BILLINGS, Mont. – The final stretch of the basketball season is just ahead on the horizon, and the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team is in prime position to make a run at the post-season as the young squad is rapidly maturing, currently sitting fifth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an overall record of 13-7 including a 5-4 league-mark.
 
The Yellowjackets competed in just one game last week as they traveled to Seattle Pacific University on Saturday, Jan. 21 where they conquered the Falcons 63-62 in overtime off a free throw by sophomore guard Bobbi Knudsen. The Falcons were the second-place team in the league and were receiving votes in the national poll at the time.
 
Head coach Kevin Woodin and company are now looking forward as they prepare to face a pair of familiar opponents. The 'Jackets will first travel to Western Oregon University (4-15, 3-6 GNAC) on Thursday before swinging north to take on Saint Martin's University (7-12, 2-7 GNAC) on Saturday, Jan. 28 with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. in both games.
 
MSUB swept the pair convincingly earlier this season inside Alterowitz Gymnasium. The Yellowjackets earned a dominating 72-43 victory over SMU on Dec. 29 before defeating WOU 69-49 on Dec. 31.
 
Heading into this week's pair of road games, the Yellowjackets currently boast the second-lowest scoring defense in the league, allowing just 59 points per game. MSUB will be looking to bolster that number as they will be taking on the two lowest scoring offenses in the conference as Western Oregon averages a league ninth-best 59.7 points per outing and Saint Martin's averages just 54.8 points per game.
 
Montana State Billings' women rank in the top-20 nationally in two categories. The Yellowjacket women continue to be one of the best teams at protecting the ball as their 14 turnovers per game rank as the 11^th-lowest mark in the nation. At the same time, MSUB is 18^th in the nation in three-point shots made per game, connecting on 7.5 treys per outing.

Knudsen continues to have a stellar sophomore season as she leads the league with 16.9 points per game and presently sits in the top-10 in the GNAC in four other categories. The Malta High School product is also fifth in the GNAC with 3.8 assists per game, sixth with 1.9 steals, seventh with an .812 free throw percentage and tenth from three-point range with 1.6 treys per game.
 
Behind Knudsen, a solid cast made up mostly of young players learning to operate at the collegiate level has helped MSUB to success this season. Freshman Quinn Peoples averages 10.3 points per game and is one of the top three-point shooters in the conference as she is able to drain open looks from just about any point on the three-point arc. The Butte native boasts the most made three-pointers on the team (41) and is second in free throw percentage as she has made 33 of her 37 attempts.
 
Senior Kalli Stanhope is having a solid senior campaign as she is currently in the top-10 in the league in two categories and has risen a few spots in the school's record book. Stanhope is presently fourth in the GNAC with a .398 shooting performance from three-point range and is seventh in the league with 1.7 treys per outing. Following Saturday's game at SPU, she is now sixth in school history with 128 three-pointers in her career.
 
Janiel Olson and Kayleen Goggins have been working hard under the basket. Olson leads the team and is sixth in the conference with 8.7 rebounds per game following her second double-double of the season when she brought down 12 rebounds and scored 11 points against Seattle Pacific. Goggins is second on the team with five rebounds per outing and has risen to third on the team with 8.5 points per contest.
 
When the 'Jackets face Western Oregon on Thursday, they will be looking to once against contain Rylee Peterson who leads the Wolves with an average of 15.9 points per game which is good enough for sixth-best in the league. However, when the two programs last met, MSUB held Peterson to just seven points off a 3-for-10 shooting performance from the field.
 
Peterson averages a conference second-best 1.5 blocks per game and is tied with teammate Jade Haas for third in the GNAC with 2.2 steals per game. Haas is also second on the team with 10.1 points per outing, but it was Melissa Fowler who had a break-out game against the 'Jackets back in December when she tallied 18 points, going 6-9 from the field. She currently averages a team third-best 9.2 points per outing.
 
For Saint Martin's, Chelsea Haskey currently averages 13.7 points per game to lead the Saints while Marelle Moehrle averages 10 points. When the Saints and Yellowjackets last met in Billings, Haskey scored 10 points to lead the Saints with a 5-for-11 shooting performance from the field, but she was still able to muster a double-double as she brought down 12 boards. Haskey's 8.8 rebounds per game is good enough for fifth-best in the GNAC.
 
Following the last two games of MSUB's three-game road-swing, the Yellowjackets will commence the month of February with a pair of home matches against the two Alaska schools. The University of Alaska Fairbanks will travel to Billings first on Thursday, Feb. 2 before nationally-ranked Alaska Anchorage enters Alterowitz Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 4.