Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – No. 20 Western Washington posted an 80-70 overtime victory over visiting Montana State Billings Saturday evening.  With the loss, the Yellowjackets fell to 3-4 on the year and 1-1 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  WWU improved to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

“Both teams played very hard the entire night,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said.  “We missed quite a few shots in the first half I thought we normally would make.  I felt fortunate to be within six at halftime.  I was very proud of our team in the way we came out in the second half as it was a great game as both teams played very hard and the teams had great execution down the stretch.”

Senior Beata Bak led the way the way with 25 points and eight rebounds on 9 of 21 from the field and 7 of 11 from the charity stripe.  Senior Kayla Ryan added 14 points and 11 rebounds for her third consecutive double-double of the season.  Freshman Bobbi Knudsen added nine points off the bench for the Yellowjackets.

The Vikings were led by 19 points from Megan Pinske, while Lauren Hefflin and Gabby Wade each had nine rebounds to go along with 13 and 10 points, respectively to pace WWU.

The Yellowjackets shot 38.5 percent from the field on 25 of 65 from the floor.  They were 4 of 15 from beyond the arc and 16 of 23 from the line.  WWU shot 25 of 62 from the field, 11 of 28 from deep and 19 of 29 from the line.  The Yellowjackets dominated inside to the tune of 36-20 in points in the paint.  The specialty stats were pretty even as WWU led in points off turnovers 19-16 and second chance points 15-10.  The Jackets outscored the Vikings 15-3 in bench points.

In a very low scoring first half, the Yellowjackets held a 12-8 lead midway through.  WWU then went on a 14-2 run for a 22-14 lead with four minutes left in the half.  The Vikings settled for a 27-21 lead at intermission.

The Jackets regained the lead on a jumper by Bak with 17:34 left in the second half for a 33-31 lead.  Bak extended the lead to four, but a 16-5 run put the Vikings back in front, 50-40 with 11 minutes left in regulation.

MSUB cut the deficit to one at 53-52 with a mini run capped by a layup from Knudsen with 7:41 left. 

The Vikings exploded in the overtime session, breaking a 64-64 tie with a 12-1 run through the first 3:15 of the period to seal the victory.  A layup in the closing minutes by Ryan cut the deficit back to 10 points at 80-70.

MSUB returns home to host Rocky Mountain College Sat., Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Alterowitz Gymnasium to begin a five-game home stand.