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BILLINGS, Mont. – Not much went in favor of Montana State Billings women's basketball team (3-1) as they fell at home to Minot State University (3-4) 62-59 in the second game of the 2011 Yellowjacket Women's Basketball Classic Sponsored by Billings Hotel and Convention Center Friday night.
 
“I thought Minot defended us very well tonight,” said head coach Kevin Woodin. “We missed a lot of shots we normally make and a big part of that was due to their defense. We had 35 more attempts from the field than them but we just didn't make enough of them.”
 
MSUB was unable to find much in the way of offense as they hit only 30% (22-74) of their shots in the game, and a squad that had minimized their own turnovers and caused other teams trouble to date sputtered slightly. The Yellowjackets committed 12 turnovers but did force the Beavers to turn the rock over 20 times.
 
Freshman guard Quinn Peoples had a season-high 13 points while sophomore Bobbi Knudsen added 13 of her own. Quinn also added a team-high three steals and four rebounds as she was 50% (5-10) from the field including swishing a team-high-tying three treys.
 
Kalli Stanhope was the final 'Jacket in double-digit points with 11. She was the other player to have three treys for MSUB.
 
As a team, Minot made the most of their shots, hitting on 46.2% (18-39) of their looks from the field in the game and made sure not to get into foul trouble as they only sent the Yellowjackets to the charity stripe seven times in the contest. The Beavers toed the line 35 times.
 
For the Beavers, Morgan Klose came off the bench to lead all scorers with 17 points. Carly Boag was just behind with 16 of her own and was one board away from claiming a double-double as she had a game-high nine rebounds.
 
“We played hard and did a lot of good things defensively; however, we need to foul less as we have been sending our opponents to the line much too often,” stated Woodin. “We struggled at the beginning of the second half, especially on offense.  I feel that has been a problem for us this year and it is something we need to correct.”
 
It was a tale of two halves as the Yellowjackets controlled the first half, leading by as many as nine points before the Beavers chewed into their lead and established themselves in the second stanza.
 
MSUB entered the half with a slim, four-point lead, but Minot would open the second half on an 8-0 run before the Yellowjackets could regroup thanks to a Brooke Tolman three that cut Minot's lead to just one.
 
However, that would be the closest MSUB would be able to pull as Minot built up a sturdy dam of a 15-point lead with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.
 
As insurmountable as that lead may have seemed, the feisty Yellowjackets began a blistering full-court press over the final minutes to cut the deficit to two with nine seconds remaining after the final of Stanhope's three treys.
 
With the game down to just one possession, Knudsen fouled on the in-bounds in hopes of stopping the clock with enough time to make a final mad-dash to the end, but Klose was able to hit one of her two free throws, essentially icing the game with six seconds remaining.
 
Despite the loss, MSUB was able to out-rebound the height-rich Beavers 43-38 and forced Minot to turn the ball over 20 times.
 
Earlier in the day, Montana State Northern defeated Minnesota State Moorhead 65-61 although the win does not count towards the Skylights' season tally. The loss for does move the Dragons to 1-1.
 
The 2011 Yellowjacket Women's Basketball Classic Sponsored by Billings Hotel and Convention Center continues tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 26 with another pair of games. Montana State Northern will tangle with the Beavers at 2 p.m. before MSUB takes on the Dragons of Minnesota State Moorhead in the final game of the tournament at 4 p.m.