BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings women's basketball team used a strong second half to turn back visiting Simon Fraser 71-58 Thursday evening in Alterowitz Gymnasium.  With the win, the Yellowjackets finished the regular season with a 15-11 record overall and an 11-7 mark in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  SFU finished the regular season 7-16 overall and 4-14 in its first season in the GNAC.

With the win, the Yellowjackets secured a first round home game in the upcoming GNAC Tournament.  The game is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. in Alterowitz Gymnasium against Saint Martin's University.  Tickets will go on sale in the Athletic Department of the P.E. Building at 9 a.m. Friday morning.  Fans can call 406-657-2369 for more information on tickets, or check back later this evening with www.msubsports.com.

Prior to the game, the Yellowjackets honored six seniors who played in their final regular season game.  The 2010-2011 senior class included Beata Bak, Jenny Heringer, Mandy Jacobs, Shantell Marquis, Sarah McNamee and Kayla Ryan.

“All of our seniors have been very special all six of them, they are super student-athletes and I'm really proud of them and it is nice they can fish with a win on Senior Night,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said.  “Even more, it is great we are able to host a game on Monday.  The GNAC is so tough from top to bottom and I have never seen this league this deep.  We know we are going to play a great opponent on Monday, but we are sure glad it will be in Billings.  We hope people will come out and support our team this one last time on Monday.”

Ryan led the way for the Jackets with 17 points on 6 of 10 from the field.  She was 5 of 5 from the line and had a team-high seven rebounds.  Bak chipped in 11 points, while freshman Bobbi Knudsen added 10. 

The Clan was led by 22 points from Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe as she was 8 of 10 from the field and 6 of 10 from the line.  She also had a game-high eight rebounds.  Kia Van Laare added 11 points, while Anna Carolsfeld chipped in 10. 

“It was a great win tonight,” Woodin said.  “Give Simon Fraser a lot of credit, they came out very good and we really struggled with guarding them.  Nayo (Raincock-Ekunwe) was wonderful in the first half with 17 points.  As the game progressed we guarded her better and started denying her the ball more.  I thought Kayla (Ryan) and Beata (Bak) did a good job inside and it was a big key in the second half as she didn't get as many touches.”

The Clan came ready to play as it opened the game with the first five points, but the Yellowjackets came back as Ryan scored on a layup with 14:40 left for a 12-11 deficit.  A triple from Raincock-Ekunwe started a 9-0 run by the Clan for a 21-11 lead at 21-11 with 12:51 left. 

A fast break layup by McNamee off a steal by junior Kalli Stanhope sparked a mini run to pull the Jackets within 23-18.  Moments later, Raincock-Ekunwe scored on an old fashion three-point play to build the lead back to eight at 26-18 with 8:23 left.

The Jackets closed the half with a 16-10 run and a 9-5 run over the final 3:54 to pull within 36-34 at intermission.  During the run, MSUB recorded two key steals, a triple from Bak and a pair of layups from Heringer.

“I thought a key to the game was after we got down double figures in the first half, we put a good stretch and got back in the game and it was manageable at halftime,” Woodin added.  “I felt fortunate to only be down two at halftime.”

The Jackets held an 11-2 lead in points off the bench in the first half, which Woodin thought was a key to the comeback.

“I thought our bench played well in the first half and we got a lot of minutes from a lot of people and I think our depth was big tonight,” Woodin said.

The Jackets shot 41.9 percent in the first half on 13 of 31 from the floor.  They were 3 of 9 from beyond the arc and 5 of 6 from the line.  Ryan led the way with eight points.

Raincock-Ekunwe led the way with 17 points in the opening half for the Clan.  She was a perfect 6 of 6 from the field and 5 of 7 from the line.  SFU was 12 of 25 from the field as a team for 48 percent and was 3 of 13 from range.  The Clan struggled at the line, shooting 9 of 13. 

A layup by Bak gave the Jackets just their second lead of the game on a layup with 18:41 left.  Bak then hit a jumper in the lane moments later to build the lead to three.

Carla Wyman hit a big triple with 11:16 left to pull SFU within 53-51, but a second opportunity on a nice rebound from Knudsen and a layup from McNamee, along with a triple from Stanhope quickly put the Jackets back in front 58-51 with 10:04 left.

SFU would cut the deficit to five on two occasions, but good free throw shooting and a couple of timely buckets built the Jacket lead to 65-56 with 2:43 left.  Two free throws by Jacobs put the Jackets up 70-58 with 55 seconds left.

In the final 11:16, the Jackets closed the game on a 19-7 run.

“In the second half we got off to a good start and we played good team defense,” Woodin said.  “Our defense started our offense as we got some transition baskets and got into the open court to get a bit of breathing room.  Give them credit, they fought back and made a game of it.  We were able to make a lot of key free throws down the stretch and got some baskets.”