BILLINGS, Mont. – The underdog is what Montana State University Billings has been since Day 1 of the 2017-18 season, but it is from below the surface that the Yellowjackets have thrived in one of the greatest seasons in school history.
The Yellowjackets were picked to finish seventh in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball preseason coaches poll, and surpassed that expectation by taking fourth in the GNAC regular-season standings to earn a spot in the conference tournament.
From there, MSUB has rattled off seven straight victories, winning the GNAC Championships title as the No. 4 seed and claiming the second NCAA Division II West Region Championships title in program history on Monday as the No. 7 seed.
Along the way over its last five victories, MSUB has defeated five teams that it was a combined 0-8 against in its previous meetings. The Yellowjackets have equaled the program record for single-season wins with the remarkable postseason run, and emerged from the regional title game with an overall record of 25-11.
On Monday night at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., MSUB will play the biggest game in school history as it faces No. 1 seed and nationally-ranked No. 1 Ashland University in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The reigning national champion Eagles are 34-0, have won 71 consecutive games dating back to Nov. 11, 2016, and lead the NCAA with an average of 100.3 points per game.
Monday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the universities.
2018 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Elite Eight
Tournament Schedule | All Times Listed are Central Standard Time
Monday, March 19, 2018 – Elite Eight
Game 1 – 12 PM – No. 6 Seed Central Missouri vs. No. 3 Seed Lubbock Christian
Game 2 – 2:30 PM – No. 7 Seed Union (Tenn.) vs. No. 2 Seed Carson-Newman
Game 3 – 6 PM – No. 8 Seed MSU Billings vs. No. 1 Seed Ashland
Game 4 – 8:30 PM – No. 5 Seed Indiana (Pa.) vs. No. 4 Seed Stonehill
Wednesday, March 21, 2018 – Final Four
Game 5 – 6 PM – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
Game 6 – 8:30 PM – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner
Friday, March 23, 2018 – National Championship Game
Game 7 – 7 PM – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner
HOW TO WATCH LIVE: Monday's quarterfinal games will be streamed live on
www.ncaa.com. The semifinal games on Wednesday and national championship game on Friday will be broadcast live on CBS Sports, and will not be available for streaming online. Live statistics for all tournament games will be available online through
www.ncaa.com as well.
TICKETS: Tickets for the Elite Eight may be purchased in
advance online here. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the gate prior to each game, and are available on a per-session basis.
THE COMPETITION
No. 1 Seed #1 Ashland University Eagles
Location: Ashland, Ohio
Conference: Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
2017-18 Record: 34-0, 20-0 GLIAC
Path to the Elite Eight: GLIAC Regular Season & Tournament Champion, Midwest Regional Champion
All-Time Against MSUB: 0-0
Last Meeting: None.
No. 2 Seed #6 Carson-Newman University Eagles
Location: Jefferson City, Tennessee
Conference: South Atlantic Conference
2017-18 Record: 32-2, 18-2 SAC
Path to the Elite Eight: SAC Regular Season & Tournament Champion, Southeast Regional Champion
All-Time Against MSUB: 0-0
Last Meeting: None.
No. 3 Seed #2 Lubbock Christian University Chaparrals
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Conference: Heartland Conference
2017-18 Record: 31-1, 14-0 Heartland
Path to the Elite Eight: Heartland Conference Regular Season & Tournament Champion, South Central Regional Champion
All-Time Against MSUB: 0-0
Last Meeting: None.
No. 4 Seed #11 Stonehill College Skyhawks
Location: Easton, Massachusetts
Conference: Northeast 10 Conference
2017-18 Record: 29-3, 20-1 NE10
Path to the Elite Eight: Northeast 10 Regular Season Champion, East Regional Champion
All-Time Against MSUB: 0-0
Last Meeting: None.
No. 5 Seed #12 Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks
Location: Indiana, Pennsylvania
Conference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
2017-18 Record: 29-3, 20-2 PSAC
Path to the Elite Eight: PSAC Regular Season West Division Champion, Atlantic Regional Champion
All-Time Against MSUB: 0-0.
Last Meeting: None.
No. 6 Seed #10 University of Central Missouri Jennies
Location: Warrensburg, Missouri
Conference: Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
2017-18 Record: 27-3, 18-1 MIAA
Path to the Elite Eight: MIAA Regular Season Champion, Central Regional Champion
All-Time Against MSUB: 0-1
Last Meeting: MSUB 83, UCM 69 (Dec. 28, 1994 at San Diego, CA)
No. 7 Seed #14 Union University Bulldogs
Location: Jackson, Tennessee
Conference: Gulf South Conference
2017-18 Record: 31-3, 18-2 GSC
Path to the Elite Eight: Gulf South Regular Season & Tournament Champion, South Regional Champion
All-Time Against MSUB: 0-0
Last Meeting: None.
