BILLINGS, Mont. – For the second straight week Alisha Breen was named the Most Valuable Player of her team's tournament, as she led the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team to a 69-59 win over Chadron State College in the finale of the 2017 Yellowjacket Classic sponsored by Red Lion Hotel & Convention Center Saturday night at Alterowitz Gym.
 
Breen notched her eighth-career double-double with 23 points and 16 rebounds, and finished the three-team event with a tournament best 42 points and 21 rebounds. The reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week's big night helped the Yellowjackets remain perfect on the season, as MSUB improved to 4-0. "Give Chadron State a lot of credit, as they fought hard and got into our lead," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "The offensive tempo we had in the first half was good, but we struggled with finishing a little bit in the second half. Chadron wouldn't go away, and Savannah Weidauer was very hard to guard for us. We held together, and the last two minutes we made some really good offensive decisions when the game was close."
 
Chadron State (2-2) was not phased by a 40-26 halftime deficit, and rode the performances of Savannah Weidauer and Kalli Feddersen to out-score MSUB 33-29 over the final 20 minutes of play. Feddersen was an all-tournament selection, with 30 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds in her team's two games.
 
The Eagles gave the 'Jackets a run for their money down the stretch, pulling as close as 61-57 after a jumper by Brooke Turek with 3:38 left to play. MSUB never relinquished the lead in the wire-to-wire victory however, which was sealed by a Breen 3-point play and a Vanessa Stavish 3-pointer within the final 1:15 of play.
 
Chadron State overcame a shooting percentage of just 32.3 in the opening half (10-for-31), making 13 of 32 shots (40.7 percent) the rest of the game. Weidauer's work under the basket kept the Eagles in the game, as 13 of her 15 points came in the second half with 6-for-13 accuracy.
 
Comparatively, MSUB slipped in accuracy between halves with a mark of just 32.3 percent (10-for-31) in the second after a line of 36.1 percent (13-for-36) that established the team's first-half advantage.
 
Senior Rylee Kane had another solid night with nine points, six assists, three steals, and six rebounds, and was also selected to the all-tournament team. Though she got off to a slow start in the opening half, sophomore Taylor Cunningham proved crucial in the second with five of her six rebounds on the night coming in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
Senior Rachel Koehler was similarly effective down the stretch, and finished the night with three rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 19 minutes off the bench. Koehler was an all-tournament pick with 13 total boards in the two games for the 'Jackets.
 
Breen had her double-double by halftime, with 16 points and 10 rebounds while playing 17 of the first 20 minutes. She came up one board short of her career high of 17 (1/2/16 at Alaska), contributing to MSUB's stellar rebound margin of 44-30 on the evening. "I thought we started really well, and in the past couple of games we had trouble getting good starts," said Breen. "Chadron is a good team, and they are scrappy. The fact that we went 4-0 on regional games is huge, and it is exciting because we have so much potential."
 
THE BUZZ: Breen was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is 14-3 all-time against Chadron State and is 9-1 in home games against the Eagles…MSUB has won seven in-a-row against CSC…Breen's rebound total tied for the second-most in her career, as she reached 16 on Feb. 26, 2015 at Alaska…her last double-double was on March 4, 2016 against Western Washington…Breen was named MVP of the West Region Tipoff Classic hosted by Academy of Art University last week, helping the 'Jackets start the season 2-0…Danielle Hartzog and Bailey Cartwright of Concordia University were also named to the all-tournament team.
 
COMING UP: MSUB hosts South Dakota School of Mines in a Tuesday night game at Alterowitz Gym. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. in Game 1 of a doubleheader with the MSUB men's basketball team, and live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available online through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.