BILLINGS, Mont. – Crucial home Great Northwest Athletic Conference games await the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team this week, as Alterowitz Gym will be packed with action over Hall of Fame weekend.
 
The Yellowjacket women will play the early game of a doubleheader with the men's basketball team, with tipoff set for 5:15 p.m., on both Thursday and Saturday. First up will be second-place Northwest Nazarene University (9-3, 5-2 GNAC), followed by Central Washington University (8-7, 4-3). Both games will feature live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics, available online through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.
 

"This is an important week for us, playing two more quality opponents in NNU and Central," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "They were both playoff teams a year ago, and were picked high in the preseason polls. They also both return a lot of veteran players. It is going to be important for us to avoid prolonged scoring droughts, and at the same time we need to limit scoring streaks by our opponents as they are both explosive teams."
 
MSUB (11-5, 4-2 GNAC) enters the week in a three-way tie for third place in the conference standings, and is a half-game ahead of CWU and a half-game behind NNU. The Wildcats closed the gap in the early league table by defeating the Nighthawks 79-73 on Tuesday evening in Nampa, Idaho.
 
"It's nice to be at home for the second week in a row, and I am confident we will play more consistently this week," said Woodin. "Last week we played very well at times, but inconsistently. It is critical that we get more balanced scoring from both our bench and from the 3-point line. It would be nice to have a couple players step up and score in double figures in both contests."
 
LAST FIVE: L-L-W-W-L
 
LAST WEEK: MSUB settled for a split at home last week, picking up a comfortable 86-56 win against the University of Alaska before a tough 81-60 loss against No. 6 University of Alaska Anchorage. The 'Jackets led the Seawolves as late as the 5:10 mark in the third quarter, but a late lull for MSUB and a strong finish by UAA cost the 'Jackets a chance at an upset.
 
RANKINGS REPORT: MSUB appeared in the D2SIDA west region top-10 for the fifth straight week, checking in at No. 8 up one spot from last week.
 
HALL OF FAME: In between doubleheaders on Friday evening will be the 29th Annual MSUB Hall of Fame and Distinction induction ceremony, taking place at the Hilton Garden Inn and beginning at 5:30 p.m. Inductees this year include Becky (Fry) Abrams (women's tennis, '05), Kalli (Stanhope) Allen (women's basketball/women's golf, '12), Carly (Valentine) Andre (women's soccer, '10), and Jerett Skrifvars (men's basketball, '04). Tickets are still available for purchase by calling MSUB's athletic department at 406-657-2369.
 
HONORING A LEGEND: Though she will not be eligible for induction into MSUB's Hall of Fame until 2020, former three-time All-American Bobbi Knudsen received a unique honor last week prior to the Yellowjackets' game against No. 6 UAA. Knudsen's No. 21 jersey was framed along with her career accomplishments, and presented to her at half court by Coach Woodin and MSUB director of athletics Krista Montague. One of the most decorated players in both MSUB and GNAC history, Knudsen's jersey will hang in the MSUB Corridor of Champions. The full ceremony can be viewed on MSUB's YouTube page here.
 
MATCHUP TO WATCH FEATURES ELITE GNAC PGs: Each lineup on Saturday will feature one of the best point guards in GNAC history, as the Yellowjackets' Rylee Kane will square off against the Wildcats' Jasmin Edwards. Both have run their team's offense for four seasons, with Kane at 104 career starts and Edwards at 97. Kane will move into a tie for 10th in GNAC history with her 105th start Thursday, while Edwards will move to 22nd with her 98th start Saturday.
 
Edwards' 3,611 minutes played are fourth-most in GNAC history, and her average of 36.5 minutes per game is third-highest in the conference. Edwards is No. 7 in GNAC history with 497 career assists, while Kane is No. 8 with 469. Additionally, Edwards' average of 5.0 assists per game is fifth-best in conference history, and she enters Saturday's game with 1,167 career points.
 
GNAC WBB Career Assists Leaders (1/10/18)

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	Jasmin Edwards	Central Washington	497	2014-18
8	Rylee Kane	MSU Billings	469	2014-18
9	Mallory Whipple	Northwest Nazarene	466	2005-09
10	Kristy Eggen	Western Washington	412	1994-96, 2002-03

 

BREEN INTO TOP-5 IN SCORING: Senior Alisha Breen scored 38 points in 60 minutes on the court last week, and cracked into the top-5 in MSUB history in career scoring with 1,542. Breen passed Megan Mason-Dickerson (1,519) and Deb Prevost (1,540), and needs 31 more points to jump past Evonne Goroski (1,572) to the No. 4 spot. Within the scope of the GNAC, Breen is currently No. 12 and needs 34 points to reach the conference's top-10 list.
 
MSUB WBB Career Scoring Leaders (1/10/18)

Rank	Name	Points	Seasons
1	Alira Carpenter	2000	2006-09
2	Bobbi Knudsen	1831	2011-14
3	Tera Silvius	1620	1992-95
4	Evonne Goroski	1572	1985-88
5	Alisha Breen	1542	2013-15, 17-18
6	Deb Prevost	1540	1975-78
7	Megan Mason-Dickerson	1519	1995-98
8	Kayleen Goggins	1456	2011-15
9	Sherry McQuinn	1452	1991-93
10	Shelley Altrogge	1382	1990-91

 
Breen leads the GNAC in scoring with 20.8 points per game, a figure that ranks No. 17 overall in the NCAA entering the week. Among her 332 total points, 88 of them have come from the foul line where she is 88-for-100 on the season. Her total free-throw makes are tied for third-most in the NCAA.
 
