Box Score Box Score
SEATTLE – The Montana State Billings women's basketball team used a complete team effort as it pulled a 59-50 upset at No. 17 Seattle Pacific Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Yellowjackets improved to 7-6 overall and 3-2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, while SPU fell to 9-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
“This was a great win for us,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said. “Since I have been the coach we haven't been able to win here. Our team played well and I thought we competed hard. We put together a consistent effort, and a strong second half especially.”
The Falcons were led by just one player in double figures as Maddie Maloney had a game-high 14 points. Jordan Harazin had nine points, while Caitlyn Rohrbach and Melissa Reich each had seven points. Melissa Reich had a game-high nine rebounds.
“I thought our half-court defense was very good,” Woodin added. “Natalie (Visger) did a nice job with preparing us for this win. I thought our focus was outstanding and we played good team defense and our help defense was solid.”
Down 26-20 at halftime, the Yellowjackets outscored SPU 39-24 in the second half courtesy of hot shooting and solid defense. The Jackets shot 13 of 28 from the field in the second half (46.4 percent) 2 of 5 from deep and 11 of 15 from the line en route to the upset win. Conversely, the Jackets held SPU to 26.9 percent shooting in the second half alone (7 of 26), and 3 of 14 from beyond the arc.
“Offensively we got some great balance and we protected the ball much better in the second half,” Woodin said. “We were able to turn that deficit at halftime into a lead. It was very close and in the last few minutes we played very well.”
MSUB began the second half on a 9-3 run and tied the game at 29 on a layup by Ryan with 17:35 left. Both teams went ice cold for the next six minutes as they combined for just three field goals during that stretch.
Harazin scored on a jumper putting the home team up 34-33 with 13:02 left. The pesky Yellowjackets continued to fight and a steal and layup by senior Sarah McNamee put the Jackets up 35-34 with 12:20 left. The Jackets swelled the lead to 41-34 on a jumper by senior Mandy Jacobs with 9:41 left.
Since the game was tied at 29 with 17:35 left, the Jackets used a 12-5 spurt for the seven point advantage.
The Falcons came roaring back and tied the game at 46 with 6:47 left on a layup by Reich. SPU countered with a 12-5 run of its own. Out of a Yellowjacket timeout, a jumper by Bak quieted the crowd and started a 6-0 run over the next two minutes.
Maloney cut the deficit to two with a pair of charity tosses with 2:27 left at a 52-50 deficit. Out of another timeout, the Jackets again had the answer as Knudsen stepped up with a big layup in the paint for a 54-50 lead with 1:38 left. Two more free throws by Knudsen swelled the lead to 56-50 with 40 seconds left.
Freshman Lisa Laslovich came up with the biggest steal of her young career as she swiped the ball from Rohrbach and was fouled. Laslovich gave MSUB a critical, three-possession lead going 1 of 2 at the line with 30 second left and a 57-50 lead.
SPU had two looks at 3-pointers in the final minute, but couldn't covert. The Jackets iced the game at the line, going 5 for 8 from the charity stripe in the final minute for the 59-50 win.
“It was a good team effort, but I thought Bobbi (Knudsen) did a great job on their leading scorer Nyesha Sims,” Woodin said.”
Knudsen and the Jackets held Sims to just three points on 1 of 8 from the field and forced her into four turnovers.
The win by the Yellowjackets snapped a seven game winning streak by SPU this season, and was the first win for MSUB in the series in 10 meetings. The Jackets' last win in the series came on Jan. 6, 2001, in a 61-56 win in Billings. MSUB's last win in Seattle was on Feb. 10, 1996, 83-72. It also ended a span of 10 straight wins by the Falcons at home in the series.
For the game, MSUB shot 22 of 56 from the field for 39.3 percent. It was just 3 of 10 from beyond the arc, but made up for it going 12 of 17 from the line. The Jackets pulled down 36 rebounds and had just 13 turnovers.
SPU shot just 16 of 51 from the field for 31.4 percent. The Falcons also struggled from beyond the arc to the tune of a 5 for 21 outing for 23.8 percent. They also excelled at the line going 13 of 17 for 76.5 percent.
The upset-minded Yellowjackets forced SPU into 10 second half turnovers leading to 18 points (18-3), and dominated points in the paint 16-6 and 26-16 for the game. In addition, 19 points off the bench (11-2 in the second half) also helped.
“It was a good win for us and an important road win and we are looking forward to our games at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington next week,” Woodin added.
MSUB continues on the road as it travels to Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington next week. The Jackets return home to host Western Oregon, Thurs., Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. in Alterowitz Gymnasium.
