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Lewis-Clark, the conference playoff champion, will play Biola University of California Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. The Warriors are 28-5 overall and are the No.4 seed in their bracket. Biola is the No. 5 seed.
Westminster College, the league's regular season champion, plays Lambuth of Tennessee Wednesday afternoon at 4:45. Westminster is seeded third in their bracket while Lambuth is seeded sixth.
Montana Tech, 19-9 overall, play the final game of the first round when they face Azusa Pacific Thursday evening at 8:45. The Orediggers, making their first appearance at the national tournament, are seeded seventh while Azusa is seeded second in their bracket.
Westminster opens the tournament against Evangel of Missouri on Thursday, March 18 at 1:15 p.m. The Bulldogs also play their first game on Thursday as they face Union of Tennessee at 8:45. (Times are MST)
Westminster, 26-5 overall, is making their 13th trip and their second straight to the national tournament. Last year, the Griffins advanced to the quarterfinals where they lost to Columbia 50-47.
The Bulldogs, 24-9 overall, are making their eighth trip to the national tourney and their first since 1989. That year, Montana Western pulled off the biggest upset when they knocked out Grand Canyon, the tourney's No.1 seed and the defending national champion.
Williams, a 5-foot-9 outside hitter, is an all-around athlete at Helena High. She started on the volleyball and basketball teams for four seasons and has lettered in track three years as she placed at state in javelin twice. She will participate in track this spring and could become the first male or female athlete to letter 12 times at Helena High, she says.
Williams earned second-team all-conference honors in the sport as a freshman and then was a first-team all-conference selection her final three seasons. She also earned first-team all-state honors her final two seasons. In addition, she was selected the Montana Gatorade Player of the year and the Wendy's Heisman Award winner from Helena High School this past season. Williams is the all-time kills leader at Helena High.
"We are thrilled to have Kelsey join our family," Greeny said. "She is a highly decorated athlete, not just a volleyball player, who has been granted the wonderful opportunity to have been coached by a well-respected volleyball mind, in her mother, Sheila Williams. Kelsey comes to us with a high volleyball IQ and an outstanding feel for the game. She is a solid passer, possesses a good serve, and is an adept shotmaker. We don't think Kelsey's game has reached its potential yet and are excited to get the chance to work with her every day."
Williams earned first-team all-conference in basketball during her sophomore and junior seasons and also placed eighth in the javelin during her sophomore year and fifth as a junior. Her basketball team will take part in the Montana Class AA Tournament this week in Billings. Also on the team is Kelsey's sister, sophomore Kyndal Williams.
"I chose to attend Lewis-Clark because it just had a good feel when I came on my visit," Williams said. "I also loved the coaching staff. They seemed to really get along with all the girls great and they all seemed to really love it. After practicing with the team, then talking to Jen and Burdette I knew that it was the place I wanted to go to."
Williams becomes the second player to sign with LCSC for next season. Junior College All American Nichole Graybeal of Spokane signed with LCSC and enrolled at the school for the spring semester.
"Here is another athlete like Nicole Graybeal, who is very coachable, and this quality will lend quite nicely to her development," Greeny said of Williams. "Kelsey is a winner in every sense of the word - the kind of person who makes a difference on a team, on a campus, and in a community. These are the kind of players we as coaches seek to join our program. It took some persistent coaxing to get Kelsey to visit, as her father Marvin would attest to, but once she did she felt the fit that she had desired. Our team is glad she did. We feel blessed to be able to spend our days surrounded by people like Kelsey Williams."
Williams, who has a 3.5 GPA at Helena High and is a member of the National Honor Society, said she intends to major in Education at LCSC.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - With nowhere near the amount of last minute drama that unfolded in last year's title game, the Lewis-Clark State College women's basketball team marched to its third consecutive Frontier Conference Tournament championship on Tuesday. The second-seeded Warriors, guided by 28 points from Jasmine Stohr, conquered top-seeded Westminster College 80-60.
Last year's game was decided in the final minutes of overtime, Tuesday's game was decided, for the most part, by a 16-3 run early in the second half which was spearheaded by Warrior defense and superb offense from Stohr. The Warriors never trailed in the game, and led by as many as 24 in the second half.
"It's always fun when you're cutting down nets," said LCSC head coach Brian Orr as his players trimmed the nets off the baskets after the game. "It was a great team effort and I'm just so proud of them. They deserve this."
Despite playing on the road and against a team on a nine-game winning streak, the Warriors, ranked No. 13 in the NAIA, didn't miss a beat against No. 9 Westminster. LCSC outshot the Griffins 47 to 37 percent from the field, outrebounded them 45-26, and came away with 13 steals.
Stohr reached her season-high scoring mark by hitting 11-of-18 shots from the field and 6-of-6 shots at the foul line. Three other Warriors also scored in double-digits as Alyssa Fierro had a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds, Nikki DePeel had11 points, and Kirsi Voshell had 10.
With both teams in position to receive at-large berths to nationals regardless of the outcome, the championship game had a lot more to do with bragging rights than the automatic bid that is awarded to the winner. This stands as the second straight season that the Griffins have claimed the regular season title and the Warriors have taken the tournament crown.
