BILLINGS, Mont. - A big second half from the Yellowjackets propel the women's basketball team to a 49-43 win in an exhibition game against the University of Great Falls Saturday at Alterowitz.

MSUB shot just 18 percent in the first half, but turned it around in the last 20 minutes with a combination of solid defense and good rebounding.

Alisha Breen finished with 14 points, Monica Grimsrud had 12, and Marissa Van Atta had a stellar defensive game, including a team-high 10 rebounds.

MSU Billings (2-3) shot just 5-27 in the first half finishing the opening 20 minutes with 13 points. The Yellowjackets picked it up in the second half on both sides of the floor, scoring 36 points and making some good defensive plays for extra chances at the basket.

After committing 10 turnovers in the first half, MSUB kept it to six in the second half. The team also outscored the University of Great Falls 24-16 in the paint and made more points off of turnovers 16-12.

"Great Falls was well-prepared and played a great first half," MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said. "We really struggled on the offensive end in the beginning. We had too many unforced turnovers and shot the ball extremely poorly so I give Coach Himmelberg's team a lot of credit."

For the Argos, Erin Legel finished the game shooting 7-22 for 22 points. Elyce Donaldson added 11 on 4-6 from the field and 3-3 from the charity strip. Whitney George had nine rebounds and Nneka Nnadi four assists.

After opening with some indecision, Grimsrud made a move under the basket with a nice spin for a layup. Van Atta made a grab off an inbounds pass from the Argos, but the 'Jackets lost the ball on the other end and Great Falls (6-2) was able to convert with a Legel jump shot in the paint for a 9-4 lead. An open look for Legel on an inbounds after Van Atta tipped the ball out put the Argos ahead 12-4 at the end of the first quarter.

With some added fire, Breen made a great defensive stop stealing the ball on a short pass, but the 'Jackets were again unable to put the ball in and another mismanaged shot selection put the ball back in the hands of UGF. A layup from George pushed the Argos ahead by 10, 14-4.

Breen made her first bucket of the game with a layup and on the next possession followed up with a shot off the glass on a back door pass from Rylee Kane.

Another big steal from Breen led to a 3-point play with a layup and the point after to close the gap to three points, 16-13. McDonagh and Molly Herron both made 1-2 from the charity strip to put UGF ahead by five at the break 18-13.

"To be honest, I felt fortunate we were only down five at half," Woodin said. "Coach Heringer did a very good job with a one-day scout and defensively, we did a lot of good things tonight. I liked the way our team responded in the second half. It was nice to see some shots finally go in and we got some easy baskets through our defense and in transition. Also in the second half, we rebounded the ball much better as we only gave up two offensive rebounds."

St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game Van Atta was a big part of the offensive glass. Four of her six second half rebounds were offensive in the final two quarters. Breen and Janiel Olson also kicked in a pair of offensive rebounds and Grimsrud made three grabs defensively. For the game, Breen finished with nine with Olson and Grimsrud each adding seven rebounds apiece.

Grimsrud kicked off the third quarter with a steal. The 'Jackets kept up the pressure on defense. Kane found herself in the key and pulled up for a jump shot. On the next possession she pulled up again and was fouled. She converted on one. MSUB's Tiana Hanson was fouled next and she also made one of her shots to pull to within one, 18-17.

Breen sent the 'Jackets ahead for the first time in the game after she grabbed her own missed shot and put it back in for 19-18. Grimsrud added to the lead with a 3-pointer at the top of the arc. Van Atta made a tough defensive rebound to keep the momentum with the Yellowjackets.

Using their defense again, Kane made a steal slicing the ball inside to Van Atta who made an athletic two steps under the rim for the layup. On a play with multiple passes, Grimsrud caught the final go around, finishing with a flat 3-point shot for her second 3-pointer of the game. Vanessa Stavish made MSUB's third 3-pointer of the game to open up a 10-point 31-21 lead.

An over-the-back call under the Argos' basket sent Olson to the line to shoot two. She hit one and another steal from Kane gave MSUB a chance at another basket. Stavish missed a 3-pointer, but Van Atta pulled in the rebound and went back up with a jump shot for two.

Van Atta kept up with her play, opening the fourth quarter with a missed shot, but made two offensive rebounds and was fouled on the third attempt. She recorded both shots. Breen went one-on-one inside the key, making a basket with a stop and pop taking the score to 40-33.

UGF pulled to within five with a pair of layups from Nnadi and Legel. MSUB responded with its own pair of layups from Breen and Kane. Two more defensive stops off the hands of Kane and Van Atta pushed the 'Jackets back up to eight, 46-38.

Legel kept it interesting at the end scoring five points on free-throws and a high-arcing 3-pointer pulling UGF to within three. She shot another 3-pointer, but this time was blocked and with under 15 seconds left, UGF was forced to foul. Olson made good on 3-4 attempts to ice the game.

MSU Billings finished with game shooting 16-59 for 27.1 percent. After shooting 0-8 from beyond the arc in the first half, the 'Jackets finished 3-18.

"Playing back to back three weeks in a row was challenging, however I think it will help us down the road," Woodin said. "It was nice to win a close game."

UGF shot 14-53 for 25.4 percent from the field. The team was 5-25 from long range with Legel making four of those. From the foul line, MSUB completed 14-21 with the Argos ending with 10-15.

UP NEXT: MSU Billings turns to conference play opening its league season hosting Central Washington on Thursday, Dec. 3, and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Dec. 5. Both Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests will begin at 7:00 p.m. The 'Jackets have one more game at home this year, welcoming the University of Montana - Western on Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.

"We are excited to open the GNAC season at home next week," Woodin continued. "Both CWU and NNU are quality opponents. We need to continue to improve each week."