by Logan Tracy
AZUSA, Cali. – The Montana State University Billings women’s basketball program extended its season with a victory in the first round of the NCAA West Regional, taking down Chico State University 86-55.
In the final game of the day between the No. 4 Seed Yellowjackets (27-6, 16-2 GNAC) and No. 5 Seed Wildcats (21-10, 16-6 CCAA), it would be MSUB who would emerge victorious with an emphatic victory, dominating the game offensively to run away from their opponent and advance further in the regional tournament. The Yellowjackets shot an impressive 53.3% from the field, while knocking down 42.3% of their attempts from beyond the arc.
“I was really proud of our team tonight,” said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. “I thought we played very well tonight. “We earned a great team victory. I thought our whole team did a great job of sharing the ball and hitting shots tonight, and our bench gave us a huge boost tonight. Overall, it was a phenomenal team performance.
MSUB had five players finish in double figures, and eight players scored six points or more in a balanced offensive showing. Kola Bad Bear led the way in scoring with 18 points, going 8-10 from the field while adding two assists and a rebound. Danielle Zahn made a big impact off the bench, collecting 13 points to go with four rebounds and assists each. Shayla Montague added 12 points on 4-8 shooting from deep, while Kortney Nelson had 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Dyauni Boyce had ten points and five rebounds. Aspen Giese and Chloe Williams each totaled eight points, with Giese adding seven rebounds and a pair of assists, and Williams finishing with four assists and two steals. Natalie Andreas chipped in six points.
The Yellowjackets opened the first quarter strong offensively, with Boyce and Nelson knocking down back-to-back threes on MSUB’s first possessions. But Chico State would settle in and make things a battle in the early, with momentum shifting back-and-forth with each time putting together runs in the first ten minutes. The ‘Jackets would put the quarters biggest run together at the end however, closing the quarter outscoring the Wildcats 13-2 in the final 3:36 to take an eight-point lead into the second quarter. Both teams matched each other shot for shot in the beginning of the second quarter, but the Yellowjackets would find another successful stretch, going on a 9-2 run on the middle stages of the quarter to continue to grow their lead, going into halftime up 52-33 with seven players scoring five points or more, and the team shooting a staggering 58.8% from the floor.
“I think we just shared the ball really well tonight,” said Montague. “We obviously hit some big shots, and hadn’t hit some of those looks in our last few games, but we pushed through and kept finding the open man, which was big in our first half results.”
Both teams would slow down a bit on the offensive front in the third quarter, but as impressive as MSUB was on the offensive end in the first half, they would be just as prolific on defense, holding the Wildcats to just 28.6% shooting and ten points in the quarter, while outscoring Chico State 14-10 in a rapid third quarter with very little stoppage. MSUB would find it’s offensive rhythm once again in the fourth quarter, shooting over 50% in the fourth quarter once again to see out the victory, setting the stage for a matchup between the tournament host and No. 1 Seed Azusa Pacific.
