BILLINGS, Mont. – Preparing for one of its toughest road series of the season this weekend, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team will face a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference foes including its highest-ranked opponent of the year so far.
 
The Yellowjackets (7-5, 3-3 GNAC) play at Central Washington University (10-4, 5-2) on Thursday in Ellensburg, Washington. On Saturday, MSUB faces No. 4 Northwest Nazarene University (15-0, 7-0), which is in first place in the conference and is one of just seven teams in the NCAA Division II to boast an undefeated record. Thursday's game starts at 7 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Mountain, while Saturday's begins at 7 p.m. Both games will feature live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics, available through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal online here.
 
"This is another important road trip for our team," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "It is difficult to play two weeks in-a-row away from home, but I believe it tests our team's toughness and I am interested to see how we respond. Both of these teams will be tough. CWU and NNU play similar tempos and return most of their key players from winning teams a year ago. We must limit our turnovers and easy baskets by them, and continue to improve on the boards. Defensively, we are improving and getting better on the glass. Offensively, we need more consistency and balance." 
 
The 'Jackets will complete a stretch of four straight road games this week, and will be rewarded with a favorable schedule the rest of the regular season. MSUB has eight of its final 12 games at Alterowitz Gym, including four straight from February 7-16. The team enters this week tied for fifth place in the GNAC standings, and is in the thick of the pack fighting for a top-six spot and a berth into the 2019 GNAC Championships.
 
After their worst loss of the season – 87-42 at No. 14 University of Alaska Anchorage – the 'Jackets salvaged a split last week with an 80-72 win in Fairbanks at the University of Alaska. Overall the team has won three of its last four games.
 
"Last week's trip was difficult, and we got beat badly at Anchorage," said Woodin. "I was impressed with our team's character and how they responded to win at Fairbanks. The games this week will provide us with a benchmark for where we are and need to get to. I'm excited to see how we play."
 
COLLINS MATCHES CAREER HIGH: Sophomore point guard Hannah Collins matched her career high with 29 points in last Saturday's win at Alaska, as she made 9 of 15 shots from the field and a career-best five 3-pointers. She was also a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line, and had her second-highest assist total of the year with seven.
 
The Great Falls native is now tied for first in the GNAC in scoring, averaging 15.9 points per game. She has reached double figures in all but two games she has played, and she ranks fifth in the league in free-throw percentage at 86.9.
 

Rank	Player	School	Games	Points	Average
1	Saniah Simpson-Patu	Saint Martin's	15	239	15.9
2	Hannah Collins	MSU Billings	11	175	15.9
3	Kelsey Rogers	Western Washington	14	220	15.7
4	Alexis Pana	Central Washington	14	211	15.1
5	Riley Evans	Seattle Pacific	13	192	14.8
6	Marian Wamsley	Alaska	12	171	14.3
7	Sophie Swant	Simon Fraser	13	180	13.8
8	Olivia Vezaldenos	Concordia	14	190	13.6
9	Makenna Schultz	Saint Martin's	14	189	13.5
	Hannah Wandersee	Alaska Anchorage	14	189	13.5

SHELLEY EMERGING AS TOP FRESHMAN: As the season reaches the midway point, Taryn Shelley has emerged as one of the GNAC Freshman of the Year candidates. She is averaging 8.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocked shots, which rank fourth, third, and first respectively among the conference's freshmen. She is the only freshman in the conference in the top-10 in both rebounding (fifth) and blocked shots (third), and her seven multi-block games this season are third-most in the GNAC overall and most among all freshmen.
 
Shelley has also recorded three double-doubles, and over the last six games is averaging 12.0 points and 10.2 rebounds.
 