As announced by NAIA officials on Tuesday, Montana Tech and Westminster both received at-large berths and will join the Warriors at nationals, which will be held March 17-23 at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn. The 32-team single elimination tournament bracket will be announced on Wednesday.
The Warriors, now 28-5, will be making their 14th trip to nationals in the past 15 years.
LCSC started Tuesday's game at a torrid pace both offensively and defensively. In the first four minutes, Stohr collected four points, a steal, and three assists; and Kenna Reiter came away with two steals and five points to hand LCSC a 15-2 lead. However, the lead didn't last long as Westminster, which ranks as the top shooting team in the nation, used four treys to cut the lead to 22-20 at the eight minute mark.
The remainder of the first half featured a lot of second chance points for the Warriors and good free throw shooting by Westminster to bring the score to 39-36 at the buzzer. The Warriors had nine offensive boards in the first half and shot 44 percent from the field, while the Griffins shot only 37 percent but made 11-of-12 attempts the foul line.
Westminster, now 26-6, was led by 17 points from Keshia Catten and 12 points from Dani Evans. McKenzie Jessop, who was named conference Player of the Year on Monday, had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
"They're a great shooting team and the first half was just a battle, but our players were so determined. I credit so many people on our team. Everyone who came in contributed," said Orr.
Reiter, who left the game late in the second half with what seemed to be an ankle injury, led LCSC with eight assists and four steals, and had eight points. The extent of Reiter's injury is currently unknown.
LCSC outscored Westminster 36-22 in the paint, and had a 12-4 edge in fast break points and 14-5 advantage in second chance points. The Warriors had 19 offensive rebounds in the game
How well the Griffins shot the ball from the outside played a huge role in LCSC-Westminster matchups earlier this season. In the teams' first meeting, the Warriors held the Griffins to a 4-of-23 performance from the outside and won 56-43. In the second meeting, the Griffins made 13-of-29 and rolled 82-77. On Tuesday, perhaps the biggest surprise was that LCSC was able to get the better of the Griffins from beyond the arc. Westminster was 8-of-24 from long range, while LCSC was 8-of-16.
McKenzie Jessop of Westminster College was selected Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Taesha Higbee of Montana Tech was selected Newcomer of the Year and Nicole Yazzie of Westminster College was selected Freshman of the Year. J.D. Gustin of Westminster College was named Coach of the Year.
Westminster and Lewis-Clark State each had four selections followed by Carroll College, Montana Tech and MSU-Northern with three players, Rocky Mountain College with two players selected and Montana Western with one.
First Team
| Name | School | Year | Hometown |
| Alex Dunn | Carroll College | Jr. | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Alysha Green | Carroll College | So. | Spokane, Wash. |
| Alyssa Fierro | Lewis-Clark State College | So. | Bigfork, Mont. |
| Jasmine Stohr | Lewis-Clark State College | So. | Yakima, Wash. |
| Zivile Gaizutyte | MSU-Northern | Jr. | Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Samm Schermele | MSU-Northern | Jr. | Great Falls, Mont. |
| Jessie DePell | Montana Tech | Sr. | Spokane, Wash. |
| Taesha Higbee | Montana Tech | Jr. | Taylorsville, Utah |
| Molly Schenderline | Rocky Mountain College | Sr. | Lodge Grass, Mont. |
| Keshia Catten | Westminster College | Sr. | Murray, Utah |
| McKenzie Jessop | Westminster College | Sr. | Murray, Utah |
| Nicole Yazzie | Westminster College | Fr. | Taylorsville, Utah |
Second Team
| Name | School | Year | Hometown |
| Elly Buursema | Carroll College | Sr. | Reed Point, Mont. |
| Kenna Reiter | Lewis-Clark State College | Jr. | Central Point, Ore. |
| Kirsi Voshell | Lewis-Clark State College | So. | Pullman, Wash. |
| Taylor Keller | MSU-Northern | Jr. | Custer, Mont. |
| Jenessa Todd | Montana Tech | Sr. | Denton, Mont. |
| Kristen Luedtke | Montana Western | Sr. | Butte, Mont. |
| Adrienne Green | Rocky Mountain College | Jr. | Reed Point, Mont. |
| Allie Eastman | Westminster College | Fr. | Woodruff, Utah |
SALT LAKE CITY - The Westminster men's basketball team won its second consecutive Frontier Conference Tournament championship thanks to a 76-68 win over No. 22 Montana Western (24-9) on Monday night in the Behnken Field House. No. 4 Westminster (26-5) picks up a 13th straight victory and claims an automatic invite to the 2010 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship.
"This was a great game," head coach Tommy Connor said. "They are a very good team that is hard to guard and we gave a great effort."
The first half was played fairly even with neither team opening up more than a five point lead through the first 17 minutes. Montana Western had a mini 5-0 run late in the half and led 30-22 at the 1:18 mark. When Tanner Gregory hit a 15-footer as time expired to end the half, Westminster trailed 30-24 entering the intermission.
The second half was more of the same as there were four ties and five lead changes in the final 20 minutes. The Griffins used a 13-5 run midway through the half to turn a seven point deficit into a one point lead with 7:19 remaining. Western briefly took the lead on its next possession only to see Westminster go on a 10-3 run and put the game away. Westminster went 8-of-9 at the foul line down the stretch to secure the championship.
