February 2007
Lady Bulldogs Face Rocky In Conference Tournament First Round
Tuesday, February 27 2007
The University of Montana Western Lady Bulldogs play Rocky Mountain College in the first round of the Frontier Conference tournament, Wednesday, Feb. 28. The game tips off at 2 p.m. from the Maroon Activity Center in Butte, Mont.
The game will broadcast in southwest Montana on KDBM radio. It will also be available on the internet at http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Tournament/TournamentList.aspx?association=10
Montana Western finished the regular season with an 11-3 conference mark and a 26-4 overall record. The Lady Bulldogs are seeded second.
Rocky Mountain finished the season with a 3-11 Frontier Conference record and an overall mark of 9-21. The Bears are seeded seventh.
The Lady Bulldogs won both regular season meetings with Rocky. Montana Western won 64-53 in Dillon and 74-55 in Billings.
“We feel good about the way we are playing heading into the conference tournament,” said Montana Western coach Kevin Engellant. “In both games this past weekend we played well defensively and with a lot of intensity. Rocky is a capable team and they are very balanced offensively. Alyssa Brown is a tough match-up because she can shoot the three and is very good at attacking the basket. We need to get off to a good start and execute on offense.”
Brown leads Rocky in scoring with 11.5 ppg followed by Gretchen Wall with 11 ppg. Jenna Sawyer leads the team in rebounds with 7.87 per game followed by Josie Evans and Brown with four each. Rocky averages 63 ppg while giving up 69.2.
Katherine Sunwall leads the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 17 ppg followed by Becky O’Neil with 13.5 and Megan Schimtz with 11.3. Sunwall leads the team and the conference in rebounds with 10.5 per game. She also leads the league and the nation in blocked shots with 3.71 per game. The Lady Bulldogs average 69.3 ppg, and lead the league in scoring defense giving up 55.9 ppg.
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Lady Bulldogs End Regular Season With Sweep
Sunday, February 25 2007
The Lady Bulldogs ended the regular season with a 56-37 win over MSU-Northern and a 78-46 thumping of the University of Great Falls. Montana Western ends the regular season with a 26-4 overall record and 11-3 in the Frontier. With Carroll's Saturday loss at Westminster, the Lady Bulldogs will go into the conference tournament as the second seed. Western will play the #7 seed Rocky Mountain Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Maroon Activity Center in Butte, Mont.
Against Northern on Friday night, the Lady Bulldogs won a defensive game. Western led 26-23 at the break. The Lady Bulldogs broke the game open in the second half, outscoring the Skylights 30-14.
Katherine Sunwall and Megan Schmitz led Montana Western in scoring with 12 points apiece. Becky O'Neil added 11. Schmitz led the team in rebounding with nine followed by Sunwall and Crystal Kain with seven each.
On Saturday night, Western and UGF battled on even terms for part of the first half. Then, the Lady Bulldogs went boom and exploded for an 18-4 run that gave them a 43-20 lead at the break.
In the second half, Great Falls tightened things up a bit, but could not overcome the Lady Bulldogs big lead. Western outscored the Argos 35-26 in the second half.
Katherine Sunwall, playing in her final regular season game, scored 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Her 11 for 11 from the field ties a school record set by Hillary Taylor in 2004. Becky O'Neil added 12 points and seven rebounds.
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Lady Bulldogs On The Road For Final Regular Season Games
Thursday, February 22 2007
The University of Montana Western Lady Bulldogs close out the regular season with games at MSU-Northern on Friday, Feb. 23 and the University of Great Falls on Saturday, Feb. 24.
Montana Western is 24-4 overall and 9-3 in the Frontier Conference after last weekend’s home split with Lewis-Clark and Westminster College. The Lady Bulldogs downed Westminster 81-64 and lost to Lewis-Clark 54-65. The loss dropped Montana Western to ninth in the latest NAIA Top-25.
MSU-Northern is 16-10 overall and 5-7 in league play after beating the University of Great Falls 72-55 last weekend. In January, the Lady Bulldogs beat Northern 69-58 in Dillon.
