(Editor's note: MSU Billings athletics release)
MSUB 75, Saint Martin's 63
The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team picked up both it's fifth conference win of the season and fifth straight victory, defeating Saint Martin's University 75-63 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
The No. 5 Yellowjackets (16-2, 5-0 GNAC) rebounded from a slow shooting night on Thursday, shooting 51.9% from the field and 54.5% from three-point range, seeing off a challenge from a tough Saints (9-6, 2-4 GNAC) squad to remain undefeated in conference play.
"This was a good win for us against a tough Saint Martin's team," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "I was pleased with how we shot the three today. Going 12-22 was outstanding, and a huge key for us in the win. We did a great job of going inside and outside for looks, and defensively, I thought we really settled in in the final three quarters, and really made the difference for us."
The 'Jackets were led in scoring by Aspen Giese, who scored 19 points on 7-11 shooting, and went 5-8 from beyond the arch. The senior guard also chipped in with five rebounds, three steals, two rebounds and a block.
She was followed by her two fellow Montana seniors in Dyauni Boyce, who scored 16 points with eight rebounds, four steals, and an assist, and Kortney Nelson, who had 14 points, six assists, three rebounds, and a block.
Chloe Williams did a bit of everything for the Yellowjackets, scoring seven points, grabbing six rebounds, and collecting five assists and three steals.
Chenoa Louie also scored seven points in a game against her former collegiate team, adding five rebounds and a steal. Layla Baumann finished with five points, while Kaitlin Grossman finished with four points and four blocks, and Bailey Finn scored three points.
The early first quarter was dominated by the Saints, who would open the game on an 11-2 run, in part thanks to a trio of three pointers in the first three minutes of action.
But the Yellowjackets would respond strong to cut the gap, using a run of three-pointers, with shots from Boyce, Baumann, and Finn helping to bring the game back to within one basket. A big and-one from Louie would give MSUB their first lead of the game, but a late triple from Saint Martin's would restore the visitor's advantage going into the second quarter.
MSUB would remain hot from beyond the arch in the second, with early triples from Nelson and Giese helping the 'Jackets retake the lead. MSUB would shoot 5-8 from three overall in the second quarter, while tightening up on defense to allow Saint Martin's to score just eight points in the quarter, building momentum and taking a 35-27 lead into halftime.
"The start was a bit of a shock to our system," said associate head coach Alisha Breen. "We haven't been letting teams hit many threes on us the last few games, and they came out and started 3-3. Our discussion at the end of the first quarter about locking in more defensively, and the girls responded so well. It was a huge reason why we were able to turn the game around, and our ability to hit shots from the outside was huge."
The third quarter would see the Yellowjackets open on a 14-4 run, pushing the lead to nearly 20 and giving the home team their first comfortable lead of the game. That early run would feature seven points from Boyce, while MSUB continued to excel from three by hitting a pair of long-range shots on the run.
MSUB would finish with a 60.0% mark from the field in the third quarter, and would shoot even more efficiently in the fourth quarter, going 63.6% from the field across the final ten minutes. The Saints would attempt to battle their way back into the game, but would be unable to overcome a strong all-around performance by the Yellowjackets, with the final buzzer sounding on a 12-point victory, MSUB's 13th double-digit win of the season.
"I thought we executed well the entire second half," said Woodin. "Saint Martin's played tough and kept it within arm's reach, but I thought we put together a lot of good possessions, and did a great job hitting our free throws down the stretch to secure the win."
Western Washington 84, MSUB 70
The Montana State Billings Yellowjacket men’s basketball team dropped its Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest against Western Washington (9-7, 1-5 GNAC) Saturday evening in Alterowitz Gym.
The Yellowjackets (11-7) fell to 2-3 in GNAC play after an 84-70 loss to the Western Washington Vikings. After starting the season as one of the top shooting teams in the conference, MSUB had another tough night from the field shooting 34.8 percent which is 10 points under their average.
The ‘Jackets did continue their success with the deep ball and the free throw line, connecting on 10-25 for a 40 percent shooting percentage from beyond the arch and a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line.
Leading the way was Jalen Tot who ended his night with 27 points on 8-20 from the field, 5-10 from three, and 6-6 from the line while tallying four rebounds, three steals, a pair of assists, and one block. After tonight’s game, Tot sits just 66 points away from hitting the 1,500-career point milestone and just 94 points away from 1,000 points in a Yellowjacket uniform.
The Yellowjackets received 62 of their 70 points from their starting five with three of them reaching double digits. Following Tot in scoring was Brendon Johnson who posted 16 on 5-14 from the field with seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Kael Robinson poured in 13 points on 5-12 with seven rebounds, a team best three assists, and one block.
Game two of MSUB’s double-header started as a back-and-forth battle until the Yellowjackets went on an early 10-2 run to take what would be their largest lead of the game 17-12. This was backed behind a pair points from Tot and Famous Lefthand and back-to-back three pointers from Johnson and Cooper Dewitt.
Both squads traded punches from their until the ‘Jackets lost their last advantage of the night 26-25 when WWU went on a scoring rampage. The Vikings hit three straight triples leading them on a 13-0 run, aiding in a 42-33 advantage heading into half time.
The final 20 minutes of the night started competitively, trading buckets for the first seven minutes until the Vikings went on another 8-0 run to take an 18-point lead. The ‘Jackets responded with 14 points, nine coming from Tot and five from Johnson but Western Washington had an answer for every glimpse of momentum.
The Vikings continued to extend their lead, taking their largest advantage of the night (22) at the 3:50 mark but it was not over yet. The Yellowjackets found some late success, going on a 10-2 run but it was not enough to amount the comeback, falling 84-70 as time expired.
