BILLINGS, Mont. - MSU Billings started off slow, but a free-throw from Tiana Hanson with two minutes left in the first quarter put the Yellowjackets ahead for the first time at 14-13. From there, MSUB found its groove, driving ahead by as many as 14 points, settling with a 78-68 win over Northwest Nazarene in conference action Saturday.

MSUB's Alisha Breen recorded a game-high 25 points. Janiel Olson finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. Hanson was 6-6 from the free throw line, ending the game with eight points and five rebounds. Sophomore Rylee Kane ended the afternoon with eight points and a game-high five assists.

"This was another great victory for our team," MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said. " I am very proud of how hard we are playing and the improvements we have made during the last month."

The win sends Montana State University Billings to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Northwest Nazarene drops to 1-6 on the year and 0-2 in the GNAC.

The Yellowjackets shot 23-52 from the field ending the game shooting 44.2 percent. From the 3-point arc, MSUB shot 6-14 and from the free-throw line the Yellowjackets improved their performance from Thursday shooting 26-32 and 81.3 percent.

The Crusaders were led by CoCo Gall (14), Taylor Simmons (13), and Ellie Logan (11) who all finished with double-digit points. Simmons, Elayna Rice, and Danielle Jardine had five rebounds apiece. Simmons dished out four assists and made three steals.

From the field, NNU shot 25-66 (37.9 percent). The Crusaders were 14-19 from the charity strip and 4-16 from outside the arc.

Breen scored the first two points of the game on a layup. Lexi Tubbs kicked-off a run of eight straight points for NNU with a layup giving the Crusaders an early 8-2 lead. Breen restarted the Yellowjacket offense with a steal dishing the ball to Taylor Edwards who drained a 3-point basket. Two free-throws from Olson put MSUB five back, 12-7.

Northwest Nazarene started a full court press, but a good response from MSUB had Grimsrud open on the outside for a 3-point basket. Two free-throws from Hanson gave MSUB its first lead at 14-13 with 2:45 remaining in the first quarter.

A smooth play from Grimsrud led to three points. The forward stopped on the outside and moved into the key where she pulled up for the jump ball and made good on the point after on the foul shot. On the next possession, Grimsrud set a half-court screen for Kane who drove into the key for two points.

For NNU, Tubbs drained a 3-pointer for the Crusaders. MSU Billings ended the quarter with layups from Breen and Van Atta to take a 25-22 lead after the first 10 minutes.

Keeping the ball alive for MSUB, Vanessa Stavish grabbed an offensive rebound and made the put-back and Breen finished back-to-back 3-pointers to open up a nine point lead at 37-28.

Northwest Nazarene picked up some momentum with its defense, converting two MSUB turnovers into baskets. Two more free-throws from Hanson put MSUB ahead 43-36 at half-time.

MSU Billings finished the game with 18 turnovers with NNNU at 16. The Yellowjackets were able to convert 17 of those into points with the Crusaders at 14. Both teams made nine steals each in the game.

"Give NNU credit, they came out of the gates very hungry and got us down right away," Woodin said. "Their team speed is so impressive. I felt we allowed too much penetration early on the defensive end. The first half tempo was very quick, but I thought overall our team was handling their pressure well. They did turn us over a few times but I thought we got some easy baskets too."

Tubbs opened the second half with a 3-pointer. Olson recovered an offensive rebound and made the second shot for a counter basket. On the NNU possession, Olson made a steal, shooting a long pass to Marissa Van Atta on the run who finished with a layup.

A scramble under the basket led to a jump ball in favor of the Yellowjackets. Kane made the pass in to Olson who drained a 3-pointer to open up a 50-39 point spread.

MSU Billings worked for patience, moving the ball from side to side. Pulling ahead by 14, Breen made her third 3-pointer of the game and another long shot for 63-49 .

Simmons made two free-throws and Katie Swanson a layup for NNU. The Crusaders continued with a full court press pushing the MSUB offense into multiple half court solutions. Open under the basket, Stavish made a shot under the rim for two. Kane was fouled on a dribble drive and she made one of her two shots.

At the five minute mark, the 'Jackets made a critical defensive stop as Olson recorded her fourth steal of the game. This time at the free-throw line, Kane made both of her shots to drive the score back up to a 10-point lead at 68-58 with 3:48 remaining in the game.

With under two minutes left, Gall passed the ball inside to Swanson who made a layup to drop the deficit to under 10 points.

On a breakaway pass from Kane, Olson drove down the court and was fouled on the layup attempt. She completed both of her shots. The 'Jackets picked up a defensive rebound and Kane sank both of her shots on the foul.

Under 30 seconds left in the game, NNU began to foul. Down the stretch, the Yellowjackets finished the game making 8-8 for from the line. Hanson made her last two shots of the game for a 78-66 lead. Gall finished the scoring on a layup.

In the paint, NNU outscored MSUB 34-28. The teams were even on second chance points at 15. Off the bench, MSUB picked up 17 points. Stavish had eight, Van Atta six, and Edwards three.

"Defensively, our communication was much better in the second half," Woodin said. "We tried to mix up our defenses which I think was effective. They did hurt us on the offensive glass so we will need to clean that up."

MSUB was outrebounded offensively 17-11.

"Free throws were very important tonight," Woodin continued. "It was nice to shoot them at a higher rate than we did on Thursday."

THE BUZZ: MSUB finished 26-32 from the free-throw line versus 8-19 on Thursday against Central Washington...Hanson named St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game not missing a free-throw at 6-6...Olson led the team in offensive boards with four.

UP NEXT: MSU hosts one more game at home this year welcoming the University of Montana - Western on Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.

"It will be nice to only have one game next week," Woodin said. "I know some of our players are pretty sore so hopefully we will be fresher next Saturday. We look forward to our next game at home vs. UM- Western. I have heard they are very improved over a year ago and it is important for us to continue to work hard and get better each week."