“This is an important weekend for us,” said Lady Bulldog coach Kevin Engellant. “Not only do we want to be playing well heading into the conference tournament but we are also still battling for second place in the conference. We expect a very determined and hungry team in MSU-Northern. They have great post players and when their guards are shooting well they are awfully tough to beat.”
DeLayne Johnston is the only Northern player averaging in double figures in scoring with 15.4 points per game(ppg). Johnston also leads the team in rebounds with eight per game. The Skylights average 70.5 ppg while giving up 61.4 ppg.
The University of Great Falls is 2-23 overall and 0-12 in the Frontier after last weekend’s loss to MSU-Northern. In their January meeting, the Lady Bulldogs downed UGF 77-66.
“Great Falls is a dangerous team and they will be playing with nothing to lose,” added Engellant. “They played us tough last time so we need to do a better job defensively this time.”
Laura Keaster leads Great Falls with 18 ppg. Meghan Schwantes leads the Argos in rebounding with 6.1 followed by Cali Buck with 5.6 per game. UGF averages 61 ppg but gives up 72.7.
Katherine Sunwall leads the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 16.9 ppg followed by Becky O’Neil with 13.6 and Megan Schimtz with 11.3. Sunwall leads the team and the conference in rebounds with 10.6 per game. She also leads the league and the nation in blocked shots with 3.71 per game. The Lady Bulldogs average 69.4 ppg while giving up a league best 56.8 ppg.
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Lady Bulldogs Split FInal Home Series
Sunday, February 18 2007
The Lady Bulldogs beat Westminster College 81-64 on Friday and then lost 54-65 to Lewis-Clark on Saturday. Western is now 24-4 overall and 9-3 in Frontier Conference play.
Against Westminster, neither team could score in the game's first two and a half minutes. A Katherine Sunwall got the Lady Bulldogs on the board and started a 13-4 spurt. Westminster came back and cut the lead to 13-11 with 11 minutes remaining in the half, but that was as close as Westminster would get.
The Lady Bulldogs led 42-31 at the half.
In the second half, the Lady Bulldogs took advantage of Westminster turnovers and cool shooting to pull away for the victory. Western shot 57 percent from the field in the second half and held the Griffins to 39 percent.
Katherine Sunwall led Western with 36 points and 12 rebounds. Sunwall tied her own single game scoring record. Megan Schmitz added 17 points.
Against #2 Lewis-Clark, the Lady Bulldogs struggled from the opening tip. The Warriors quickly build a seven point lead before Western would score their first points. Twelve first half turnovers plauged Western but trailed only by three at the half.
In the second half. The Lady Bulldogs trimmed Lewis-Clark's lead to one, 36-37 on a Becky O'Neil basket. But, a Lady Bulldog turnover and back to back three-point L-C field goals quickly snuffed out the Western comeback.
Sunwall was the only Western player scoring in double figures as she scored 19 points. She also led the team in rebounds with eight.
The Lady Bulldogs close out the regular season at MSU-Northern on Friday, Feb. 23 and at University of Great Falls on Saturday, Feb. 24.
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Lady Bulldogs Host Westminster College and Lewis and Clark
Thursday, February 15 2007
The University of Montana Western Lady Bulldog basketball team hosts Westminster College on Friday, Feb. 16 and Lewis-Clark State College on Saturday, Feb. 17 in women’s Frontier Conference basketball action.
Both games tip-off at 6 p.m. from the Straugh Gymnasium on the Montana Western campus.
Seniors Jennell Day, Crystal Kain, Becky O'Neil, Megan Schmitz and Katherine Sunwall will be honored before the Lewis-Clark game.
The games will be broadcast in southwest Montana on KDBM Radio. They will be webcast from: http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Team/TeamPage.aspx?association=10&sg=WBB&sea=NAIWBB_2006&team=330.
Montana Western split their games last weekend against Carroll College and Rocky . The Lady Bulldogs lost to Carroll College in Helena 73-52 and then rebounded for a 74-55 win at Rocky Mountain College. The Lady Bulldogs are now 23-3 overall and 8-2 in league play. With the loss, Western dropped from fifth to seventh in the latest NAIA, Division I Power Poll.
