Box Score

Photo Gallery

BILLINGS, Mont. – Sophomore Bobbi Knudsen knocked down a career-high 22 points while freshman Janiel Olson corralled in a career-high 14 rebounds Saturday afternoon to lead the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team to their second lop-sided victory in a row, a 69-49 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win over Western Oregon University inside Alterowitz Gymnasium to close out the 2011 portion of their 2011-12 campaign.
 
The Yellowjackets' 10^th win of the season and second in league action handed head coach Kevin Woodin his 125^th victory as the head skipper of MSUB's women's program. MSUB is now 10-5 and 2-2 in the conference while the Wolves fall to 3-11 overall, 2-2 in league action.
 
“I was really pleased with how we started the game, getting a high-paced tempo going early on,” said Woodin. “Overall it was a great weekend for us as we were able to get two GNAC wins at home. Today, the team played well on both sides of the ball, but especially on the defensive end of the ball which led to several turnovers that produced some good transition baskets for us.
 
“I was extremely pleased to see Bobbi have her explosive playmaking back tonight, she was certainly at 100% again and Janiel and Kalli (Stanhope) both played extremely well,” Woodin said. “Janiel was great for us under the boards today and Kalli was a very solid leader on both sides of the ball for this young team.”
 
The Yellowjackets never trailed in the contest, quickly establishing a high-paced groove for the game that saw MSUB hit almost 50% of their shots (14-30) in the first half, and finish the game shooting just over 42% (26-61) from the field. As they have done all season, the 'Jackets applied stiff pressure to the visiting team, forcing the Wolves to turn the ball over 19 times with MSUB converting those turnovers into 26 points.
 
One game removed from shutting out Saint Martin's in the first half in regards to offensive rebounds, MSUB once again controlled the glass as they out-rebounded the Wolves 44-29. WOU only managed four offensive rebounds in each half, which led to just six second-chance points while MSUB had 15 points off their second looks.
 
A Malta, MT native, Knudsen has continually led the Yellowjacets in scoring this season, and this time she was able to eclipse her previous career-high of 21 points with a 22-point, 8-17 from the field effort. She was perfect from the charity stripe, hitting all five of her attempts and set up another four scores as she had a game-high four assists.
 
Also scoring in double-digits, freshman shooting guard Quinn Peoples nailed two treys from close to NBA-range en route to accumulating 10 points. She finished the win 4-for-7 from the field.
 
Under the net, Billings West High School product Olson cleaned glass and controlled the boards to the cheers of her former team which was in attendance Saturday afternoon. Olson had a career-high in both total rebounds, 14, as well as offensive boards as she led all players with eight grabs off the offensive glass. She just missed out on a double-double performance as she had nine points.
 
WOU hit 40% (19-47) of their shots in the game, but the Yellowjackets' stifling defense did not give the Wolves many open looks. The Wolves had several turnovers due to the shot clock expiring before the team could get a shot off.
 
Melissa Fowler led the Wolves with 18 points as she went 6-for-9 from the field and corralled in five rebounds.
 
Rylee Peterson, WOU's normal leading scorer was held to just seven points, but was able to muster nine boards, six off the defensive glass.
 
Through the first six minutes of play, Montana State Billings went on a 14-4 run as they quickly went to work to put some distance between themselves and the Wolves. From there, MSUB's lead would never dip below double-digits as the under-sized Wolves struggled to produce on offense while the Yellowjackets continued to work hard on both ends of the court.
 
Freshman forward Kayleen Goggins gave Woodin and MSUB a 23-point lead with just over three minutes remaining in the first half before the 'Jackets settled for the 16-point, 36-20 lead heading into halftime.
 
Out of the intermission Western Oregon attempted to close the gap as Fowler and Lorrie Clifford each sank a layup, but the Wolves were just no match for the fast-paced Yellowjackets as Montana State Billings gradually built their lead up to over 20 points, and held that advantage for the final 13 minutes of the game.
 
“I have to give Western Oregon a lot of credit,” Woodin stated. “They would not go away there in the second half and we had a hard time with their multiple cuts and screens. But I was very pleased with our defensive tenacity and certainly our depth once again; we had fresher legs out there at the end and it helped us late in the game.
 
“We'll take tomorrow off and then get back to work on Monday since we know we have to travel up to Alaska next week,” said Woodin. “Both games will be intense matchups, but we know that Anchorage is extremely talented and will prove to be a huge measuring stick for where we are at this point in the season.”
 
MSUB will now hit the road to open 2012 with a pair of tough league games in Alaska where they will take on the Seawolves of nationally 10^th-ranked University of Alaska Anchorage and the Nanooks of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Yellowjackets and Seawolves will tangle in Anchorage on Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. before MSUB travels to Fairbanks where the Nanooks will waiting for MSUB and their 3 p.m. tipoff on Jan. 7.