Prevost family legacy lives on within Yellowjacket women’s basketball

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, January 26, 2016 Prevost family legacy lives on within Yellowjacket women’s basketball

Thirty years after her distant cousin Deb Prevost wrapped up a Hall of Fame career as a Yellowjacket, sophomore guard Lexi Prevost carries on her family’s legacy through MSUB hoops.

MSUB SPORTS – Each time sophomore guard Lexi Prevost suits up and takes to the court in Alterowitz Gymnasium, she carries on a legacy at Montana State University Billings representing the type of basketball player that her hometown of Sidney, Mont., yields.

Prevost prides herself not on a single aspect of her game, but rather on her will to contribute in whatever way her team needs her most. Some games, that involves providing quality minutes at the point guard position. Others, it is her stubborn defense and tireless effort working against opponents that her team needs most.

With the Yellowjackets in first place through the first half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule with a record of 9-1, the team has played too well for there to be any evidence of a drop-off between starters and key role players like Prevost.

While she has yet to lead the team in scoring or have a break-out shooting performance in a single game, the style of play Prevost has brought to the team in her second full season is one that evokes memory of one of the Yellowjackets’ all-time greats.

Deb Prevost was inducted into the MSUB Hall of Fame and Distinction a year before Lexi was born, and is quick to recall the adjustment she had to make from playing just one year of high-school basketball in Sidney to competing in college.

“The hardest part was to balance everything, because you had to worry about school work and the demands of basketball,” said Deb. “I don’t think there was as big of a jump (to college) when I played as there is now, and I felt I was able to make the transition well.”

The numbers Deb recorded from 1975-78 support her claim of a smooth transition, as she stands today as the fifthleading scorer in MSUB/Eastern Montana College history with 1,540 points. “Deb was a great player and I look up to her a lot because of how well she did here,” said Lexi. “She set a standard for all of the other players to come at MSUB.” Soon after becoming just the third women’s basketball player inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994, Deb lent a hand towards developing one of the players for her alma mater’s next generation. Spending time doing individual skill work with her distant cousin, Deb saw the prospects of playing college basketball within Lexi as a younger player.

“One thing I liked about her was she was a sponge, and she was willing to listen and learn,” Deb recalled. “She was also very athletic and had a lot of good speed for a high-school player. I knew that if she worked hard, she would become a good player.”

Lexi and Deb each credit the former’s attention to detail and persistence in learning the game to her mother, Leigh Merritt, who better remembers what led to the connection of the two relatives. “Lexi’s great grandfather and Deb’s grandfather were brothers, and were two of the three Prevost brothers who came from Quebec and settled in Lambert, Montana,” Merritt explained, simultaneously providing an explanation of the silent ‘T’ in the last name stemming from its roots in a French Canadian territory. “Deb took the time to work with Lexi during the summer on some basketball skills, and it’s nice to see that family connection.”

While Deb had an impact on Lexi developing into a collegiate player, it was Merritt who she worked more closely with as a high-school coach in Sidney. “I coached Lexi’s mom and aunt at Sidney so I have more memories of them, but I have always admired Lexi and we have had a good relationship,” Deb said. “The will to win was very strong in Lexi’s mom, and her willingness to work hard has definitely translated over to Lexi. It runs in the family.”

Now wearing No. 21 for the ‘Jackets – just as Deb did three decades ago – Lexi cites her confidence on the court as being most important when facing the tough competition in the GNAC. With her next appearance, Lexi will already match her 18 games played as a freshman a season ago, as she has progressed into a more integral player within MSUB’s lineup this season. “It is nice to see that I am improving, but I still have a lot to work on so I just want to keep working hard,” said Lexi. “The three captains have been really Deb Prevost (left) wearing No. 21 three decades before her cousin Lexi (right) inherited the number for the 'Jackets.

helpful, especially with Monica (Grimsrud) stepping her game up and improving a ton this year. Alisha (Breen) is my roommate and we have a good connection, and having Janiel (Olson) back brings us a lot of experience.”

At the center of it all is Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin, who, thanks to his career as a high-school coach, familiarized himself with the Prevost name long before Lexi became proficient at dribbling a basketball. “I met Deb through summer coaching early on after I got to Montana,” Woodin commented. “She would bring her Sidney team to our tournaments at West High in the summer and we crossed paths a lot outside of the season.”

Woodin wasn’t initially aware he was collaborating with one of MSUB’s legendary athletes, but as he became more familiar with the university he began to understand the significance of Deb’s career as a Yellowjacket. “I remember seeing her name around the gym and in the record books so I put together that she had been a pretty good player,” Woodin said. “She is a well-respected coach in Montana and had a lot to offer Lexi growing up from a player standpoint as well as the mental side of the game.”

When Lexi made her decision to attend MSUB and Deb learned she would be playing for Woodin, she knew right away that Lexi’s growth at a player had only just begun. “I have always respected Kevin as a coach, and he does a great job of bringing out the potential in players,” said Deb. “I felt like Lexi was going to a place that was going to help her develop her skills not only on the court, but as a person too.”

These days, Deb works as a grief recovery specialist and though she Woodin and Prevost during a home game this season. has removed herself from active participation in the basketball community, she makes sure to keep tabs on all of her former players including Lexi. “I definitely still watch the papers and see how the Yellowjackets are doing,” Deb said.

She doesn’t get to as many games as she used to, but Deb doesn’t need to be an everyday fan to recognize the vast strides her sport has taken since her days pioneering the Title IX movement as a brave, young, female athlete. “To watch the game grow and become its own identity at each level has been fun to see,” Deb said. “Back when I played, we didn’t have leagues separated like they are now, and the improvement in general has been great.”

Merritt is still a regular at Alterowitz Gym to watch her daughter compete, and when she can’t make the four-hour drive from the northeast corner of the Big Sky State she tunes into the live broadcasts of the games on MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal.

Whether she absorbs the cheers and in-game dialogue from the court-side perspective of one of Alterowitz Gym’s blue seats, or from the comfort of her home, Merritt recognizes that her daughter’s career – as a player and student at MSUB – has been in good hands along the way.

For Lexi, in a journey that is still in its opening stages, the opportunity she has now to become the best player she can be is one that reassures her she’s been guided well. “It has taken awhile, but I can definitely see a lot of improvement from last year to this year,” Lexi said. “We are just taking things one game at a time and I just want to help the team out however I can.”