"We got it going there for a five minute stretch in the second half," said Connor.
The six point halftime deficit and eight point overall deficit were the biggest Westminster had come back from in a game this season. This was just the third time the Griffins have even trailed at halftime this season and the second time they have rallied to win.
Westminster finished the game shooting 47.3% from the field after going just 9-of-26 (34.6%) in the first stanza. The Griffins took advantage of 12 offensive rebounds to score 18 second chance points while scoring 32 points in the paint. They only had 10 turnovers while dishing out 14 assists.
On the defensive end the Griffins held Western to 47.1% shooting and forced 16 turnovers. Westminster picked up 12 steals and had 25 points off turnovers and seven fast break points. Three of those fast break points came on a Blair Prowse three from the left wing to put Westminster up eight with 3:07 to play.
Ben Walker came up with a game-high 25 points with 18 coming after the break. Walker scored 78 points during the three games of the tournament to lead all scorers. Tonight he added six rebounds and three blocked shots and was a perfect 9-of-9 at the foul line.
Conner Nielsen and Michael Stockton each had 10 points. Stockton added four assists and three steals while shooting 3-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 at the charity stripe. Weston Anderson finished with nine points, five rebounds, and four assists. Jeramie Hopson added eight points and seven rebounds, including four offensive boards. One of his offensive boards came on a tip-in with 5:25 to play that put the Griffins ahead for the final time.
"Jeramie had the big tip-in and Conner hit a big shot for us," Connor said of his seniors. "We had guys that they dared to shoot step up and make shots."
Brandon Brown led five Western players in double figures with 13 points. Brandon Lawson and Terry Hauser each scored 11 with Garret Fink and JaRon Brown finishing with 10 apiece. The Bulldogs went 9-of-22 from beyond the arc and grabbed 31 rebounds.
"I am really happy for this group of guys," Connor said of the team. "We started the year 3-4 and have now won 23-of-24 which is a great effort by this team."
Westminster now waits to see who they will face in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament. The bracket will be announced on Wednesday, March 10 at 2 p.m. MT and will be broadcast live on collegefanz.com. The tournament begins on Wednesday, March 17 with half of the opening round games. The remaining opening round games will be played on Thursday, March 18. All 31 games of the tournament will be played at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Complete release in pdf format
This
Week
The Westminster women's basketball team will host
No. 13 Lewis-Clark State in the Frontier Conference Tournament championship
game on Tuesday, March 9. No. 9
Westminster plays host to LC State in the championship game for the second
consecutive season. The Warriors
defeated the Griffins 79-78 in overtime in last season's game. Tuesday's game will tipoff at 7 p.m. in the
Behnken Field House.
Westminster enters the game at 26-5 overall and winners of nine straight games. The Griffins are ranked No. 9 in the final NAIA coaches' top 25 poll that was released on March 2. Lewis-Clark State is 27-5 overall and ranked 13th in the poll.
Westminster advanced to the championship game with home wins over Great Falls 75-54 in the opening round and an 89-85 overtime win against Carroll in the semi-finals. LC State defeated Montana Western in the opening round 69-39 and then knocked off Montana Tech 89-75 in the semi-finals.
The Griffins are second in the tournament in scoring at 79 points per game while shooting 47.8% from the floor. Westminster leads the nation in field goal percentage at 49.1% and three point percentage at 40.9% for the entire season. They also rank third nationally with 285 makes from beyond the arc and are fourth in assists at 17.9 per game.
McKenzie Jessop leads the team in scoring and ranks fourth in the conference at 14.1 points per game. She also leads the conference in field goal percentage at 56.1% and steals at 3.2 per game while ranking second from the foul line at 83.6%.
Dani Evans leads the tournament in scoring at 22 points per game. Evans has scored 22 points in each game to set a a new career high. She made four triples against Great Falls and then went 8-of-10 at the foul line against Carroll. She also matched a career high with 11 rebounds against UGF.
Against
Lewis-Clark State
Westminster and Lewis-Clark State split two
games during the regular season with each winning on its home floor. LC State handed the Griffins a 56-43 loss in
Lewiston on January 30. Westminster
escaped with an 82-77 win in Salt Lake City on February 27. Westminster is just 6-20 all-time against LC
State, but they have won four of the last six meetings.
Live
Media
There will be Live Stats and Live Video of the game
on Tuesday. The Live Video feed is $3 and features just video, NO audio. Live
Stats are available at no charge. Fans can access these features by visiting
westminstergriffins.com.
2010
Division I Women's Basketball National Championship
The 32-team field for 2010 Division I Women's
Basketball National Championship will be released live by College Fanz on
Wednesday, March 10 at 3 p.m. MT on collegefanz.com. The tournament gets underway on Wednesday,
March 17 with eight of the 16 opening round games. The second set of opening round games are
scheduled for Thursday, March 18. The
action continues through the championship game on Tuesday, March 23. All games will be played in Oman Arena in Jackson,
Tennessee.