ALWAYS BELIEVE IN THE UNDERDOG: MSUB has worn its road navy uniforms in each of its last five victories, and will continue its playoff run wearing them as the lowest seed entering the tournament. MSUB hasn't been the favorite since its GNAC tournament quarterfinal win over Central Washington on March 1, and enters the Elite Eight with three straight wins over nationally ranked opponents. Among the 20 unique opponents on its schedule this year, MSUB defeated all but two of them at least once.
| Opponent |
Regular Season (Last Meeting) |
Postseason |
Game |
| Northwest Nazarene |
NNU 2, MSUB 0 |
MSUB 76, NNU 69 |
GNAC Semifinals |
| Seattle Pacific |
SPU 2, MSUB 0 |
MSUB 71, SPU 61 |
GNAC Championship |
| Hawaii Pacific |
HPU 1, MSUB 0 |
MSUB 76, HPU 65 |
NCAA Regional Quarterfinals |
| UC San Diego |
UCSD 1, MSUB 0 (2016-17) |
MSUB 75, UCSD 73 |
NCAA Regional Semifinals |
| Alaska Anchorage |
UAA 2, MSUB 0 |
MSUB 71, UAA 70 |
NCAA Regional Championship |
19 YEARS AFTER 1999: NCAA Division II West Region Player of the Year
Alisha Breen was four years old in March of 1999, which was the only other time in school history that a Yellowjacket women's basketball team reached the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. With current MSUB athletic director Krista Montague playing as a senior on that team, MSUB topped UC Davis 70-62 in the west region championship game, before falling to Arkansas Tech 68-56 in the Elite Eight in Pine Bluff, Ark.
WOODIN A WINNER: In his 14th season in charge of MSUB's women's basketball program, MSUB head coach
Kevin Woodin is the Yellowjackets' all-time winningest coach as he enters Monday's game at 243-167 (.592). Since taking over at the beginning of the 2004-05 season, Woodin's teams have qualified for the NCAA regionals five times and have had five 20-win seasons. He is a four-time conference coach of the year, most recently being named GNAC Coach of the Year in 2015-16. This year marks Woodin's furthest advancement as head coach of the Yellowjackets, after he led MSUB to the west region title game in 2014 where it lost to Cal Poly Pomona.
MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin cuts down the net after leading the 'Jackest to the west region title.
MONTANA STRONG: Featuring a roster stuffed with homegrown talent, 11 of the 13 Yellowjacket players hail from Montana.
70 in 7 STRAIGHT WINS: A point total in the 70s has been one of the keys to MSUB's late season success, as the Yellowjackets have been firing on all cylinders during their playoff push. When the 'Jackets score 70 or more points, they are 17-3 overall this season.
BREEN IS THE BEST IN THE WEST: One of the best careers in GNAC and MSUB history culminates this week, as senior
Alisha Breen has posted a historic campaign in leading the 'Jackets to the Elite Eight. Breen has already broken 20 school and conference season and career records this season, and enters the Elite Eight No. 11 in the NCAA with 21.3 points per game, and No. 1 in the nation with 222 made free throws. Her 766 total points scored are a GNAC single-season record, and are the third-most in the nation. The GNAC Player of the Year set another GNAC record with 12 straight games of 20 or more points, and won the GNAC Player of the Week award a record five times during the 2017-18 season. A year after missing the entire 2016-17 season with a torn ACL, Breen is the only player in the Elite Eight this year to be in the top-five in both scoring (21.3, second) and rebounding (9.3, third) among the tournament field.
Alisha Breen (right) and Rylee Kane rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the NCAA, respectively, in minutes played.
KANE CLAIMS REGIONAL MVP HONORS: After a career-high 31 points in MSUB's narrow, two-point win over UC San Diego in the regional semifinal game, senior point guard
Rylee Kane iced the championship title with a pair of free throws with 10 seconds on the clock. The Red Lodge, Mont., native's production has been off the charts in the 2018 postseason, as she is averaging 20.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game over her last six contests. After being named honorable mention all-conference, Kane was selected as the Most Valuable Player at the west region championships.
No. 1 Ashland University Eagles
2017-18 Record: 34-0
Head Coach: Robyn Fralick, 3rd season
Path to the Elite Eight: GLIAC Regular Season & Tournament Champions, NCAA D2 Midwest Regional Champions
Unstoppable over the last two seasons, Ashland looks to defend last year's NCAA Division II title and make it three national championships in the last six seasons overall.
Five Eagles average in double figures, with Laina Snyder (19.5 ppg) and Jodi Johnson (19.3 ppg) among the top-25 in the nation in scoring. Johnson was named the D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year, as she also averages 5.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.8 steals per game. Johnson shoots a remarkable 62.2 percent from the field, with just under a third of her shots coming from the arc where she is the NCAA leader at 60.3 percent (70-for-116).
Snyder's 7.9 rebounds per game are the most on the squad, and her 285 made field goals are tied for the third most in the NCAA.
Andi Daugherty averages 14.6 points per game to go along with 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Renee Stimpert leads the squad with 6.5 assists per game, and her 222 total assists are the most in Division II as well. Ashland's other double-figure scorer is Maddie Dackin, who turns in 11.1 points per game while shooting 50.8 percent.
Ashland leads the NCAA with a team field-goal percentage of 51.5 percent, as it is the only school in the country to make more than half of its shots.
The Eagles lost to NCAA Division I No. 1 Connecticut 119-56 on Nov. 5 and to NCAA Division I No. 10 Ohio State 110-80 on Oct. 29 during exhibition play this fall. Their last counting loss was in the 2016 NCAA Division II Final Four, as the fell 86-60 to Drury University on March 12, 2016.
The Series: Monday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the Yellowjackets and Eagles.
