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Woodin Post-Game Interview                              DePuydt Post-Game Interview

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Billings, Mont. – Following a shocking loss in their previous outing, the Montana State Billings women's basketball team got back to their winning ways as they defeated the University of Alaska Anchorage 78-64, ending a five year 10 game drought.
 
The Yellowjackets came out and had an inspiring team performance as they were swept by the GNAC defending champion last season. Rebounding and defense played a major role in capturing the victory as they out-rebounded Anchorage 46-29, and forced 15 turnovers.
 
“This was a great win for us tonight,” stated head coach Kevin Woodin. “I was really impressed with how Anchorage played tonight, they would not go away.”
 
Kayleen Goggins and Janiel Olson had a great day in the post as they combined for 23 points and 15 rebounds while holding the Seawolves top scorer and rebounder, Alysa Horn, to just three points and seven rebounds. Horn entered Thursday's contest fourth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in scoring (16.7 avg.) and second in rebounding (8.6 avg.).

 

Sophomore guard Annie DePuydt made her first career start and finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
 
Monica Grimsrud had a great night off the bench with 10 points, five rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
 
Junior guard Bobbi Knudsen had another dazzling performance and was the best player on the court this evening with game highs in points (22), rebounds (9) and assists (7); barely missing a triple-double by one rebound and three assists.
 
Her highly talented counterpart, Sasha King led Anchorage with 19 points, but was dramatically off her assist average as she only finished with three on the night. King entered tonight's game leading the GNAC in assists (7.1 avg.) and ranked No. 2 nationally. Jessica Madison and Alli Madison also finished in double-figures with 14 and 11 points respectively.
 
MSUB continues to be efficient with their possessions, only amassing for 10 turnovers, but did not have a particularly good shooting night as they shot 37.3 percent from the field (28-75) and 29.2 percent from three-point territory (7-24). The Seawolves only shot 36.8 percent from the field, but stayed competitively in the contest with their three-point shooting; going 52.2 percent on the night (12-23).
 
MSU Billings and Anchorage played a highly competitive match, especially in the first 10 minutes of play accounting for three ties and four lead changes. As the Yellowjackets owned the one point advantage at 10:32 (16-15), they used a 12-5 run to push their lead to eight with 4:50 remaining in the half (28-20).
 
The Seawolves quickly countered with six points from Jessica and Alli Madison to come within two of MSUB's advantage (28-26) at 3:03. Anchorage would not be able to get any closer to the Jackets' lead as DePuydt's free throws helped MSUB score seven more points to close the half, eventually holding a five point lead (35-30).
 
“We started slow in the first half but Grimsrud came in and helped us early, especially with rebounding,” Woodin said. “As a whole I think we were consistent and rebounded well.”
 
The Knudsen and King match up proved to be as advertised, with Knudsen scoring 12 and King scoring 10 to enter the break.
 
MSU Billings came out equally strong in the second half, and increased their lead to double figures twice in the first ten minutes. As the Yellowjackets held their largest lead of the night (53-41), Anchorage used four three-pointers to come within three of MSUB's lead (58-55) and 7:20 remaining in the contest.
 
The Jackets' didn't panic and used an 8-0 run to build their lead to 11 (66-55) at the 3:49 mark. Alaska Anchorage would not go quietly and brought MSUB's lead back down to six (69-63) off three-pointers from King and Madison, and two free throws by Horn, 2:36 remaining.
 
Just as it seemed the opposition had momentum, Knudsen penetrated the lane and found a wide open Goggins; the sophomore forward nailed a three pointer at 1:52 (72-63) to kill the Seawolves momentum. This play would prove to be the most pivotal in closing minutes as the opposition went cold and would only score one point in the remainder of the contest. Following her three-pointer, Goggins went 6-6 from the free throw line in the final minute of play to help close the contest for the Yellowjackets.
 
“I like the way our starting five started the second half; they were focused and did a great job defensively which sparked our offense,” stated Woodin. “I give Anchorage a lot of credit, they shot the ball very well tonight; we will need to defend that better going forward.”
 
MSUB went on to capture their 10^th victory of the season. The jackets improve to 10-3 overall, 4-1 in the GNAC. Alaska Anchorage now falls to 7-5 overall and 1-3 in the GNAC. The Yellowjackets will now face the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Alterowitz Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 7:00 p.m.
 
“We were tough tonight on the boards and got a lot of extra opportunities,” Woodin said. “Coaches Nathaniel Harris and Ashley Genske did a great job with the defensive game plan. We continue to improve each game; and now we switch our focus to Fairbanks, as they are a dangerous team and this will be a very important game for us.”
 
Fans are encouraged to come cheer on the women's team as the athletics department is offering a 2 for 1 general admission special for Saturday night's contest. If fans are unable to attend the event they can catch the action live by clicking on the link below.
 
Web Stream and Live Stats