Box Score
Box Score

BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings' women's basketball team grabbed a 57-54 exhibition win at NCAA Div. I's Montana State University Saturday.

The game was a non-counter for the Yellowjackets (8-2, 2-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference), but a regular season matchup for Montana State. After opening the season 2-2, MSU Billings has won eight straight, including the last two contests which were exhibitions.

Montana State Billings' Bobbi Knudsen recorded two of her game-high 15 points on a go-ahead jumper with 29 seconds remaining in regulation. Kayleen Goggins created the final margin with a pair of free-throws. Goggins finished with 12 points. The Yellowjackets rallied from an 11-point deficit with just over seven minutes in the game.

Entering the game, Montana State (7-4, 1-1 Big Sky Conference) had won eight of the last nine in the series, with the last win in non-exhibition play coming on Nov. 11, 2007, in a 78-55 victory. The last regular season matchup for MSUB was on Dec. 16, 1994 in which the Bobcats won 73-55. Montana State Billings is 3-14 all-time in regular season contests in Bozeman.

Shooting was a big focal point for both teams entering the contest, and while the Bobcats shot better from the field, 45.1 percent compared to the Jackets 33.3, MSUB out shot their opposition from behind the arch and free throw line. The Yellowjackets went 87.5 percent from the charity stripe and 30 percent from three point territory, compared to Montana State's 77.8 percent from the free throw line and 9.1 percent from behind the arch.
 
Rachel Semansky and Latisha Adams both had a team high 11 points for the Bobcats, with Semansky snatching a game high 10 rebounds. Montana State slightly out rebounded the Jackets, 39-34, but MSUB grabbed more offensive rebounds, 14-9. Janiel Olson and Knudsen each grabbed seven rebounds on the night.
 
Turnovers were key in the match as the Yellowjackets continue to take care of the ball, only committing 10 errors in the contest, while forcing the Bobcats into 19 turnovers.
 
MSUB held a six point lead at the 13:01 mark, 11-5, before the Bobcats countered with an 11-5 run to even the score at 16 all with 7:46 remaining. Montana State continued their offensive prowess as they used a 21-12 run to close the half, leading 37-28.
Semansky had nine points and five rebounds at the half.
 
“It was a great win for us, they are a very good team,” stated head coach Kevin Woodin. “I like the way we started the game, we were very aggressive on both ends of the floor and played good team basketball. We had a letdown at the end of the first half, but I give them credit for taking the nine point lead at the half.”
 
The Yellowjackets came out strong in the second half with a 12-4 run from the opening tip to the 12:08 mark, coming within one point of the Bobcats, 41-40. Montana State didn't panic and scored 10 straight points in four minutes to push their lead to 11, 51-40, with 7:44 remaining.
 
“We always felt we were right in the game despite missing several opportunities,” Woodin said. “In the second half we came out strong and fought back from a double digit lead to get back in the game.”
 
With Montana State having a firm grip on the contest, MSUB fought back hard and went on a 13-1 run to take the 53-52 lead with 3:20 remaining. Ashley Bromwell hit a layup at 2:22 to regain the lead for the Bobcats.
 
As 29 seconds remained, Knudsen hit a jumper to shift the lead back to the Yellowjackets. Following a missed jumper by Bromwell and foul on Semansky, MSUB's Goggins sank two free throws to extend their advantage to three, 57-54, with 16 seconds left in the contest. Montana State missed their final opportunities to tie the game and would lose their fourth game of the season.
 
“I give a lot of credit to our team, they fought hard for the win,” stated Woodin. “We got quality stops on defense, hit big shots, and executed very well over the last few minutes. It was also nice to see us hit free throws down the stretch, we struggled as a team with free throws in previous contests. Overall it was total a team effort, we got quality minutes from a lot of players and our team defense was very good tonight.”
 
The Bobcats now fall to 7-4 overall, and still remain 1-1 in the Big Sky Conference. MSUB will now shift their attention to the very challenging GNAC schedule as they play their first pair of road conference games this upcoming Thursday and Saturday.
 
“It was a great experience for us to play a good opponent on the road,” Woodin said. “Hopefully the poise we showed tonight will benefit us throughout the season. We are looking forward to get into our GNAC schedule, and excited to face the challenge of playing in a difficult league.”
 
The Yellowjackets will face Saint Martin's University on Jan. 3 at 7:00 p.m. (Pacific Time), and then compete against Western Oregon University on Jan. 5 at 1:00 p.m. (Pacific Time).
 
Yellowjacket fans can click the link below to catch all of the action live through the GNAC web portal.
 
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