The University of Montana Western women’s basketball team will open the 2010-2011 season with a pair of home games this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 29 and 30.

Montana Western women’s basketball coach Cara Cocchiarella announced the signing of three Montana prep standouts and one junior.

Five Bulldog senior basketball players earned all-conference honors for the 2009-2010 season. JaRon Brown, Layne Glaus, Terry Hauser and Brandon Lawson were named to the men’s team. Kristen Luedtke was named to the women’s team.

The University of Montana Western Bulldogs host the Montana State University-Northern Lights in a Frontier Conference men’s playoff semifinal game Friday, March 5 at 7 p.m. in Montana Western’s Straugh Gymnasium.

On Feb. 19, 2010, the University of Montana Western women’s basketball team will be playing in the “Pink Zone” to help raise awareness for breast cancer as part of the nationwide Pink Zone campaign.

The Bulldog men’s and women’s basketball teams open the second half of the Frontier Conference season with home games against Rocky Mountain College and Carroll College. The women tip-off each night at 5:30 followed by the men at 7:30.

The secret to success for student athletes competing on the collegiate level is learning to juggle academics and athletics. For University of Montana Western senior basketball guard Kristen Luedtke, her juggling act is quite a bit more complicated.

This will be a busy weekend on the road for Bulldog athletic teams as they travel to Billings, Havre, Great Falls and La Grande, Ore.

Montana Western outscored Dickinson State 40-25 in the second half to post a 83-75 come-from-behind victory in the Finberg Memorial Tournament.

The Montana Western women’s basketball team makes their 2009-2010 home debut when they host Eastern Oregon on Sunday, Nov. 1.