BILLINGS, Mont. – Three women's basketball games are on tap this weekend at Alterowitz Gym, as Montana State University Billings hosts its annual Yellowjacket Classic tournament sponsored by Red Lion Hotels and Convention Center Thursday through Saturday.
 
Chadron State College and Concordia University (Ore.) will head to the Magic City for a round-robin style event with the Yellowjackets. "We are looking forward to hosting our annual event, and all three teams will get two quality Division II games," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "It is great to have two regional home games early in the season, and I am very appreciative of Red Lion Hotels and Convention Center for sponsoring our event again."
 
Tournament Schedule
Thursday, Nov. 16 – Chadron State vs. Concordia – 5 PM
Friday, Nov. 17 – Concordia vs. MSU Billings – 7 PM
Saturday, Nov. 18 – Chadron State vs. MSU Billings – 7 PM
 
All three games will feature live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics, available online through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here. Tickets for all games will be available at the gate, with pricing listed online here.
 
The Yellowjackets (2-0) opened their 2017-18 season with a successful trip to San Francisco last week, defeating the Academy of Art 68-65 last Friday and Holy Names University 96-57 on Saturday. "I'm hoping our team can continue to improve," Woodin said. "I feel we established some momentum last week in San Francisco, and I'm excited to see how much we have progressed this week in practice."
 
Photo Gallery: MSUB Women's Basketball visits The City
 
 
Friday's game against Concordia marks the beginning of a seven-game home stretch for the Yellowjackets, who will be at Alterowitz Gym for the next month until a trip to Hawaii Dec. 16-19. The lone exception is a non-counting exhibition game at Montana State University on Nov. 25 in Bozeman.
 
NON-CONFERENCE, IN-REGION: Though MSUB and Concordia each compete in the GNAC, Friday's encounter will not count towards either team's conference record. It will be the first of three meetings between the teams this winter, with the 'Jackets playing in Portland, Ore., on Jan. 20, 2018 and the 'Cavs returning to Billings on Feb. 15, 2018. The latter two contests will each be conference games.
 
LAST FIVE: W-W- - -
 
BREEN'S BACK: Immediately erasing any doubt regarding her health after missing last year with an injury, GNAC Preseason Player of the Year Alisha Breen hit the ground running with 25 points in her very first game of the year. The senior went on to win Most Valuable Player of the West Region Tipoff Classic hosted by the Academy of Art, with 44 points, 13 assists, 12 rebounds, and three steals in MSUB's two games. The performance was good enough for GNAC Player of the Week honors, the third time in her career Breen has received the award.
 
With four made free throws last week, Breen moved into a tie for second place in the MSUB record books with 347 free throws in her career. Breen is now 45 made free throws away from matching the MSUB record of 392, held by Sherry McQuinn (1991-93).
 
MSUB WBB Career Free Throw Leaders (11/15/17)

Rank	Name	FT	Seasons
1	Sherry McQuinn	392	1991-93
2	Tera Silvius	347	1992-95
	Alisha Breen	347	2013-17
4	Shelley Altrogge	310	1990-91
5	Kayla Ryan	308	2007-11
6	Alira Carpenter	306	2006-09
7	Bobbi Knudsen	293	2011-14
8	Michelle Lieber	289	2005-07
9	Natalie Visger	286	2000-03
10	Amy Winslow	280	1996-99

 
STAVISH'S STRONG RETURN: Also returning to the lineup after missing the entire 2016-17 season, junior Vanessa Stavish had a strong showing and was another all-tournament recipient along with Breen. Stavish notched 26 points and nine rebounds in the two games last week, connecting on 4 of 10 3-pointers. She made the most of the first two starts of her career, shooting 55 percent overall from the floor and totaling 47 minutes.
 
WEEKS OFF THE BENCH: Providing a boost off the bench, senior Grace Weeks had a stellar game against Holy Names on Saturday. Her 15 points were just two off her career high, and she also had four rebounds in 18 minutes. Weeks is well on her way to boosting last year's averages of 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds, and she'll look to build on a year in which she averaged around 24 minutes per game.
 
KANE CRACKS TOP-10: With 14 assists last week, senior point guard Rylee Kane broke into the top-10 in GNAC history with 398 career assists. Kane averaged 5.4 assists per game last season, and has an average of 4.42 assists per game in her four-year career as a starter. Kane also had 14 points and five rebounds last week, while facilitating the Yellowjackets' offense.
 
