BILLINGS, Mont. – Playing its first two road games of the season this weekend, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team heads east for a pair of non-conference affairs.
 
The Yellowjackets (1-0) square off against Chadron State College (1-1) on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. in Chadron Nebraska. Live video will be available online here and live statistics will be available here.
 
The team will face a quick turnaround with a game in Rapid City, South Dakota, Saturday night, against South Dakota School of Mines (0-0). Live video for Saturday's 5:30 p.m. game will be available here, with live stats available here.
 
"We are looking forward to playing at Chadron and South Dakota Mines," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "I am excited to see how much we have improved both offensively and defensively with another week's practice. Early season road games represent many new challenges, and it will be good to see how our team responds to games away from Billings for the first time this year."
 
MSUB is coming off a 73-65 victory over the University of Providence in its 2018-19 season opener last Friday at Alterowitz Gym. The team will return home next week to host the Yellowjacket Classic, before four straight counting road games to close out the 2018 calendar year.
 
"I was proud of our team for finding ways to win two games a week ago," Woodin said, including the Yellowjackets' 63-62 exhibition win at Rocky Mountain College on November 6. "We played our best basketball in the fourth quarter against Rocky and finished strong against Providence as well. We need to be better on the offensive glass and from the 3-point line, and defensively we need to keep containment on our players better."
 
COLLINS IMPRESSIVE IN SOPHOMORE DEBUT: Point guard Hannah Collins has started her second year with the 'Jackets on a roll, leading the team in each of their games thus far. In the exhibition win over Rocky, she scored 20 points including a game-clinching free throw to break a 62-62 tie with 0.2 seconds left on the clock. The Great Falls native followed that with a career-best 29 points in the win over Providence, and also had four assists, four rebounds, and four steals while not committing a turnover in 31 minutes. After playing in all 37 games as a freshman a season ago, Collins is expected to lead the 'Jackets as the starting point guard this winter.
 
CUNNINGHAM, STAVISH EXPECTED TO SCORE: Projected to be key offensive players for MSUB this season, junior Taylor Cunningham and senior Vanessa Stavish both delivered with double-figure performances in the regular-season opener last week. Cunningham matched her personal collegiate best with a dozen points, while Stavish contributed 10 in the first game of her senior year. The duo will join Collins as two more of MSUB's key pieces on the offensive side of the ball and in rebounding as well.
 
Chadron State College Eagles
Friday, November 16 – 5:30 PM – Chicoine Center
2018-19 Record: 1-1
Head Coach: Janet Raymer, 3rd season
2017-18 Record: 6-22, 4-18 RMAC
 
Coming off a tough 2017-18 campaign, Chadron State is off to a 1-1 start after beating Texas A&M International 55-51 and losing to Texas A&M Kingsville 61-37 last week in the Lone Star State. The Eagles will also host the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday evening after taking on the Yellowjackets Friday.
 
Taryn Foxen returns as the team's second-leading scorer from a season ago, and is averaging 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds through the first two games of the season. Jessica Lovitt is also a returner, who is the team's early leader in scoring at 8.0 after averaging just 3.4 points in 24 games a season ago.
 
The Eagles have used the same starting lineup in both games so far this year, with Jessica Harvey, McKenna McClintic, and Savannah Weidauer joining Foxen and Lovitt in the first rotation.
 
CSC struggled offensively in its first two games, averaging just 46.0 points while giving up 56.0. The team has been strong on the boards however, out-rebounding the opposition 38.0-36.0. The Eagles have been susceptible to sound defense as well, committing 52 turnovers in their first two games of the year.
 
The Series: The Yellowjackets hold a 14-3 advantage in the all-time series against Chadron State, which dates back to the 1978 season. MSUB has a seven-game winning streak against the Eagles since 2011, and is 5-1 overall in road matchups.
 
Last Time Out: MSUB claimed a 69-59 win at home on November 18, 2017. Stavish had eight points and four assists, and Cunningham grabbed six boards in the victory.
 
South Dakota School of Mines Hardrockers
Saturday, November 17 – 5:30 PM – King Center
2018-19 Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Ryan Larsen, 6th season
2017-18 Record: 16-13, 11-11 RMAC
 
South Dakota Mines makes its 2018-19 debut on Friday evening against the University of Sioux Falls, before Saturday's contest against the 'Jackets. The Hardrockers faced stout competition during their preseason, losing to NCAA Division I Colorado State University 77-55 and University of Northern Colorado 71-39 in a pair of exhibition games two weeks ago.
 
Overall the team has six straight games in Rapid City to start the campaign.
 
Most of the team's top scorers return from a season ago, as juniors Sami Steffeck and Anna Haugen averaged 10.1 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. SDSMT out-scored its opposition 65.9-60.1 last year, but was out-rebounded 34.0-32.0. Haugen doubled as the team's leading rebounder with 8.6 per game, but was the Hardrockers' only player above 5.0 in that category.
 
SDSMT will also need to replace guard Krista Showalter, who started 28 of 29 games and led the squad with 96 assists in 2017-18.
 
The Series: The 'Jackets are 5-1 all-time against the 'Rockers, but their lone loss came in the only road game in the series on November 26, 2016.
 
Last Time Out: MSUB took care of business with an 80-64 home win on November 21, 2017 at Alterowitz Gym. Stavish had 12 points and six rebounds, while Cunningham contributed 11 points. Haugen gave the 'Jackets problems with 15 points and seven rebounds.