BELMONT, Calif. – Cal State Monterey Bay downed Montana State Billings 77-47 Saturday evening in the second game for both teams in the Notre Dame de Namur Classic.  With the loss, the Yellowjackets fell to 1-2 on the year, while CSUMB improved to 3-0. 

The Yellowjackets were led by 17 points and nine rebounds from senior Kayla Ryan.  She was the lone Jacket in double figures going 7 of 12 from the field and 3 of 5 from the line.  The Otters had three players in double figures led by Erika Ward and Holly Holcomb, each with 13 points. 

MSUB struggled shooting the ball as it went 16 of 55 from the field for the game.  The Jackets were just 4 of 21 from deep and an uncharacteristic 11 of 23 from the charity stripe.  Conversely, the Otters were red hot, shooting 27 of 47 from the field for 57.4 percent.  They knocked down 11 of 16 triples and were 12 of 17 from the line.

The Otters raced out to an early 11-4 lead courtesy of back-to-back triples from Michelle Santizo.  A triple by Ward gave CSUMB a 30-15 lead with five minutes left in the first half as it settled for a 37-22 lead at intermission.

“We got behind early,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said.  “They (CSUMB) shot the ball extremely well in the beginning and we didn't.  I thought that we regrouped at halftime and pushed to get it under single digits, but give them a lot of credit they pulled away towards the end.”

MSUB came out of the gates in the second half and cut the deficit to 10 points on a triple from senior Mandy Jacobs and moments later a layup for a 40-30 deficit with 17 minutes left.  The Otters responded with a 14-0 run over the next four minutes.

The Yellowjackets continued fighting and closed within 17 points, but another Otter run sealed the game as they quickly built the lead back to 26 points and settled for a 77-47 win.

MSUB stays in Belmont, Calif., for an away contest at Notre Dame de Namur Monday at 5 p.m. local time to conclude the three-game trip to California. 

“We need to play with more of a sense of urgency,” Woodin added.  We didn't play with much consistency, and we had difficulty defending them off the dribble and they made a lot of three point shots on kick outs.  We will have our hands full with a good NDNU team on Monday, but I expect us to play much better than we did tonight and we know we will have to.”