Box Score
Box Score

Billings, Mont. – With a 5-12 performance from behind the arch, Quinn Peoples helped the Montana State Billings women's basketball defeat Dixie State College of Utah 74-71. Including their victory last Sunday, the Yellowjackets are now on a two game winning streak.
 
MSUB advances to 2-1 in the 2012-13 season, and is a buzzer beater away from potentially being undefeated. Peoples led all scorers with 23 points on 8-15 shooting. She also recorded three rebounds and a steal on the night. Junior co-captain Bobbi Knudsen also went 8-15 from the field and ended with 18 points to go along with leading the team in assists, finishing with five on the evening.
 
Senior guard and co-captain Brooke Tolman was the third Jacket to reach double figures, tallying 10 points, and also recording three assists and two steals. Kayleen Goggins turned in a great defensive performance with a game high five steals. Annie DePuydt came off the bench to led MSUB in rebounding finishing with seven on the night.
 
For the Red Storm, Johnna Brown led all rebounders with 13 total, eight coming on the defensive end. She was one point shy of a double-double. Chanel Maxey led Dixie State in scoring with 11 points.
 
Both teams were even in rebounding, with each grabbing 39 total. The Yellowjackets forced their opponent into 15 turnovers while only giving up 10. Dixie State slightly shot the ball better than MSUB, going 42.1 percent compared to the Jackets 39.4.
 
The Jackets did however have a better outing at the stripe, going 83.3 percent from the free throw line compared to the Red Storm's 78.3.
 
MSUB and Dixie State strategically went back and forth early in the contest and kept the score close. With the Jackets holding a narrow 12-10 two point advantage at 13:52, MSUB went on an 18-9 run to build their lead to 11 at the 8:37 mark.
 
Dixie State countered and cut the lead down to six at 5:51 (32-26), but MSUB's 10 points compared to the Red Storm's seven helped them hold a nine point advantage going into halftime.
 
“Great win for us, we came out and played well on both ends of the court,” stated head coach Kevin Woodin. “Defensively, we were very good on the boards and were able to get several transition baskets. Peoples' four three pointers in the first half were critical and helped us stretch out their defense.”
In the second half, the Yellowjackets built their lead to 12 twice before, Dixie State cut the lead down to six (56-50) at the 11:02 mark. The Red Storm continued to ride their momentum, and went on a 10-6 run to come within two of MSUB at 5:38.
 
Key free throws helped the Jackets push their lead back up seven with 3:59 remaining. Dixie State made a great effort to even the score as they went on an offensive flurry scoring nine points to the Jackets three, chopping the lead to one (72-71) with 39 seconds left.
 
Knudsen hit a jumper with 14 seconds remaining to increase MSUB's lead to three points. Rachael Spinks shot a three pointer with six seconds remaining in hopes of tying the contest but her efforts came up short and the Yellowjackets went ahead to win the game 74-71.
 
“Knudsen and Tolman played well down the stretch,” Woodin said. “We shot well from the line late in the game to secure the win, and I also want to give kudos to our defense on the final possession. It's nice to win a tight game against a good opponent on the road. We are looking forward to our matchup with Colorado Mesa who looked very good in their game against Simon Fraser.”
 
The Jackets will now shift their attention to Colorado Mesa University, as they have a short turn around before they square off at 1:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The Mavericks will be a tough test for MSUB as they easily defeated fellow Great Northwest Athletic Conference member Simon Fraser 62-45.