Westminster raised their record to 17-9 overall and 5-5 in league play after a pair of home wins last weekend. Westminster downed the University of Great Falls 81-54 and MSU-Northern 94-72.
When Westminster and Western played in January, the Lady Bulldogs won 65-50.
“This is a big weekend for us,” said Lady Bulldog coach Kevin Engellant. “Westminster is playing very well. In their last game against MSU-Northern, Westminster scored 94 points and really lit it up from the 3-point line. They have a number of different players that can shoot the 3 so defensively we have to limit their looks from the perimeter.”
Four players average double figure scoring for Westminster led by Elisa Leader with 14.3, Shannon Evans with 13.7 and Janae Hirschi and Alicia Haberle with 10.3 points per game (ppg). Hirschi leads the team in rebounding with 6 per game followed by Haberle with 5.2. Westminster averages 69 ppg while giving up 61.9.
Lewis-Clark remained unbeaten in Frontier Conference play with two wins last weekend. The Warriors beat UGF 87-50 and MSU-Northern 68-64. Lewis-Clark is 10-0 in conference, 24-1 overall and ranked second in the NAIA Top-25. When Western played at Lewiston in January, the Warriors won 64-56.
“LC-State has a lot of weapons and they can beat you from inside and from the outside,” said Engellant. “LC-State is in the drivers seat for the regular season title, but if we can knock them off it will make for an interesting last week of the regular season. To beat LC-State we need to take care of the basketball and control the boards. We've had some great games with LC-State over the years and I expect Saturday's game to be another good one.”
Katherine Sunwall leads the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 16 ppg followed by Becky O’Neil with 14 and Megan Schimtz with 11.3. O’Neil is doubtful for the weekend after injuring a knee in the Carroll game. Sunwall leads the team and the conference in rebounds with 10.69 per game. She leads the league and the nation in blocked shots with 3.7 per game. The Lady Bulldogs average 69.5 ppg while giving up a league best 56.2 ppg.
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Lady Bulldogs Split Road Series
Sunday, February 11 2007
The Lady Bulldogs went 1-1 on the road trip to Carroll and Rocky. The Lady Bulldogs lost to Carroll 73-52 on Thursday night and then rebounded for 74-55 win at Rocky Mountain. The loss at Carroll was more then just a knotch in the loss column, the Lady Bulldogs lost All-American center Becky O'Neil for the season with a knee injury. Western is now 23-3 overall and 8-2 in conference action.
Against Carroll, the Lady Bulldogs were ice-cold from field in the first half shooting only 30% from field and trailing 35-16 at the half. O'Neil's injury came with roughly ten minutes left in the half.
In the second half, Western got untracked offensively, but the Saints 19 point margin at the half was too big an obstacle to overcome.
Katherine Sunwall led the Lady Bulldogs with 21 points and 10 rebounds followed by Jill Dana with 12 points.
Against Rocky, the Lady Bulldogs offense was on-track from the opening tip. Western hit 50% of their first half field goals including a sizzling 7 of 12 from three point land. In the second half, Western outscored the Bears 35-28.
Sunwall again led Western with 33 points and nine rebounds. Megan Schmitz added 14 points followed by Crystal Kain with 10 points.
Western hosts Westminster College on Friday, Feb. 16 and Lewis-Clark State on Saturday, Feb. 17 in the final home games of the season.
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Lady Bulldogs Face Carroll College and Rocky Mountain on the Road
Tuesday, February 6 2007
The University of Montana Western Lady Bulldog basketball team travels east for a two-game Frontier Conference road trip. On Thursday, Feb. 8, The Lady Bulldogs travel to Helena, Mont. for a game against Carroll College and on Saturday, Feb. 10, travel to Billings, Mont. to face Rocky Mountain College. Tip-off on Thursday is 6 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday. The games will broadcast in southwest Montana on KDBM radio.
Montana Western is 20-2 overall and 7-1 in league play after an 80-62 victory over Montana Tech last Thursday.
