by By Logan Tracy
SEATTLE, Wash. – The Montana State University Billings women’s basketball team were able to continue their unbeaten start to conference play on the road, defeating Seattle Pacific University 63-38 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
In a game where both teams defended hard and made baskets hard to come by, it would be the Yellowjackets (16-3, 7-0 GNAC) who would emerge with the win over the Falcons (6-11, 3-4 GNAC). Both teams finished with low shooting percentages, with MSUB finishing 31.6% from the field while holding Seattle Pacific to a 27.1% mark. The ‘Jackets would create the difference though by their ability to get to the free throw line, going 18-22 in the game while the Falcons attempted just six free throws in the game, making two.
“It was an important road victory for us today,” said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. “Nothing came easy today, SPU came out ready to play today and a low scoring first quarter showed that. We started slow offensively, but got into a bit of a rhythm in the second half, and we did a great job all game of getting to the line. Our defense was key to our victory today, we did a great job defending their motion offense and playing balanced defense. Alisha did a great job of preparing our team and we executed the gameplan well.”
All 11 MSUB players who entered the game scored, Kola Bad Bear and Shayla Montague each scoring a team high 13 points. Bad Bear added four rebounds, four steals, two assists, and a block, while Montague had five boards to go with a steal and a block each. Dyauni Boyce had 11 rebounds, adding eight points, five assists, and a pair of steals. Kortney Nelson had seven points and seven rebounds, and Aspen Giese scored six points with four rebounds. Both Nelson and Giese finished with two assists. Danielle Zahn scored four points with four assists, while Layla Baumann scored three points, Avery Burkhart and Natalie Andreas scored two. Chloe Williams had one point, in addition to her four rebounds, a steal, and a block.
“Everyone stepped up again to provide positive contributions,” said Woodin. “It was nice to find our shooting touch late and get us going from behind the three-point line. We also finished plus eleven on the boards, and did a great job of team rebounding.”
Neither team was able to generate much offense in the first quarter, with both the ‘Jackets and the Falcons starting the game ice cold from the field. MSUB generated good looks, but couldn’t get them to fall, shooting just 18.8% overall, and going 1-10 from three-point range. As difficult as it was to score in the first quarter however, MSUB was just as hard to break down on the other end, allowing just four made baskets in the quarter and holding SPU to 26.7% shooting. But the ‘Jackets would get things going in the second quarter, using a 9-0 run early in the quarter to get some momentum on the offensive end and take a lead in the game. It would remain a tightly contested defensive battle for the rest of the quarter though, with MSUB allowing just seven points in the quarter to take a 25-17 lead into halftime.
The Yellowjackets came out of the break and quickly took control of the game, finishing with 21 points in the quarter, their highest total of the game. Their offense was sparked by Bad Bear, who knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the quarter to give the MSUB offense the boost it needed. In addition, the Yellowjackets succeeded in attacking the paint and drawing fouls, going 8-10 from the stripe to hold a 14-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Yellowjacket attack wouldn’t slow down in the fourth quarter either, starting the final quarter of play with a run of four straight three-pointers made to take the game out of reach from the Falcons, and see out MSUB’s sixth straight win, and seventh straight GNAC victory.
