CHADRON, Neb. – Poor first half shooting by the Montana State Billings women's basketball team ended in a 73-59 defeat at Chadron State College Monday evening.  With the loss, the Yellowjackets fell to 2-3 on the year, while Chadron State improved to 1-2.

“We got off to a good start tonight leading 7-0 early, we then went into quite a drought,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said.  “Give Chadron State a lot of credit they played some very good defense, but we missed a lot of shots we should normally make.  We had a difficult time guarding them early in the first half as the made some three-pointers and we had some foul trouble.”

The Yellowjackets were led by a game-high 22 points from senior Beata Bak and senior Kayla Ryan added her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds.  The Eagles had a balanced scoring attack as 10 of 11 players scored with Kaitlin Petri leading the way with 14 points and eight rebounds.  Kada Williams chipped in 13 points, including 9 of 9 from the charity stripe.

The difference in the game was turnovers and free throw shooting as MSUB committed 18 turnovers leading to 21 Chadron State points, while the Eagles committed 15 turnovers leading to 14 MSUB points. In addition, MSUB committed 25 fouls leading to a 25 of 33 outing by CSC at the charity stripe.  CSU was called for 19 fouls as MSUB was 15 of 18 from the line.

The Yellowjackets struggled again shooting the ball as they were 19 of 64 for 29.7 percent for the game.  MSUB shot 25 percent for the first half on just 7 of 28.  In addition, the Jackets also struggled from long range as they were 6 of 24 for 25 percent for the game.  The Yellowjackets pulled down 41 rebounds, including 14 on the offensive end.

Chadron State was 22 of 55 for 40 percent for the contest.  The Eagles were 4 of 14 from beyond the arc.  They had 45 rebounds and 11 on the offensive end.  CSC also had 11 steals in the game and outscored MSUB 29-16 in bench points.  The Eagle held a 14-10 advantage in second chance points.

One bright spot for the Jackets was inside as the Eagles had no match for Ryan and Bak as they combined for 12 of 29 from the field, 14 rebounds and 35 points.  MSUB held a 20-10 lead in points in the paint.

The Jackets opened the game as they raced out to an early 7-0 capped by a triple from Ryan at the 18:03 mark.  From there, MSUB went ice cold as Chadron State went on an 18-0 run as the Yellowjackets didn't score until Bak hit a jumper with 7:53 left in the half – a span of 10:10. 

Through the final 18 minutes of the first half, the Eagles went on a 33-11 run for a 33-18 halftime lead.

Bak had 10 of the 18 points in the first half for MSUB as just four players scored.  The Jackets were 2 of 10 from long range and committed 10 turnovers.  Conversely, CSC shot 40 percent on 13 of 32 and committed just five miscues.

Chadron State built the lead to as many as 19 in the early moments of the second half, but the Yellowjackets continued to fight valiantly as they went on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 43-33 with 14:54 left. 

“In the second half we played hard and we played better, but the hole we dug was too much,” Woodin added.  “They are a much improved team from a year ago and our play was inconsistent tonight.”

The Eagles built the lead back to 16 points (59-43) with 6:10 left, but this time they went cold as CSC didn't make another field goal the rest of the way.  However, the Eagles went 14 of 18 from the charity stripe during the final stretch to keep the lead for a 73-59 win.

MSUB opens Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Thursday at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia at 7 p.m. local time.  After a trip to Western Washington (Saturday), the Yellowjackets return home for five straight beginning with a cross-town rematch against Rocky Mountain College Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Alterowitz Gymnasium.