ELLENSBURG, Wash. - MSU Billings rebounded from Thursday's loss to Northwest Nazarene with a big-time, 60-41 road victory over Central Washington Saturday afternoon in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
Kayleen Goggins had 22 points and eight rebounds. Three players had eight points and Quinn Peoples pulled in a career-high 12 rebounds in the offensive and defensive attack from the Yellowjackets.
 
Montana State University Billings (13-11, 5-9 Great Northwest Athletic Conference)  had 45 rebounds in the game and held Central Washington University (11-12. 6-9 GNAC) to 26.7 percent shooting in the night.
 
"I was very proud of the way our team played today," MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said. "We had great energy, especially on the defensive end in the first half. Our team did a great job on the boards, which was a goal of ours tonight. We've gotten outrebounded in our last three games, and lost in Billings against Central Washington in an earlier contest by double-digits."
 
A total of 13 baskets were made in the first-half of the game. MSUB was 8-27 while CWU made a total of five baskets (5-28). Central Washington scored five points in the first three minutes of the game, then embarked on a five minute scoring drought before Hannah Shine hit a 3-point shot, getting the Wildcats  to within two, 10-8 with 11:48 left in the first half.
 
MSUB's Monica Grimsrud added two points on a pair of free-throws at 6:48, opening up a six-point lead. The Yellowjackets added to that lead with another nine in the final minutes of the first half. Peoples made a 3-point shot, and Annie DePuydt a jumper in the last three minutes to open-up a double-digit advantage 23-12 at the half.
 
"Our team talked about how the last time we lost a really close game on the road, we did not come back and play very hard two days later, so I was extremely happy with our efforts tonight," Coach Woodin continued.  "I thought our three seniors did a great job of leading our team, but it was a complete team effort. Our bench played really well tonight - they helped us out with points and rebounds, I thought that was crucial to our success tonight, because we did have some foul trouble."
 
In the second half, MSUB led by as many as 22. A 3-pointer from Grimsrud followed by a layup from Goggins at the half-way point of the second-half, gave the Yellowjackets a 44-22 advantage. From there, MSU Billings held Central Washington off, finally ending the night on a Lexi Prevost free-throw for the 19-point win.
 
Led by eight from Grimsrud, the MSU Billings bench provided 13 points for the Yellowjackets. The junior redshirt also contributed five rebounds and two blocks while shooting 2-3 from the 3-point arc.
 
The career-high 12 rebounds earns Quinn Peoples the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game honor. Peoples also tied for a team-high five assists. Alisha Breen and DePuydt both contributed eight points to the win. Breen had eight rebounds and five assists.
 
"Kayleen Goggins, she was a force inside," Coach Woodin said. "I also thought we passed the ball well tonight. We had 16 assists which was critical to our success. Peoples had the career-high in rebounds, but it was a good consistent performance by our entire team."
 
Next week MSU Billings is set to host two big games this week at home. This Thursday, Feb. 19, is Think Pink Night at Alterowitz. MSUB is hosting Western Oregon at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 is Senior Night when MSU Billings will honor the season's three seniors: Kayleen Goggins, Annie DePuydt, and Quinn Peoples after the game against Saint Martin's which is set to begin at 7 p.m.