BILLINGS, Mont. – Using an early advantage and strong defense inside the paint, University of Montana defeated Montana State University Billings 70-56 in exhibition women's basketball Friday night at Dalhberg Arena. Five Montana players reached double-figure point totals and McKenzie Johnston led the Griz with 13 points, five steals, and four assists. Taryn Shelley led MSUB with 15 points, eight rebounds in the loss.
 
The Yellowjackets (5-4, 1-1 GNAC) have 12 days off before returning to regular season conference play January 2 against Central Washington. NCAA Division I Montana (4-4, 0-0 BIG SKY) kicks off its conference schedule December 28 against Northern Arizona.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The 'Jackets struggled to work the basketball inside in the first quarter and committed seven turnovers to trail 20-9 after 10 minutes. Collins tried to spark an offensive surge with a long range 3-pointer through traffic, but MSUB shot just 3-for-14 to open the contest.
 
Beginning at 4:52 in the second quarter, MSUB made 3-pointers on four straight possessions including 3-straight by Taylor Cunningham to ignite the Yellowjackets back into the game on a 16-0 run, giving them their first lead 27-26.
 
Montana collected themselves before the halftime horn and gained back a slight advantage 32-27. The Yellowjackets shot 35-percent from the field compared to 37-percent for Montana through 20-minutes and turnovers favored the Grizzlies 11-5. Emma Stockholm scored eight first half points to lead the Griz after shooting 4-for-7 from the floor.
 
The Grizzlies began with a 7-0 run to begin the third quarter and extended their lead to 11 points. Shelley grabbed a rebound and drew a foul after making a put-back to keep MSUB within range 44-35 with two minutes to play.
 
Montana continued to find lanes to the basket in the fourth quarter and maintained a comfortable lead of 60-43 heading into the final media timeout with 5:22 left to play. After trading baskets late, the Grizzlies dribbled out the final 15 seconds for the exhibition win.
 
"I was really happy to be able to play tonight against Montana in a fun environment and a familiar gym for a lot of our players," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "We played hard all game and defensively, battled hard. Offensively, we needed to convert more shots and be more consistency, but I was proud of how we fought through adversity early and put together a big run near the end of the first half. Give Montana credit for being physical throughout the game. They really wore us down with their size. We hung in there on the boards which was good to see but too many turnovers in the first quarter really hurt us. Overall, we had a strong effort but came up short against a solid team."
 
The Yellowjackets narrowly out-rebounded the Grizzlies 40-39. Taryn Shelley led the 'Jacket scoring with 15 points (6-for-14) and eight rebounds. Taylor Cunningham made three long-range jumpers within a span of two minutes in the second quarter and finished with 11 points, five rebounds. Hannah Collins chipped in 11 points with four boards, two assists, and one steal.
 
MSU Billings shot 32.8-percent overall and 23-percent (6-for-26) from the 3-point arc. University of Montana managed to shoot 38.6-percent overall and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. McKenzie Johnston (13 points), Emma Stockholm (11 points), Madi Schoening (11 points), Taylor Goligoski (10 points), and Abby Anderson (10 points) all made noteworthy offensive contributions. 19 turnovers proved costly for the 'Jackets and the Griz cashed in on 17 points off turnovers. UM kept control of the basketball with nine team turnovers. Both team shot moderately well from the free throw line.
 
THE BUZZ: TyLee Manuel was named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the game with 17 minute off the bench and seven points. