SAN FRANCISCO – Four Montana State University Billings women's basketball players reached double figures in scoring as the Yellowjackets cruised to a 96-57 win over Holy Names University at the West Region Tipoff Classic at Kezar Pavilion Saturday afternoon.
All 12 players on MSUB's roster had at least two points in the lopsided victory, as the Yellowjackets reached their highest point total in a single game since a 104-77 win over the University of Alaska on Feb. 27, 2014. MSUB improved to 2-0 on the young season, while Holy Names fell to 0-2 with the loss.
"This was a great team win today, and I thought we played better in each quarter as the game progressed," said MSUB head coach
Kevin Woodin. "It was nice to see everybody score, and I thought offensively we shared the ball extremely well today. At halftime we talked about being aggressive on both ends, and I'm happy with how we were able to put together a great run in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. We had opportunities to do that in the first half but didn't, so it was nice to achieve that."
The 'Jackets shared the ball remarkably well with 31 assists in the game, the second-highest team total in school history.
MSUB Women's Basketball Team Single-Game Assists Records
| Rank |
Opponent |
Assists |
Dates |
| 1 |
vs. Rocky |
40 |
11-22-1983 |
| 2 |
vs. Holy Names |
31 |
11-11-2017 |
| 3 |
vs. Montana Tech |
30 |
1-12-2005 |
|
vs. Saint Martin's |
30 |
12-16-2005 |
| 5 |
vs. Metro State |
29 |
2-5-1988 |
|
vs. Alaska Anchorage |
29 |
2-6-1997 |
Alisha Breen led the Yellowjackets with 19 points, while matching her career high with eight assists, seven rebounds, and two steals all in 28 minutes.
Vanessa Stavish and
Grace Weeks each had 15 points, and
Lexi Prevost chipped in 10 to help lead the 'Jackets offensively. "Grace had one of her best games ever for us, as she was effective on both ends." Woodin said. "She did a nice job on the boards, and was ready to shoot when the pass came to her. She scored from the mid-range as well as around the basket."
Breen was named the West Region Tipoff Classic Most Valuable Player, after accumulating 44 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists, and three steals in the two games. Stavish also garnered all-tournament honors.
Nearly a third of MSUB's points came from the perimeter, as the 'Jackets knocked down 10 treys and shot 41 percent from the arc. "We shot the ball well from the line, and that really spaced the floor and gave
us inside opportunities as well," said Woodin. "Our bench played a big role tonight, and 44 points off the bench is pretty amazing."
The Hawks were led by Ariana Hernandez and Onjalise Carley-Hilliard, who had 15 points apiece. HNU hung around in the first quarter, and led 11-9 on a layup by Taylor Krouse midway through the period. The teams emerged even at 15-15 after 10 minutes of play, but it was all Yellowjackets after that as MSUB won the second quarter 24-13 and led 39-28 at halftime.
MSUB's lead never dipped below 12 points in the second half, and peaked at 39 when freshman
Hannah Collins made the final bucket of the day with 34 seconds left on the clock.
Seven different Yellowjackets made at least one 3-pointer on Saturday, and 11 of MSUB's 12 players had at least one assist. MSUB shot 60 percent overall (39-for-65), and made 8 of 13 free throws. The 'Jackets also dominated the glass, out-rebounding HNU 38-20.
The Hawks made 19 of 25 foul shots for a significant amount of their points, but shot just 37.8 percent from the field overall (17-for-45) and 30.8 percent (4-for-13) from 3-point range.
THE BUZZ: Weeks was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…the 10 3-pointers were the most in a single game by the 'Jackets since the team went 11-for-24 from the arc in a win over Cal Poly Pomona on Nov. 19, 2016…MSUB is now 1-0 all-time against Holy Names after the inaugural meeting between the teams Saturday…freshman
Hannah Collins scored her first career point on a free throw in the opening quarter.
NEXT UP: The 'Jackets make their 2017-18 home regular season debut with the Yellowjacket Classic running next weekend in Billings. MSUB will face Concordia University (Ore.) in a non-conference game on Thursday, before taking on Chadron State on Saturday. The full schedule for the tournament is online at
www.msubsports.com, and all games will feature live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics available online through
MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.
