by By Logan Tracy
NAMPA, Idaho – The Montana State University Billings women’s basketball team powered past Northwest Nazarene on the road, picking up an emphatic 81-52 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
The Yellowjackets (13-3, 4-0 GNAC) retained control of first place in the conference, taking down the Nighthawks (5-6, 2-2 GNAC) in an impressive showing on the road. The ‘Jackets were electric on both ends of the court all night, shooting 47.9% from the field while holding their opponents to just 30.9% shooting in the game.
“Tonight was a nice win to complete a 2-0 road trip,” said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. “I’m really proud of our team. I thought we played consistently throughout the game. We started solid in the first half on both sides and played balanced basketball all night. Our bench outscored them, and we did a great job protecting the ball and winning the turnover battle.”
Kola Bad Bear scored a team high 16 points for MSUB, adding four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Kortney Nelson had 14 points, grabbing four rebounds and three assists, while totaling five steals, a new career high for the junior. Dyauni Boyce was just behind her with 13 points and two rebounds. Danielle Zahn and Chloe Williams each scored eight points, with Zahn picking up four assists and three steals, and Williams getting five rebounds and three steals of her own. Also picking up a trio of steals was Aspen Giese, who scored six points, as did Shayla Montague and Kaitlin Grossman. The ‘Jackets forced 15 steals and 23 turnovers in the game, compared to just eight turnovers on offense.
MSUB got off to a quick start in the first quarter, opening the game with a 5-0 run and never looking back, dominating the game inside to take a 19-10 lead into the second quarter. The Nighthawks would find some traction in the quarter, staying close as the Yellowjackets went cold from the field early in the quarter. But the ‘Jackets would recover end the half hot, scoring 12 of their 17 second quarter points in the final 4:37 minutes of play, while holding Northwest Nazarene to just 12 points in the quarter, taking a 14-point advantage into the break.
The Yellowjackets took their offensive momentum from the end of the second quarter, and carried it over into the third, where they would begin the second half on a 13-0 run in just over three minutes to quickly put the game out of reach. MSUB doubled the Nighthawks scoring output in the third quarter, 28-14, while shooting 57.9% from the field. They would put the game on cruise control from there, comfortably seeing things out on the road to complete an unbeaten weekend in conference play, and remain the only unbeaten GNAC team in conference play.
“Our third quarter was big for us,” said Woodin. “We talked about trying to extend the lead, and came out and had a big run right away. Everyone contributed for us tonight, we did a great job of getting everyone involved, and it was fun to watch.”
