BILLINGS, Mont. – In a very low scoring game, the Montana State Billings women's basketball team came up on the short end of the ledger in a 49-46 loss to Metro State Saturday afternoon in Alterowitz Gymnasium in both team's season openers.  The Yellowjackets were led by 17 points from Beata Bak, while the Roadrunners were led by 10 points off the bench from Cassondra Bratton.

“The difference in this game was on the boards,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said.  “We we gave up too many offensive rebounds.  We have a lot of work to do.  It will take time to develop team chemistry on the court, but I believe we will accomplish it.”

The Roadrunners outrebounded MSUB 43-23 and 16-7 on the offensive end.  However, MSUB held an 11-8 lead in second chance points. 

Bak led the way for MSUB shooting 6 of 19 from the field.  She was 1 of 3 from deep and 4 of 5 from the line.  Bak pulled down six rebounds.  Senior Kayla Ryan was second with eight points and six rebounds. 

As a team, the Yellowjackets struggled shooting to the tune of 15 of 47 from the field for 31.9 percent.  MSUB shot just 6 of 21 in the second half alone for 28.6 percent.  The Jackets knocked down 4 of 14 from deep, and were 12 of 14 from the charity stripe.

Metro State was 20 of 49 from the field for 40.8 percent.  The Roadrunners were 0 of 8 from beyond the arc and 9 of 17 from the line.  MSC committed 24 miscues, while the Jackets committed 16.  Despite the discrepancy in turnovers, the Jackets only held a 16-14 lead in points off turnovers.

Bratton was 3 of 6 from the field and 4 of 5 from the line for 10 points off the bench.  She was the only Roadrunner in double figures.  Kristin Valencia, Jasmine Cervantes and Tawny Drexler each had eight points.  Drexler was a team-high 4 of 7 from the field.  Of the nine players who played for Metro State, five had more than five rebounds.  Valencia led the way with nine.

The Jackets raced out to a 4-0 lead early, only to see MSC come right back.  A hoop-and-harm foul on Bratton gave the Roadrunners a 16-13 lead with 9:40 left in the first half.  It started an 11-0 run by MSC for a 24-13 lead with 5:45 left. 

MSUB had the answer as it closed the half with a 13-4 run to come within 28-26 at intermission.

Bak led all-scorers with 11 points at intermission, while Alyssa Benson had a first half high of six points for the Roadrunners.  The Jackets were 9 of 26 in the first half from the field, while Metro State was 13 of 26.  Two triples and 6 of 8 shooting helped overcome the poor shooting by the Jackets in the first half to stay close.

Two free throws by Ryan at the 16:30 mark were the only points MSUB scored in the first 7:41 of the second half.  A give-and-go layup to senior Shantell Marquis from senior Mandy Jacobs at the 12:21 mark was the first field goal of the half for the Jackets.

Conversely, the Roadrunners also had trouble finding the bottom of the net early on, as they scored eight points in the first 10 minutes of the final period.

The Roadrunners would extend the lead to six points, only to watch MSUB battle back to within two on three occasions during the middle part of the half.

Metro State held a 46-36 lead with 4:55 to go on a layup by Valencia.  MSUB cut the deficit to a 48-46 with a 10-2 run capped with a layup in the lane by Bak with just 34 seconds left.

Bratton made 1 of 2 charity tosses with eight seconds left giving the Jackets one last chance.  Jacobs had a desperation try at the buzzer and was fouled by Bratton, but Jacobs was inside the three-point line when the shot went up as time expired for a 49-46 loss.

“I was pleased with our performance in a couple of areas,” Woodin said.  “We communicated better on defense, and we executed better in the final four minutes.”

MSUB opens a season-long, six-game road trip beginning with the Notre Dame de Namur Tournament in Belmont, Calif., Fri., Nov. 19 versus Cal State Dominguez.  The Jackets play Cal State Monterey Bay Nov. 20 and Notre Dame de Namur Nov. 22. The Yellowjackets don't return home until Dec. 11 versus Rocky Mountain College at 7:30 p.m. in Alterowitz Gymnasium.

“The next three weeks represents a great challenge for us,” Woodin added.  “We are looking forward to next week's trip to California where we will play three West region opponents.”