Andy Garland of Carroll College was selected Player of the Year, Dean Colbray of Montana Tech was selected Newcomer of the Year, Andrew Sellars of Montana State-Northern was selected as the league's Defensive Player of the Year and Casey Rogers of Carroll College was selected as Freshman of the Year. Tommy Connor of Westminster College was named Coach of the Year.
Montana Western and MSU-Northern led the all-conference team with four selections each followed by Lewis-Clark State, Rocky Mountain College and Westminster College with three; Carroll College and the University of Great Falls with two and Montana Tech with one.
First Team
| Name | School | Year | Hometown |
| Andy Garland | Carroll College | So. | Missoula, Mont. |
| Chris Medina | Carroll College | Sr. | Ogden, Utah |
| Justin Dennis | MSU-Northern | Sr. | Toronto, Ontario |
| Andrew Sellars | MSU-Northern | Sr. | Browning, Mont. |
| Eric Tisby | MSU-Northern | Jr. | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Dean Colbray | Montana Tech | Sr. | Pasco, Wash. |
| JaRon Brown | Montana Western | Sr. | Federal Way, Wash. |
| Anthony Allen | Rocky Mountain College | Sr. | Fresno, Calif. |
| Nate Richardson | Rocky Mountain College | Sr. | Montclair, Calif. |
| Weston Anderson | Westminster College | Sr. | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Blair Prowse | Westminster College | Sr. | South Jordan, Utah |
| Ben Walker | Westminster College | Jr. | Lehi, Utah |
Second Team
| Name | School | Year | Hometown |
| Tanner Mcintosh | Lewis-Clark State College | Sr. | Imbler, Ore. |
| Markus Monroe | Lewis-Clark State College | Jr. | Monrovia, Calif. |
| Daniel Williams | Lewis-Clark State College | Sr. | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Walynn Burgess | MSU-Northern | Sr. | Genola, Utah |
| Layne Glaus | Montana Western | Sr. | Whitehall, Mont. |
| Terry Hauser | Montana Western | Sr. | Three Forks, Mont. |
| Brandon Lawson | Montana Western | Sr. | Chicago, Ill. |
| E.J. Ross | Rocky Mountain College | Jr. | Washington D.C. |
| Kevin Harris | University of Great Falls | So. | Houston, Texas |
| L.J. Jones | University of Great Falls | So. | Anaheim, Calif. |
Complete release in pdf format
This
Week
The Westminster men's basketball team will host No.
22 Montana Western in the Frontier Conference Tournament championship game on
Monday, March 8. No. 4 Westminster is
playing the title game at home for the second straight year. The game will tipoff at 7 p.m. in the Behnken
Field House.
Westminster enters the game at 25-5 overall and winners of 12 straight games. The Griffins are ranked No. 4 in the final NAIA coaches' top 25 poll that was released on March 2. Montana Western is 24-8 and ranked 22nd in the coaches' poll.
Westminster advanced to the championship game with home wins over Great Falls 78-55 in the opening round and an 80-68 win against Rocky Mountain in the semi-finals. Montana Western defeated Montana Tech in the opening round 84-65 and then knocked off Montana State-Northern 60-59 in the semi-finals.
The Griffins are leading the tournament in scoring at 79 points per game while shooting a tournament-best 55.6% from the floor. During the season they are fourth nationally in field goal percentage at 49.5%. On the defensive end Westminster holds opponents to just 61.1 points per game and 40.2% shooting. They rank second in scoring defense and 12th in opponent field goal percentage nationally.
Ben Walker now leads the Griffins in scoring at 15.1 points per game. Walker is averaging 26.5 per game during the tournament to lead everyone. After setting a career high with 25 points against UGF, Walker reset his career best with 28 against Rocky. He is shooting 81.5% from the field during the tournament and is third nationally at 66.5% during the season.
Blair Prowse is second on the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game and leads all Griffins with 83 makes from beyond the arc. Weston Anderson averages 12.7 points per game and has a team-high 112 assists. Jeramie Hopson is coming off a 15 points and nine assist game in the semi-finals and leads the tournament in assists with 15.
Against
Montana Western
Westminster and Montana Western split two games
during the regular season with each winning on its home floor. Montana Western defeated the Griffins 82-76
on January 16 in Dillon. That was the
last loss for a Westminster team that has won 12 consecutive games including a
95-77 defeat of Western on February 11 in Salt Lake City. The Griffins are 20-4 all-time against
Western although the Bulldogs have won two of the last three meetings.
Live
Media
There will be Live Stats and Live Video of the game
on Monday. The Live Video feed is $5 and features just video, NO audio. Live
Stats are available at no charge. Fans can access these features by visiting
westminstergriffins.com.
2010
Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship
The 32-team field for the 2010 Buffalo Funds-NAIA
Division I Men's Basketball National Championship will be released live by
College Fanz on Wednesday, March 10 at 3 p.m. MT on collegefanz.com. The tournament gets underway on Wednesday,
March 17 with eight of the 16 opening round games. The second set of opening round games are
scheduled for Thursday, March 18. The
action continues through the championship game on Tuesday, March 23. All games will be played in Municipal
Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.
LEWISTON, Idaho - After going 0-2 against Montana Tech during the regular season, the Lewis-Clark State College women's basketball team needed a special effort to overcome the Orediggers on Saturday night in the semifinal round of the Frontier Conference tournament. The special effort came on the offensive end of the floor for the Warriors as they pushed and passed their way through and around a good defensive team in Montana Tech to earn a definitive 89-75 win.