GNAC Women's Basketball Career Assists Leaders (11/15/17)

Rank	Name	School	Assists	Seasons
1	Kiki Robertson	Alaska Anchorage	700	2013-17
2	Ellen Kett	Simon Fraser	692	2013-17
3	Bobbi Knudsen	MSU Billings	532	2010-14
4	Beth Christensen	Seattle Pacific	501	2004-08
5	Melanie Wagoner	Alaska	500	1998-2002
6	Kerie Hughes	Seattle Pacific	498	1999-03
7	Mallory Whipple	Northwest Nazarene	466	2005-09
8	Jasmin Edwards	Central Washington	430	2014-17
9	Kristy Eggen	Western Washington	412	1994-96, 2002-03
10	Rylee Kane	MSU Billings	398	2014-17

 
CUNNINGHAM DUE TO BREAK OUT: Grabbing eight rebounds in the first game of her sophomore season, Taylor Cunningham had more boards against Academy of Art than she did in any game last season. The forward figures to be a key starter this season, after finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds in her first two games of the year.
 
KOEHLER MAKES DEBUT: Slotting into the rotation for 23 minutes off the bench was senior Rachel Koehler, who made her Yellowjacket debut and chipped in a team-high 12 rebounds on the weekend. After spending her first three seasons at NCAA Division I Cal Poly, the Billings native is back in her hometown and should be a major contributor under the basket.
 
SPREAD THE SCORING: In MSUB's highest offensive output since the 2013-14 season against Holy Names, all 12 players on the roster recorded points and all but one player converted a 3-pointer. Additionally, MSUB tied for the second-most assists in single-game history, with 31 as a unit against the Hawks.

Concordia University Cavaliers
Friday, November 17 – 7 PM – Alterowitz Gym
2017-18 Record: 1-1
Last Five Games: W-L- - -
Head Coach: Sean Kelly, 4th season
2016-17 Record: 12-16, 9-11 GNAC (T-6th place)
 
Coming off their best season since 2010-11, Concordia just missed out on the GNAC tournament last year with an overall record of 12-16. The 'Cavs are off to a 1-1 start this year, defeating Cal State Monterey Bay 64-51 before losing to Stanislaus State 72-68 in overtime last week on the road.
 
CU will take on Chadron State on Thursday, before facing the 'Jackets in a non-conference game on Friday.
 
Like the 'Jackets, the 'Cavs had a pair of preseason all-conference selections in senior Danielle Hartzog and junior Bailey Cartwright. Hartzog turned in 23 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in her first two games last week, while Cartwright had 22 points, 28 boards, and three assists.
 
Sophomore guard Kizzah Maltezo led the team offensively with 27 points in her first two games of the year, and knocked down 5 of 11 3-pointers off the bench.
 
CU figures to be a strong rebounding team, with 81 boards over its first two games of the year. The 'Cavs shot 36.4 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from long range, and 69.7 percent from the foul line in their opening weekend.
 
The Series: MSUB has a 3-1 edge in the young series, which began two seasons ago. The 'Jackets are 2-0 in home games against the Cavaliers. Breen had 26 points the first time the teams met in January of 2016, the fifth-highest single-game point total in her career.
 
Last Time Out: CU snapped a three-game win streak by MSUB, defeating the 'Jackets 66-54 in Portland last February. Maltezo had a team-high 15 points in the game, while Hartzog chipped in 10.

Chadron State College Eagles
2017-18 Record: 2-0
Last Five Games: W-W- - -
Head Coach: Janet Raymer, 2nd season
2016-17 Record: 7-18, 7-15 RMAC (12th place)
 
Off to their best start in recent memory, the Eagles are coming off victories over Texas A&M International on Friday and Texas A&M Kingsville on Saturday. CSC held on for a dramatic 57-56 win on Saturday, as Savannah Weidauer sunk a free throw with less than 30 seconds left that wound up being the winning bucket.
 
Overall Kalli Feddersen led the team with 27 points in the two games, while also grabbing 20 rebounds and adding 10 assists. Brooke Turek was another double-figure scorer, with 23 points while making 8 of 18 shots from the floor.
 
Jessica Lovitt is a top rebounder for the Eagles, and grabbed 11 total in her first two games while adding 17 points. CSC will also count on starters Keeley Pearche and Jessica Harvey, who had 18 and 17 points, respectively, in the team's two contests last week.
 
Like Concordia, Chadron State is a solid rebounding team, with 82 boards over its first two games of the year. The Eagles shot 36.3 percent from the field, 28.2 percent from 3-point range, and 73.0 percent from the free-throw line in the opening weekend of play.
 
The Series: The Yellowjackets own an impressive 13-3 record against CSC, in a series that dates back to the 1978 season. The 'Jackets have won six games in-a-row dating back to 2011, and are 8-1 all-time in home games against the Eagles.
 
Last Time Out: Then-sophomore Taylor Edwards had 16 points and six rebounds to lead MSUB to a 66-60 win over CSC on Nov. 25, 2016. Kane had 13 points and a game-high seven assists in the narrow win for the 'Jackets.