NCAA D2 WBB Made Free Throws (1/9/18)

Rank	Player	School	Class	FTM	Games
1	Kalli Feddersen	Chadron State	SR	102	16
2	Megan Rosenbohm	Southwest Baptist	SR	89	14
3	Dana Watts	American International	JR	88	16
	Kylie Lorenzen	Southern New Hampshire	SO	88	15
	Alisha Breen	MSU Billings	SR	88	16
6	Rikke Fabricius	Cal State L.A.	SR	86	16
7	Ariel Jones	Shippensburg	FR	85	13
8	Natalie Diaz	Dominican (CA)	JR	84	14
9	Shatara Parsons	California (PA)	SR	83	13
	Jodi Johnson	Ashland	SO	83	15

WEEKS SHINES AGAINST ALASKA: Putting together her best game yet as a Yellowjacket last week, senior Grace Weeks had a personal-best 18 points and narrowly missed out on a double-double with eight rebounds. A total of 20 rebounds in her last three games has elevated her season average to 2.8 boards per game, while she ranks fifth on the team with 5.9 points.
 
'JACKETS CONTINUE TO PROTECT THE BALL: MSUB remains as one of the top teams in the NCAA in terms of ball security, ranking No. 18 in the country in turnovers per game with 12.8 and No. 21 in assist-turnover ratio at 1.25. The 'Jackets have had a positive assist-turnover ratio in 10 of their 16 games this year, and have reached 20 assists in a game four times with a season high of 31 on Nov. 11 against Holy Names.
 
Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks
Thursday, Jan. 11 – 5:15 PM – Alterowitz Gym
2017-18 Record: 9-3, 5-2 GNAC
Last Five: W-W-W-W-L
Head Coach: Steve Steele, 2nd season
2016-17 Record: 12-15, 10-10 GNAC (T4th place)
 
NNU snapped a four-game winning streak Tuesday evening, falling to Central Washington after four-straight conference victories. Under second-year head coach Steve Steele, the Nighthawks carry a solid 5-2 record away from home this season.
 
NNU features a balanced offense, with seven players averaging 7.8 points per game or more. McKenna Walker and Lexi Tubbs lead the team, with 12.8 and 12.5 points per game, respectively. Tubbs is also the team's top rebounder, with 6.7 boards per game, and shoots 38.1 percent from long range. Walker is one of the top 3-point shooters in the GNAC, ranking third in the league at 46.0 percent from the arc.
 
Marina Valles and Danielle Jardine are significant threats off the bench, each averaging 9.9 points per game. Jardine is second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game, while Valles leads the squad with 3.0 assists per contest in just 19.1 minutes.
 
NNU is second in the conference in scoring margin at plus-12.4, out-scoring the opposition at a clip of 80.0-67.6. The 'Hawks also hold a positive rebounding margin at 38.9-37.8, while shooting 44.7 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from 3-point range, and 70.8 percent from the free-throw line.
 
The Series: MSUB holds a 17-11 advantage in the all-time series, and is 10-2 in home games. MSUB has won 11 of the last 15 meetings dating back to the 2011 season.
 
Last Time Out: NNU claimed both games in last season's series, winning 78-60 in Nampa on Dec. 1, 2016, and 63-53 on Feb. 25, 2017 in Billings. Junior Taylor Edwards had a career-high 18 points to go alone with five boards in the road loss, and Kane had 15 points in the home loss a year ago.
 
Central Washington University Wildcats
Saturday, Jan. 13 – 5:15 PM – Alterowitz Gym
2017-18 Record: 8-7, 4-3 GNAC
Last Five: W-L-W-L-W
Head Coach: Randi Richardson-Thornley
2016-17 Record: 15-15, 9-11 GNAC (6th place)
 
The Wildcats kept pace in the early conference standings with Tuesday's key victory over NNU. CWU has alternated wins and losses against conference opponents over the last three weeks, and will return home next week to face Simon Fraser University and Western Washington University after Saturday's game in the Magic City.
 
CWU's offense goes as Edwards does, as she is averaging 13.9 points and 4.5 assists per game. She is a threat as a shooter at 37.7 percent from the arc, and she gets to the line more often than anybody besides Breen with a GNAC second-most 61 free throws made this year.
 
Also in double figures for CWU is Sadie Mensing, who shoots 41.5 percent from the floor overall and averages 12.7 points per game. Taylor Baird is one of the top rebounders in the conference at 7.0 boards per game, while adding in 9.0 points and starting all 15 contests. The 'Jackets will also have to keep track of Alexis Pana, who is averaging 9.5 points per game and can be a threat with the long ball.
 
As a team CWU ranks eighth in the GNAC in scoring margin at plus-1.0, with 69.9 points per game while allowing 68.9. The 'Cats are also in the positives in rebounding, with 40.1 boards per game while allowing 39.2. CWU shoots 40.4 percent overall, 31.3 percent from 3-point range, and 68.3 percent from the line.
 
The Series: MSUB is 22-11 against the Wildcats, and is 10-4 in games played at Alterowitz Gym. MSUB has won 8 of 11 since 2012, but the 'Cats have won two of the last three meetings.
 
Last Time Out: Each team won on the road last year, with the 'Jackets picking up a 65-62 win in Ellensburg on Dec. 3, 2016 and falling 59-48 at home on Feb. 23, 2017. Kane had 13 points and Edwards had a dozen in the road win, and Kane had a career-high 13 assists in the game at home last February.