Led by 26 points from Jasmine Stohr and 20 points from Kirsi Voshell, Lewis-Clark State shot the ball well from inside and out but was particularly effective at the free throw line. The Warriors made a season-high 38 of their 43 attempts at the foul line with Stohr hitting 14-of-15, Voshell going 8-of-8, and Kenna Reiter going 4-of-4.
The Warriors used superb shooting to outscore Tech 23-8 over the last eight and a half minutes of the first half and held a 49-34 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Orediggers used a 61.9 percent shooting clip to cut the lead to six with six minutes to go, but the Warriors responded with four steals and multiple forced turnovers to secure the lead.
The win means the Warriors, now 27-5, will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, next Tuesday and contend for their third-straight conference tournament title. Standing in their way is Westminster College which took the regular season title and boasts an overall record of 26-5. The Griffins advanced to the title game by narrowly defeating Carroll College 89-85 in overtime on Saturday. Tuesday's tipoff will be at 6 p.m., Pacific.
The Warriors, ranked No. 13 in the NAIA, are 1-1 against the No. 9 Griffins this year and will look to pull off the same trick they did last season. In 2008-09, the Warriors lost the regular season title to the Griffins, but then bested them on the road 79-78 in overtime to take the tournament title.
Because of their rankings, both the Warriors and Griffins are in position to receive at-large berths to the national tournament regardless of Tuesday's outcome. Montana Tech, now 19-9 and ranked just outside of the NAIA's top 25, also has a shot at receiving one of the at-large bids.
Despite both teams playing smothering up-tempo defense, the LCSC-Tech square off ended up being quite an offensive highlight reel.
The Orediggers outshot LCSC 51.1 to 45.1 percent from the floor, but the Warriors owned the inside and outscored Tech 30-18 in the paint. The Warriors' also did a better job of using their defensive pressure as an offensive weapon as they outscored their opponent 30-18 in points off of turnovers.
Stohr and Reiter came up with three steals apiece, while Alyssa Fierro had 16 points, a game-high nine rebounds, and two steals. Stohr's 14 free throws rank as the third most made in a game in Warrior history.
Montana Tech, which committed 17 turnovers to the Warriors' 10, had four players score in double digits. Jenessa Todd had 19 points and six rebounds, Dannii Devenny had 16 points, Jessie Depell had 14, and Brooke Porkorny had 10.
Todd was 7-of-8 from the floor, while Depell finished 9-of-10 at the foul line.
Madison Mendezona led the Warriors with seven assists, which ties the team's season high. LCSC had 15 assists in the game, and Tech had 18.
Oddly enough, Saturday was the first conference game all season that the Warriors, ranked sixth in the nation in blocks, did not record a blocked shot.
SALT LAKE CITY - The Westminster women's basketball team needed an extra five minutes for the first time this season to defeat Carroll College 89-85 in the semi-finals of the Frontier Conference Tournament on Saturday night. This is the third win this season over Carroll (17-14) for the ninth-ranked Griffins (26-5) and the ninth straight win overall.
Westminster opened the game scoring the first 10 points of the contest and appeared to be on the verge of another home blowout as they pushed the advantage to 15 with 7:15 remaining in the opening half. At that point Carroll looked like they were determined not to let this be the last game of the season as they went on a 20-10 run to end the half trailing just 39-34.
"They didn't want their season to end," head coach JD Gustin said of the rally by Carroll. "I give them a lot of credit for how they played tonight."
The second opened with the visitors from Helena using a 16-9 run to take the lead at 50-48 with 12:55 to play in regulation. Carroll remained hot from the field and when Sara Meyer made two free throws with 6:53 to play, Carroll held its biggest lead of the night at 68-60.
From that point on McKenzie Jessop either scored or assisted on five of the final six baskets for the Griffins. During that stretch Westminster got big three-pointers from the right corner by Keshia Catten and then the left corner from Nicole Yazzie.
After Jessop went 1-of-2 at the foul line with 7.8 seconds left, Alex Dunn hit a runner in the lane to tie the game at 77 with 1.2 seconds left that forced overtime.
Leading by three with 2:16 left in overtime, Yazzie buried a three from 32-feet as the shot clock expired to put Westminster up by six. On the next Carroll possession, Dunn hit a three from the corner and keep her team within three at the 1:55 mark. After the teams traded baskets and Jessop went split two free throws, Dunn made another basket in the lane to trim the deficit to 87-85 with 11.3 seconds remaining. Keshia Catten then hit two free throws and Heather Andersen recorded a steal for the Griffins to seal the win.
"These kids have a ton of heart," Gustin said of his team. "They didn't want to lose and we knew if we could do a better job on the boards we would have a better chance."
Westminster finished the night shooting 50.9% from the field and was a blistering 60.9% in the opening 20 minutes. The Griffins made eight triples and were 25-of-31 at the foul line. The team finished with 23 assists on 28 field goals and committed just four of the 15 total turnovers after halftime.
Evans led four players in double figures with 22 points, matching her career high she set on Tuesday against Great Falls. She went 7-of-8 from the field, all in the paint, and was 8-of-10 at the charity stripe.
