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BILLINGS, Mont. – 34 points off of 28 forced turnovers proved to be the difference maker for the Montana State Billings women's basketball team as the Yellowjackets reopened their Great Northwest Athletic Conference slate with a dominating 72-43 home-victory over Saint Martin's University Thursday night inside Alterowitz Gymnasium.
 
Picking up where they left off just before the break, the Yellowjackets garnered their first league win of the season to go up 9-5 overall and 1-2 in league action. The Saints headed in the opposite direction with their second loss in a row, falling to 6-7 overall and a similar 1-2 mark in the conference.
 
“Tonight was a very important win for us as we earned that first conference win of the season,” said head coach Kevin Woodin. “In the first half, I felt like both teams played extremely hard, but you could tell the break had affected the players as we were both rusty on offense early on.
 
“However, as the game progressed, I feel like our depth played a major factor in our win and we played our best half of basketball there in the second period,” Woodin stated. “We were able to play a lot of different players in the second half without the quality of play faltering. We got a lot of quality minutes and good play from everybody tonight.”
 
The Yellowjackets shot 40% (23-57) from the field in the contest, but it was the 34 points off the 28 forced turnovers that lifted MSUB to the lop-sided victory as the home squad only gave up four points off their 12 turnovers. The 'Jackets out-scored the Saints in every aspect of the game; including a 21-16 advantage from the bench.
 
Three players led MSUB with double-digit point productions high-lighted by freshman Quinn Peoples who just missed out on her career-high, knocking down a game-high 19 points, including a career-high-tying five three-pointers. The Butte High School product hit on 6-11 of her shots from the field, including going 5-6 from three-point range, while also getting into the action under the net as she corralled in six boards.
 
Sophomore point guard Bobbi Knudsen was just behind Peoples as she accumulated 18 points during her 6-11 shooting performance. 12 of Knudsen's points came in the opening half of play.
 
The final 'Jacket to accrue double-digit points was freshman Annie DePuydt who matched her career-high of 11 points in the victory. The Saco, MT native continued a hot-streak that started during MSUB's four-game road stint through Hawaii that saw her score 34 points for an average of nine points per contest. DePuydt hit on four of her seven looks from the field, including a trey, and hit both of her attempts from the charity stripe.
 
The Saints hit 47% (9-19) of their shots in the first half, but a dismal 6-for-27 shooting performance (22%) in the second half, coupled with not many open looks thanks to a stifling MSUB defense kept SMU from finding any momentum.
 
For SMU, Chelsea Haskey was the only Saint to break into double-digit points with 10, but she was extremely aggressive under the basket as she brought down 12 boards, eight off the defensive glass, to earn the double-double.
 
The game started off slowly, but the pace picked up slightly as the Saints marched out to a pair of early four-point leads before MSUB found a steady rhythm to go on a 16-7 run to close out the final 10 minutes of the opening half.
 
“We had several missed shots in the first half that we typically make, but overall I was very pleased with the intensity and how we finished on a mini run there at the end of the half,” said Woodin. “Coach (Nate) Harris did very well with coaching the team on defense and we were able to keep them from bringing down a single offensive rebound in the first half.”
 
Coming out of intermission with a 30-23 advantage, Peoples sank two of her five treys in the opening minute of play, setting a fierce pace that SMU just could not keep up with. With just over 12 minutes remaining in the contest the Yellowjacket lead had been extended out to 12 points (45-33), and the lead would never dip below double-digits for the remainder of regulation as MSUB out-scored SMU 42-20 in the second half to reach the final 72-43 mark.
 
Every 'Jacket saw action in the victory, giving the young squad valuable minutes and confidence heading into Saturday's home game against the Wolves of Western Oregon University who suffered a 74-51 loss at the hands of Seattle Pacific University Thursday night. The New Year's Eve GNAC matchup is scheduled to tip off at 1 p.m.