Player	Team	Year	Games	Total	Average	Multi Block Games
Samantha Beauchamp	SFU	SR	13	36	2.77	10
Kaelie Flores	CWU	JR	14	26	1.86	8
Taryn Shelley	MSUB	FR	12	22	1.83	7
Ali Nelke	WOU	SR	12	17	1.42	5
Kelsey Rogers	WWU	SO	14	19	1.36	5
Anna Schwecke	WWU	JR	14	15	1.07	5
Hannah Wandersee	UAA	SR	14	18	1.29	4
Iraide Juez	CU	JR	14	12	0.86	3
Samantha Bowman	CWU	FR	14	11	0.79	3
Carly Rataushk	SPU	SR	13	9	0.69	3
Ashlie Blackburn	UAF	SR	12	8	0.67	3

 
CUNNINGHAM SCORING SINCE RETURN: After missing one month due to injury, junior forward Taylor Cunningham has come back strong as one of MSUB's top scorers. Over the past four games she is averaging 12.3 points, while shooting at a clip of 47.1 percent from the floor (16-for-34) and a red-hot 52.6 percent from 3-point range (10-for-19).
 
She ranks second on the team and No. 11 in the GNAC with 13.0 points per game while playing 29.4 minutes.
 

Opponent	Pts.	Min.	FG	FGA	FG%	3FG	3FGA	3FG%	FT	FTA	FT%
Saint Martin's	16	24	6	11	.545	3	5	.600	1	2	.500
Seattle Pacific	12	26	4	11	.364	2	5	.400	2	2	1.000
Alaska Anchorage	8	28	3	7	.429	2	5	.400	0	0	.000
Alaska	13	29	3	5	.600	3	4	.750	4	4	1.000
Totals	49	107	16	34	.471	10	19	.526	7	8	.875

 
STAVISH POSTS DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Senior Vanessa Stavish completed the second double-double of her career last week, scoring 16 points and hauling in a personal-best 11 rebounds in the win at Alaska. Stavish made 6 of 12 shots in the game, including 3 of 7 threes, and upped her career total to 129 makes from the arc. She is now 11 shy of moving to No. 9 in the MSUB record books, where hall of famer Kalli (Stanhope) Allen currently stands with 140 makes from 2008-12.
 
Stavish is continuing to build on her most productive collegiate season to date, as her averages of 11.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists are all career highs. Stavish is also No. 10 in MSUB history in free-throw percentage, checking in at 75.2 in her career.
 
WILLIAMS REACHES DOUBLE FIGURES: Junior Janessa Williams made 5 of 9 shots in MSUB's win at Alaska last Saturday, recording 10 total points for the third double-figure performance of her career. She was one field goal away from her personal best of six, and she had her first-ever multi-block game with a pair of denials against the Nanooks.
 
'JACKETS PROTECT THE BALL: MSUB is one of the top teams in the GNAC in terms of ball security, which has made up for its disadvantage in rebounding. The Yellowjackets are No. 2 in the GNAC in assist-turnover ratio at 1.2, as they average 15.8 assists against a league-low 13.7 turnovers per game. MSUB is No. 3 in the league in turnover margin at plus-1.17, as it generates 14.8 giveaways by opponents.
 
GNAC CHAMPIONSHIPS REMATCHES: The last time MSUB saw each of this week's opponents was at the 2018 GNAC Championships last March in Anchorage, Alaska. MSUB edged CWU 75-73 in the opening round of the tournament, before upsetting top-seeded NNU 76-69 in the semifinals.
 
Central Washington University Wildcats
Thursday, January 17 – 7 PM PST – Ellensburg, Washington
2018-19 Record: 10-4, 5-2 GNAC
Head Coach: Randi Richardson-Thornley
2017-18 Record: 15-14, 11-9 GNAC (5th place)
 
The Wildcats lost 89-69 at the hands of No. 4 NNU on Tuesday evening, snapping a four-game conference winning streak that elevated them to second place in the league standings. CWU is off Saturday, and will play at Simon Fraser University and Western Washington University next week.
 
Alexis Pana is one of the top players in the GNAC, leading her team and ranking No. 4 in the league with 15.1 points per game. Pana is shooting 52.9 percent from the floor and a stellar 50.8 percent from 3-point range (31-for-61). She is also third on the team with 4.1 rebounds per game, and leads the squad and the GNAC with 82 assists (5.9 per game).
 