"Dani has had to elevate her game since Allie (Eastman) went out," Gustin commented of his junior guard. "She is a competitor that doesn't like to lose and that showed tonight."
Jessop finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. The eight assists are a career best and were tied for tops in the game with Yazzie. Although she didn't shoot it well, Yazzie added 13 points and six rebounds with those eight assists. Keshia Catten recorded 18 points and heather Andersen had eight points playing a career high 27 minutes.
"Yazzie had an off game tonight, but she can't be an MVP candidate every night," Gustin said. "Game like this will give her experience which right now is huge."
Carroll shot 42.2% in the game, but was 54.5% in the second half. They also dominated the boards 41-30 and turned 16 offensive rebounds into 14 points. Dun led all scorers with 27 points while collecting four rebounds and three assists. Meyer added 19 points off the bench and helping Carroll to a 35-10 advantage in bench scoring. Alysha Green had 17.
The win means Westminster will host 13th-ranked Lewis-Clark State in the championship game on Tuesday, March 9. The rematch of last season's title game will begin at 7 p.m. in the Behnken Field House. LC State advanced by defeating Montana Tech tonight. Westminster split two meeting with LC State this season, each winning at home.
The game appeared to more of a yawner in the first six minutes as the Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-0 lead. Northern scored their first points on a Devin Jackson 3-point basket at the 13:56 mark of the first half. A Garrett Fink three-pointer started and ended a 15-3 Bulldog run and Montana Western led 26-6 with 6:40 left in the half.
The Montana State-Northern offense finally thawed out and the Light went on an 18-5 run to cut the Bulldog lead to seven, 31-24 at the break.
Northern opened the second half outscoring the Bulldogs 14-6 and took their first lead of the game 38-37 on a Justin Dennis 3-p0int field goal at the 14:24 mark. The teams exchanged baskets and the lead over the next three possessions.
The Bulldogs maintained a slim lead over the next 10 minutes until a Devin Jackson field goal gave the Lights a 57-56 lead with 2:45 left to play in the game. A Brandon Brown jumper gave the Bulldogs back the lead on their next possession.
After a Northern timeout, the Lights grabbed back the lead on a Clay Greenwood basket after a Bulldog turnover. On the Bulldogs' very next possession, Greenwood fouled Layne Glaus. Glaus went to the free throw line with 51 seconds remaining and made both free throws to give the Bulldogs the winning margin.
The Lights turned the ball over on their next possession on a Brandon Brown steal. Brown was called for an offensive foul that gave the ball back to the Lights with five seconds remaining. The Bulldogs Garrett Fink swatted the first shot away and the second fell short as the clock ran out.
Brandon Brown led the Bulldogs in scoring with 16 points followed by Fink with 14 points and JaRon Brown with 10 points. Fink also pulled down 10 rebounds and was perfect in three-point shooting going 4 for 4. The Bulldog bench outscored the Northern bench 20-7.
The Lights were led in scoring and rebounding by Walynn Burgess with 12 points and nine rebounds. Andrew Sellars followed with 11 points and Greenland and Dennis with 10 each.
The Bulldogs improve to 24-8 on the season while MSU-Northern ends their season with a 22-10 record.
Montana Western will play Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah for the conference playoff championship on Monday, March 9, 2010.
Box Score
SALT LAKE CITY - The Westminster men's basketball team defeated the defending NAIA national champions Rocky Mountain College 80-68 on Friday night to advance to the Frontier Conference Tournament championship game. This is the 12th consecutive victory for the fourth-ranked Griffins and their 22nd win in the last 23 games.
"We knew they were going to play that defense against us," said head coach Tommy Connor. "I thought our attack was good, but it slowed the game down a bit."
Tonight's game was close through much of the first half and featured 16 lead changes in the first 14 minutes of action. Then trailing 24-22 at the 6:37 mark of the first half, Westminster finished the period on a 15-2 run and never looked back. Westminster carried a 37-26 lead into the intermission and pushed the advantage to 21 with 12 minutes to play in the game behind a 15-3 run.
"We got some turnovers late in the first half that led to some baskets," Connor said of the late first half run. "They are a good team and we needed that run to get on a little roll."
The Griffins shot 60.8% from the field in the game and scored 42 points in the paint. They overcame 2-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc by collecting nine offensive rebounds and posting 14 second chance points. The Griffins also took care of the basketball with only six turnovers while recording 25 assists and 31 made field goals.
"To get 25 assists on 31 field goals in pretty phenomenal," Connor said. "We have been doing that all year so it's just another good performance by our guys."
Ben Walker scored a career high 28 points to lead all scorers in the game. He shot 11-of-13 from the field while collecting six rebounds and making 6-of-7 free throw attempts. Jeramie Hopson matched his season high with 15 points while distributing a career best nine assists. Weston Anderson and Conner Nielsen finished with 10 points apiece.
"In the second half we dumped the ball into Walker and he just dominated," Connor commented about his junior forward.
The Westminster bench added nine points from Michael Stockton and eight more from Tanner Gregory. Stockton scored all nine of his points in the second half and added four assists. Gregory got his eight points in the first 20 minutes, three times hitting on 15-foot jumpers. The Griffins reserves outscored the Rocky bench 17-10 in the game.
