Box Score Box Score
BELMONT, Calif. – The Montana State Billings women's basketball team defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday evening in the first game of the Notre Dame de Namur Classic, 67-37. The Yellowjackets improved to 1-1 on the year, while CSUDH fell to 0-1. In addition, MSUB seventh-year head coach, Kevin Woodin, earned his 100th victory at the helm of the Yellowjacket program.
“It was a nice win for us tonight,” Woodin said. “We got off to a good start and made our first three, three-point shots which got us going. I thought we played very good team defense in the first half and build a lead right away.”
The Yellowjackets were led by a double-double from senior Beata Bak as she scored 12 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Bobbi Knudsen led all Yellowjacket scorers with 13 points off the bench. Junior Kalli Stanhope chipped in 12 points all on three-pointers.
All 10 players who played for the Yellowjackets scored at least a point.
“I thought our bench really contributed tonight, we didn't have any lulls when we went to other people,” Woodin said. “We had some great minutes from a lot of people.”
MSUB shot 21 of 56 from the field for 38.2 percent and was 10 of 30 from beyond the arc. The Jackets were 15 of 20 from the free throw line and pulled down 45 rebounds, including 35 on the defensive end.
MSUB's defense completely stymied the Toros as it held CSUDH to just 11 of 62 from the field for 17.7 percent. The Toros were just 2 of 18 from deep and 13 of 21 from the line. CSUDH tallied 50 rebounds, including 23 on the offensive end. MSUB forced 23 turnovers and held an 18-6 margin in points off turnovers.
The Jackets held CSUDH's returning all-conference selection, Brandie McCann, to 0 of 14 from the field and 0 of 7 from beyond the arc. CSUDH's other returning all-conference honoree, Neka Mixon didn't play. No Toro player was in double figures as Nikki Boutte' led the way with nine points and Brittini Hulsizer tallied eight points.
Woodin improved to 100-70 in his career at MSUB. He is the third-winingest coach in school history, and has a .588 winning percentage. He only trails Ted Anderson (102) and Frank McCarthy (191) in wins in school history.
The Yellowjackets opened the game with multiple triples from junior Kalli Stanhope and senior Beata Bak as the Jackets opened the contest on fire, jumping out to an early 13-2 lead. MSUB dominated the first 10 minutes of the game and set the tone early, outscoring the Toros 24-4.
A triple from Boutte' started a mini run for the Toros at the 10:40 mark as it was just their third made field goal of the game. The Jackets then built the lead back to 35-19 with a jumper from senior Mandy Jacobs oat the 2:30 mark. Senior Kayla Ryan added the final two field goals of the half for a 39-26 advantage at intermission.
Freshman Corie Smith got into the act with a triple at the 17:13 mark which was the first field goal by either team in the second half. Bak added a layup at the 12:10 mark for the second field goal of the half for the Yellowjackets.
CSUDH's first field goal came at the 11:03 mark in the second half ending an 11-plus minute drought dating back to the final 2:30 of the first half. A layup by Ashley Hudson cut the Yellowjacket lead to 43-19. Moments later, Jacobs hit a triple and swelled the lead back to a then-game-high 27 points at 46-19.
The Toros cut the deficit back to 22 with four minutes left, but a 14-6 run by the Yellowjackets to close the game gave MSUB a 67-37 victory.
“We had a good offensive balance, I thought we passed the ball inside out effectively and it was instrumental in our win tonight,” Woodin added. “We are looking forward to our game tomorrow night against Cal State Monterey Bay.”
The Yellowjackets play Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday at 5 p.m. local time in the final game of the Notre Dame de Namur Classic. The Jackets then stay in California and play at Notre Dame de Namur Monday at 5 p.m. Fans can access live statistics and web streaming by logging on to msubsports.com.
