BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings Women's Basketball team will host two conference match-ups this week on Thursday, Jan. 23 and Saturday, Jan. 25.
 
In a game sponsored by Hardee's, MSUB will face Saint Martin's University on Thursday, and on Saturday in a game sponsored by the Hilton Garden Inn, the Yellowjackets will host Western Oregon University.
 
MSU Billings is currently in a four-way tie for first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and this week all four teams have important games that will significantly shuffle the rankings as the top four teams in the conference are in action against each other.
 
For the top four schools, games set for Thursday include Montana State University Billings hosting Saint Martin's University and the University of Alaska Anchorage at Western Washington University as all four boast GNAC-best 5-2 conference records.
 
Montana State University Billings (12-5, 5-2 GNAC) is coming off two conference wins from last week beating Central Washington University (6-10, 1-7) 72-44 in Ellensburg on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene University (10-6, 3-5) 66-61 in Nampa on Saturday.
 
Bobbi Knudsen had 42 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists and five assists in the two wins.  Janiel Olson had 28 rebounds and 24 rebounds, including a career-high 19 points in the win over Central Washington.  Chelsea Banis had 13 points, nine rebounds, and was a perfect 7-7 from the free-throw line in the game against Northwest Nazarene.
 
Saint Martin's (11-5, 5-2 GNAC) is coming off a week where they split a pair of conference games.  Last Thursday SMU narrowly skated away with a win over Simon Fraser University 73-71, but then lost a closely-contested game to Western Washington University 73-79 as the Vikings handed the Saints their first loss at home this season.
 
Angela Gelhar was the high-scorer for SMU with 28 points in the two games, while Megan Wiedeman finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and four steals on the weekend. 

Saint Martin's is ranked first in the GNAC in scoring defense averaging nearly 60 points per game, and this week remains in the top-10 in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage defense ranked at No. 10 with a mark of 34.3.

The Saints' are shooting 37 percent from the field, averaging 68 points and 39 rebounds per game.  Chelsea Haskey is averaging 13.4 points and seven rebounds for SMU.  Angela Gelhar is averaging 12.8 points.  Jordyn Richardson is second in the GNAC in 3-pt field goal percentage at 52.4 percent.

"St. Martin's has had a great year to date," Coach Woodin stated.  "They are very well coached and their players have really stepped up this season.  We will definitely have our hands full."
 
Overall, MSUB is 20-8 against Saint Martin's.  The Yellowjackets are 10-2 at home and have won the last five contests against the Saints, including taking the last game at home 75-41. 
Western Oregon (5-10, 2-5 GNAC) is coming off of two conference home losses last week.  The Wolves fell to Western Washington 58-78 and Simon Fraser 47-56.
 
Dana Goularte is leading WOU averaging 17.6 points and nine rebounds per game.  She is third in the GNAC overall and fifth in GNAC contests this season.  Chantel Divilbiss is averaging 12. 3 points.
 
The Wolves are averaging 63.7 points and 36.7 rebounds per game.  WOU is shooting 38.7 percent from the field and 30 percent from the three-point arc.
 
"I expect Western Oregon to be much improved from last season," Coach Woodin said.  "They have had a couple of great wins in league play so far and have been very close on numerous occasions.  With a new coach, I am sure their system has changed, but I do know they have some very talented players."
 
Montana State University Billings has a 17-5 edge all-time over Western Oregon.  MSUB is 9-1 at home against the Wolves and won the last game the two played 62-55.
 
For the Yellowjackets, Bobbi Knudsen is averaging 16.5 points per game.  She is averaging 5.9 assists per game, which places her at No. 6 nationally.  She is also shooting 91.4 percent from the free-throw line which has her at No. 8 in the nation.   Knudsen is ranked fifth in the GNAC in scoring, first in assists, and first in free-throw percentage.
 
Kayleen Goggins is averaging 10.9 points per game which has her in the top 25 in the GNAC.
 
Chelsea Banis is averaging 9.9 points per game and is fourth in the conference in field goal percentage with 51.5 percent. 
 
Janiel Olson is averaging 10.6 rebounds per game which ranks her first in the GNAC in overall rebounds. 
 
MSUB is shooting 42 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point territory.  The Yellowjackets are averaging 72 points including seven three-point baskets per game.  MSUB is also averaging 38.5 rebounds, 13.5 assists, and six steals per game.
 
"Last week was a great week for us as we posted two road wins and I thought the key to our wins was primarily our defense," Coach Woodin said.  "I am hopeful we can keep that up while also playing much better on the offensive end.  We need to shoot free-throws at a higher percentage and we need to turn the ball over at a lesser rate.  Our focus needs to be on possession."
 
Montana State University Billings will host Saint Martin's University on Thursday, Jan. 23.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM.  The game will feature both a student Dash for Cash as well as a student Vivint $500 Challenge.
 
Montana State University Billings will then host Western Oregon University on Saturday in a double-header with the Men's team.  The women will face WOU at 5:15 followed by the Men against Seattle Pacific University at 7:30 PM.  Saturday's game is also Hall of Fame night where the four newest inductees will be honored during half-time of the men's game. 
 
Prior to Saturday's game, Dr. Jim Elliot, Heidi Lehman, Megan Plank, and Pryor Orser will join the 144 members in the Montana State University Billings Hall of Fame Honor and Distinction in a ceremony on Friday night at the Hilton Garden Inn.  The event features a social and dinner buffet, after which the honorees will receive their awards.  The event is scheduled to begin at 5:30 PM and is open to the public.  Tickets are $30.00 per person and can be purchased by calling Denise Wynia in Yellowjacket Athletics at 406-657-2369.
 
Live video and live stats for all three games this week will be available at MSUBSports.com.