EJ Ross led Rocky with 23 points behind 7-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Anthony Allen added 18 points and 10 rebounds. Rocky shot 54.3% from the field as a team while making 10 three-pointers.
"Although they shot a good percentage, I though we kept them out of rhythm and that was our goal defensively," Connor said.
Westminster will now host the championship game for the second consecutive season. This year they will face Montana Western after they escaped a 60-59 affair with Montana State-Northern on Friday night. The top two seeds from the regular season will tipoff at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 8 in the Behnken Field House.
"We are excited to get to play on Monday and get our students back," Connor stated of the championship game. "The game is going to be tough and we are going to have to be ready. It will be a good game."
The game will be broadcast live in southwest Montana on KDBM radio. Live stats of the game will be available via DakStats and a live webcast will be available through Penn Atlantic.
The No. 2 seeded Bulldogs advanced to the semifinal round after defeating Montana Tech 84-65 in the first round of the playoffs. Brandon Brown led the Bulldogs with 20 points. The win improved the Bulldogs' record to 23-8, setting a new single-season record for wins at Montana Western.
The No. 3 seeded Lights advanced with a 78-71 victory over Lewis-Clark State. The Lights won both regular season games against Montana Western, 69-59 in Havre and 79-76 in overtime in Dillon.
"They beat us both times," Bulldog coach Steve Keller said. "That will be our motivation."
The Bulldogs feature a balanced scoring attack led by JaRon Brown with 16 points per game (ppg), Terry Hauser with 12 ppg, and Brandon Lawson and Layne Glaus with 11 ppg. Brown and Garrett Fink lead the team in rebounding with seven rebounds per game followed by Lawson with five.
Andrew Sellars leads the Lights in scoring with 14 ppg followed by Justin Dennis with 13 ppg and Eric Tisby with 11 ppg. In their overtime win against the Bulldogs, Dennis led Northern with 26 points, shooting six of seven from three-point range. Tisby leads the Frontier Conference in steals with two per game.
The game will pit the league's best scoring team, Montana Western, against the league's best defensive team, MSU-Northern. The winner will advance to the Frontier Conference championship against the winner of top-seeded Westminster and No. 4 seeded Rocky Mountain College. The championship game will be Monday, March 8 on the home court of the highest remaining seed.
A good-sized, well-voiced Oredigger crowd cheered Montana Tech to the win in the HPER Complex. The Orediggers will play in the semifinals on Saturday at second-seeded Lewis-Clark State, which whipped Montana Western Wednesday.
The Orediggers trailed just just twice, and were tied with the Bears only once, too. Both times, the occurrence was early. A jumper from inside the key by DePell pulled Montana Tech even at 2-all with the Bears after Molly Schenderline had given Rocky Mountain the early lead with a baseline jumper.
Adrienne Green scored from inside for a 4-2 Bear edge before DePell drained a 3-point field goal and senior teammate Jenessa Todd followed with one of her own. The back-to-back treys shot the Orediggers ahead 8-4. The lead was for good.
Rocky Mountain opened with a zone defense against the Orediggers and the home team responded by shooting over it with four 3-pointers in the firxt eight minutes of the contest. The 6-1 Todd netted three of them. Thusly, the Orediggers built a 22-10 lead.
Rocky Mountain challenged through the first half with Schenderline stringing free throws, and Butte freshman Kalli McCloskey sparking a mini-rally later. Still, the Montana Tech halftime lead was 37-28 as different players continued to step and contribute.
Schenderline found her range for four second-half 3-point baskets and two of them came in the Bears' most serious rally. They closedfrom a 44-30 deficit to within 44-40 as Schenderline buried her first two treys. Jessie DePell blunted the comeback with a basket from the key. Rocky Mountain then frittered away an opportunity by missing three of four free throws.
The Orediggers used the chance then to make their getaway and did with a 7-0 run. Todd caneed a pair of buckets in the surge that had Montana Tech ahead 53-41 with 13 minutes, 20 seconds left in the game. The Orediggers maintained similar distance most of the rest of the way.
Wilson finished with nine points and Tomlison with eight. Also, Erika Jenkins hooped a quick five points in a good spell of relief, Toone wound up with four, and true freshmen Dannii Devenny and Brooke Pokorny with two apiece. Brianne McClafferty saw time, too.
Schenderline, a former Lodge Grass star, finished with 25 points to lead the Bears. The 6-foot-3 Green tallied 19, including going 8-for-9 from the field. McCloskey had eight points.
Story courtesy of Montana Standard
Carroll's win, the only first-round upset in both the women's and men's brackets, sends them to the semifinals for the sixth time in seven years to face top-seeded Westminster on the road on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The fifth-seeded Saints (18-13) trailed by as much as four in the final minute when Northern junior forward Zivile Gaizutyte, who had game-highs of 14 points and 14 rebounds, hit a pair of free throws to make it 57-53 with 59 seconds remaining.
The fourth-seeded Skylights (16-16) then allowed a quick runner the other way to sophomore Carroll guard Alysha Green and turned the ball over twice to the Saints' full-court press during a game-stealing 5-0 run.
