with 7.24 rebounds per game. The Lady Argos average 74.5 points a game while giving up 73.3. Great Falls leads the conference free throw shooting with an average of 76%.

MSU-Northern downed the University of Great Falls last weekend 72-53 to raise the overall record to 19-6 and the league mark to 5-2. One of the Skylights league victories was an 88-87 win over Western in the opening game of the conference season last month in Havre. The Lights are ranked 25th in the latest NAIA Top-25.

“MSU-Northern is a very athletic team with lots of weapons,” added Engellant. “They are playing very well defensively and with a lot of confidence on the offensive end. They have tremendous 3-point shooters in Reome, Heny and Gardner and a good low post game with Valgardson and Van Dyke. We expect another close hard-fought game.”

Jessi Reome leads the Skylights in scoring with 14.5 points a game. Lady Bulldogs in January. Jaci Heny follows with 12.7 points a game. It was Heny who hit two free throws in the final seconds to seal Northern's win over the Lady Bulldogs in Havre. Megan Valgardson leads the Skylights in rebounding with 7.48 a game. The Lights average 73.4 points per game while giving up 64.6 points per game.

Jill Feller leads Western in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.5 points and 9.6 rebounds. Also scoring in double figures is Katherine Sunwall with 15 points, Megan Schmitz with 14.6 points and Hillary Taylor with 11 points a game. The Lady Bulldogs leads the league in defensive scoring as they give up a stingy 59 points a game. Western also leads the league in team field goal percentage with a 48.4% average.
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