Carroll is 23-2 overall and 7-2 in conference action after winning two on the road last weekend. The Saints beat MSU-Northern 64-51 and University of Great Falls 79-41.
When Carroll and Western played in Dillon on Jan. 13, the Lady Bulldogs won 74-51. Western held a slim 26-25 lead at the half and then shot a sizzling 76 percent from the field in the second half and outscored Carroll 48-26.
“Carroll is a very good basketball team and we know it will take a great effort to beat them on their home court,” said Western coach Kevin Engellant. “Their posts, led by Amy Brooks, are playing extremely well. On the perimeter, Jolene Fuzesy and Laci High can really light it up from the 3-point line, so defensively we need to be solid and limit their looks from the perimeter.”
Jolene Fuzesy leads Carroll in scoring with 15.9 points per game (ppg) followed by Amy Brooks with 15.3 ppg. Brooks leads the team in rebounds with 7.3 per game followed by Sophi Forney with 4.5 rebounds per game. Fuzesy leads the league and the nation in both 3-point fields goal made (4.28) and 3-point field goal percentage (57.2) Carroll averages 77 points per game while giving up 59.3. The Saints lead the Frontier and the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (45.5).
Rocky is 8-17 overall and 2-7 in the Frontier after splitting their games on the Highline last weekend. The Bears lost to MSU-Northern 56-74 and came from behind to beat the University of Great Falls 68-60. In Dillon last month, the Lady Bulldogs downed Rocky 64-53.
“Rocky is a team you can't overlook, especially on the road,” added Engellant. “Their close loss to Lewis-Clark State a couple of weeks ago proves that they can play with anyone in the conference. They have several players who are capable of having a big game.”
Gretchen Wall leads Rocky in scoring with 11.9 ppg followed by Alyssa Brown with 10.4. Jenna Sawyer leads the team in rebounds with 7.4 per game followed by Brown and Josie Evans with 4.7 each. Rocky averages 63 ppg while giving up 67.8
Katherine Sunwall leads the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 15.1 ppg followed by Becky O’Neil with 14.4 and Megan Schimtz with 11.5. Sunwall leads the team and the conference in rebounds with 10.67 per game. She leads the league and the nation in blocked shots with 3.5 per game. The Lady Bulldogs average 69.7 ppg while giving up a league best 55.3 ppg. In conference games, Western averages 68.3 ppg while giving up 57.6 per game.
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Lady Bulldogs Roll Past Montana Tech
Thursday, February 1 2007
Five players scored in double figures as the University of Montana Western Lady Bulldogs downed the Montana Tech Orediggers 80-62 in a women’s Frontier Conference game from Dillon.
Western is now 7-1 in league play and 22-2 overall. The Orediggers drop to 3-5 in the conference and 15-7 overall.
Montana Tech jumped out to a 3-0 lead on their first possession. Back to back field goals by Becky O’Neil and Laura Shea gave the Lady Bulldogs a 4-3 lead. Tech scored on their next two possessions and led 7-4 at the 18:10 mark. Back to back Megan Schmitz 3-point field goals tied the game and gave Western the lead at 10-7. The two teams then traded leads over the next five minutes. Schmitz hit a jumper to give the Lady Bulldogs a 18-17 lead with 9:47 left in the first half and a lead they would never lose. The Lady Bulldogs built their lead to seven with four minutes remaining. Western led 33-30 at the halftime break.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the second half with a 10-4 run and led 43-34 after the first five minutes. Tech would trim the Western lead to six but that was as close as they would get. The Lady Bulldogs outscored Tech 47-32 in the second half as they hit 79 percent of their field goals while holding the Orediggers to a chilly 39 percent.
Megan Schmitz led Western with 17 points followed by Laura Shea and Becky O’Neil with 13 each and Katherine Sunwall and Jill Dana with ten each. Sunwall led both teams in rebounds with 11.
Rebecca Gimeno led Montana Tech with 20 points followed by Angela Gimeno with 19 and Jenessa Todd with 10.
Western travels to Carroll College on Thursday, Feb. 8 while Montana Tech plays at Rocky Mountain.
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