Northern had just one timeout remaining after burning four while struggling with the Carroll's traps in the previous minutes.
Dunn and sophomore guard Jill Jagelski first jostled the ball away from Northern guard Taylor Keller, forcing her to step back across the halfcourt line to control it and drawing an over-and-back violation.
Dunn then hit a tough jumper off a scramble on the other end to knot the count, trapped Skylights senior point guard Awilda Hernandez in the corner off the following inbounds pass and ripped the ball away before being fouled on a runout layup attempt.
Dunn calmly hit the first go-ahead free throw before missing the second, completing a shaky night at the line for Carroll, to give Northern a good final look with 17 seconds left in the game. Carroll was just 11-for-18 on free throws in the game, while Northern went 17-for-23.
A contested entry pass slipped between Gaizutyte's hands in the final seconds, though, and the Saints bounced into celebration with the loose ball.
Carroll did not score in the game's opening six-and-a-half minutes before a front-end free throw from Dunn and a quick 3-pointer by Green off her following miss gave the Saints a short-lived 4-3 lead. Carroll led only briefly once more in the first half before the final seconds.
Northern held a 20-17 advantage at halftime after a sloppy defensive battle saw the teams combine for 28 turnovers before the break. The Saints shot just 26 percent from the field in the opening half before switching to the four-guard lineup in the second half, where they shot 54 percent.
Junior guard Samm Schermele tied Gaizutyte with 14 points to lead the Skylights, but fouled out with just under two minutes remaining while halting a runout after another clutch steal from Dunn.
Dunn led Carroll with 12 points, 10 coming after the break, along with her two important steals. Senior post Sara Meyer also added 12 points, with 10 of her own coming after the break when she terrorized Northern inside as the only Carroll post on the floor. Green and freshman guard Kelsi Brekke, who manned the high post at just 5-foot-8 in the second half, added 10 apiece, including a pair of 3-pointers each.
Story courtesy of Helena Independent Record
LEWISTON, Idaho - A double-double of 16 points and 20 rebounds from sophomore Kirsi Voshell helped the Lewis-Clark State College women's basketball team breeze by the University of Montana Western 69-39 in the opening round of the Frontier Conference playoffs on Wednesday night. LCSC forced 22 turnovers in the game.
Pursuing a third straight conference tournament title, the Warriors put themselves in the driver's seat early on against Western via a 10-0 run. LCSC's defense, which collected 10 steals and six blocks on the night, held the Bulldogs scoreless until the 14:04 mark.
After leading 41-27 at halftime, the Warriors' shooting percentage tapered off a little in the second half but their defense helped them push to game-high lead of 33 with about three minutes left in regulation.
Voshell, who has averaged 7.4 rebounds per game, gathered 10 rebounds in both halves to blow away her old career high of 14 rebounds set earlier this year. Her 20 boards stands tied for third for most rebounds in a game in Warrior history. The record of 26 is held by Carol Wilson and Kelly Byrne who both reached the mark during the 1975-76 season.
Besides Voshell, Alyssa Fierro also had a big night for the Warriors and just missed a double-double as she scored 16 points and had nine rebounds. Fierro also had three blocks.
Second-seeded LCSC will now host No. 3 seed Montana Tech in the semifinals on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tech advanced past the first round by defeating Rocky Mountain 68-52 on Wednesday. The Warriors are 0-2 against the Orediggers this season as they fell to them 69-61 on the road and then 70-66 at home. Tickets for the game, as set by the Frontier Conference, are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.
Though the Warriors shot only 37.1 percent against the Bulldogs they were benefited by a season high 70 field goal attempts.
Strong defense caused problems for the visiting Bulldogs up and down the floor and resulted into a lot of opportunities for the Warriors. LCSC scored 22 points off of Western turnovers and also outscored its opponent 16-4 in second chance points. Voshell had eight offensive rebounds.
Lewis-Clark State College, ranked No. 13 in the NAIA and now 26-5, used its size advantage down low to outscore the Bulldogs 34-22 in the paint and outrebound them 47-42.
Tasha Bishop was the only other Warriors to score in double digits as she came off the bench for 10 points on 2-of-6 shooting from 3-point territory. Madison Mendezona led the team with five assists, while Nikki DePeel had an all-around good game with nine points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Montana Western, which ends its season at 8-20, was led by Dana Stephanie who had nine points and six rebounds. She scored seven of those points at the foul line.
The Bulldogs shot only 24.5 percent in the game.
The Bulldogs move to No. 22 in the final regular season poll. Westminster College remains ranked No. 4 for the second straight week.
Montana State-Northern dropped out of the Top 25. The Lights received only nine votes in the latest poll.
Westminster moved from No. 11 to No. 9 in the final regular season poll. The Griffins clinched the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs with a thrilling victory over second place Lewis-Clark.
The Warriors dropped from No. 12 to No. 13 in the poll. Montana Tech moved up a bit but did not receive enough votes to move into the Top 25. The Orediggers are ranked at No. 27.
Rocky is ranked No. 15, up two positions from the preseason poll. Lewis-Clark also moved up in rankings, moving up to No. 23 from No. 24.
Carroll College received votes, but not enough to move into the Top 25.