BILLINGS, Mont. – Olivia Vezaldenos strengthened her case as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year, as she poured in 27 points to lead visiting Concordia University to a 65-59 win over Montana State University Billings in women's basketball action Thursday evening at Alterowitz Gym.
 
The sophomore transfer from Chabot College, who entered the day No. 8 in the GNAC with 14.2 points per game, connected on 5 of 11 threes and went 10-for-10 from the foul line to finish one off her season-high of 28 points. Keesha Sarman added her GNAC-leading seventh double-double of the year with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Erin Higbie chipped in 10 points.
 
"Concordia played very well tonight, and especially in the second half," commented MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "I give them all the credit. They executed better than us and definitely deserved to win tonight."
 
The Yellowjackets (7-8, 3-6 GNAC) made just 5 of 32 threes (15.6 percent), and shot 23-for-64 overall on the night (35.9 percent). Hannah Collins led her team with 21 points, while adding four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 34 minutes. Taryn Shelley just missed her fifth double-double of the year, as she scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and had a season-high five blocked shots.
 
The Cavaliers (9-9, 4-6) had a tough time stopping Shelley early on, as she hit back-to-back buckets to cap a 9-2 run that gave MSUB a 17-12 lead after 10 minutes of play. MSUB maintained the momentum, and held the lead for the entirety of the second quarter with a 28-24 edge at halftime.
 
"We were fortunate to be up at halftime, and our defense helped us a lot in the first half," Woodin said. "Offensively Taylor Cunningham was able to get the ball inside to Taryn effectively. We were up four points at halftime but we should have been up much more as a 1-for-17 performance from the 3-point line hurt us."
 
Vezaldenos signaled that things were about to change as she nailed a three in the first possession of the second half. From there, the 'Cavs slowly wrestled the lead away and after eight straight points by the sophomore over the course of 3:30 of game play it was 40-39.
 
A deep trey by Vezaldenos from the left wing made it a 50-44 game early in the fourth, and prompted Woodin to call a timeout. It was CU's largest lead of the game to that point, and was a deficit that MSUB ultimately never came back from.
 
Collins drained a key three coming out of a timeout, cutting the spread to four points with 5:30 to go. Stavish followed with a trey and a three-point play to make it 57-55, and the 'Jackets had several opportunities to tie or take the lead. But MSUB went 0-for-4 with two turnovers over the next four minutes, a crucial dry spell that helped the Cavaliers seal the win.
 
Shelley's five blocks matched the most by a player in the GNAC this season. It was also her ninth multi-block game this season, which is the second-most in the conference.
 
Taylor Cunningham had a career-high seven assists in the game, while Stavish finished with a dozen points on 5-for-10 shooting. The Yellowjackets were out-rebounded 39-34 in the game, and only attempted 10 free throws on the night compared with 27 for CU. "We must shoot the ball better from the perimeter to be effective in this league," Woodin commented. "I believe that is one of the strengths of our team, however we have been very inconsistent in this area. We need to play with a great sense of urgency and need to be more determined on the court."
 
The Cavaliers finished the night shooting 18-for-50 (36.0 percent), 6-for-15 from 3-point range (40.0 percent), and 23-for-27 from the foul line (85.2 percent).
 
Vezaldenos' previous high in free throws was an 8-for-11 performance on January 10 against Western Washington, when she scored her season high of 28 points. Thursday marked her sixth 20-point game of the year. It was the fifth time this year a GNAC player has reached double figures from the foul line.
 
THE BUZZ: Shelley was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is now 6-2 all-time against CU and is 4-1 in home games...Cunningham topped her previous mark of six assists in a game on February 3, 2018 against the University of Alaska…only Samantha Beauchamp of Simon Fraser, Ali Nelke of Western Oregon, and Iraide Juez of Concordia have had five blocks in a game in the GNAC this season.
 
NEXT UP: The 'Jackets host Western Oregon University on Saturday at Alterowitz Gym. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in the back-end of a doubleheader with the MSUB men's basketball team. Live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available online through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.