Also in double figures for CWU are Kaelie Flores (12.1 ppg), Taylor Shaw (10.6), and Sadie Mensing (10.2). Flores is second on the team with 4.5 rebounds per game and is second in the GNAC with 27 total blocks (1.9 per game). Shaw is a threat from the arc at 34.8 percent on the year, while Mensing converts at a clip of 50.4 percent playing primarily under the basket. Kassidy Malcolm averages close to a double-double, with 9.6 points and a GNAC-second best 8.8 rebounds per game.
 
Consistency has been the model of success for second-year head coach Randi Richardson-Thornley, who has used the identical starting lineup of Pana, Flores, Shaw, Mensing, and Malcolm in all 14 games this season.
 
As a team CWU averages 76.5 points per game while surrendering 68.9. The 'Cats shoot 47.6 percent from the field, 35.8 percent from 3-point range, and 72.0 percent from the free-throw line.
 
"Central Washington is very athletic," said Woodin. "I believe their point guard Pana is one of the best guards in our league. She is really good with the ball in her hands and makes plays, and they have many other talented players too. Their wings and posts are versatile, and it will be a challenge for sure to guard them as they play fast and aggressive."
 
The Series: MSUB is 25-11 all-time against CWU and is 10-6 in games played at Nicholson Pavilion. The Yellowjackets have won three straight and 11 of the last 14 dating back to the 2012 season.
 
Last time Out: MSUB held on for a two-point win over the Wildcats in the opening round of last year's tournament, completing a three-game sweep of CWU overall in the 2017-18 season.
 
No. 4 Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks
Saturday, January 19 – 7 PM – Nampa, Idaho
2018-19 Record: 15-0, 7-0 GNAC
Head Coach: Steve Steele, 3rd season
2017-18 Record: 22-5, 18-2 GNAC (T-1st place)
 
Beginning the season as one of the premier teams in NCAA Division II, the Nighthawks are yet to suffer a defeat in 2018-19. The team is still alive in the hunt for its school record of 23 straight wins, which it reached during the 1999-00 season.
 
The Nighthawks are one of the most dominant teams in the NCAA, with their scoring margin of plus-24.1 ranking No. 8 in the country. An 80-75 win over Colorado Christian University on November 16 was NNU's only game this year decided by less than 14 points. NNU has won one game by more than 40, five games by more than 30, and nine games by more than 20 points.
 
One of the most balanced teams in the country, NNU has 10 players averaging more than 6.0 points and seven players averaging more than 3.0 rebounds per game. Avery Albrecht is the team's leading scorer with 12.7 points per game, and she is shooting 41.9 percent from 3-point range.
 
A year after a season-ending injury, senior Ellie Logan ranks second on the squad with 11.1 points and 5.3 rebounds. Marina Valles is also in double figures with 10.0 points per game, and she is tied for No. 9 in the GNAC with 3.8 assists per game.
 
Jordan Pinson, who averages 9.3 points per game, is one of the top shooters in the league as her 3-point field-goal percentage of 49.2 ranks third.
 
Like Central Washington, NNU has little fluctuation among its starting lineup. Albrecht, Logan, Valles, and Raquel Jardine have started all 15 games, while McKenna Walker has started all but one.
 
NNU leads the GNAC with 86.9 points per game, the fourth-highest total in the NCAA. NNU is also out-rebounding the opposition 41.2-32.2, while shooting 46.8 percent overall, 39.8 percent from 3-point range, and a GNAC-best 79.9 percent from the free-throw line.
 
"NNU will defend you the whole court, so we need to handle their pressure," Woodin commented. "Their team speed is very impressive and all of their players are so good in space. They basically have the same team as they did a year ago and now have Logan back. They are undefeated and returning regular-season champions for a reason."
 
The Series: The 'Jackets hold an 18-13 overall record against NNU and are 6-9 in games played at the Johnson Sports Center.
 
Last Time Out: MSUB snapped a four-game losing skid against the Nighthawks, with the dramatic semifinal win at last year's conference tournament.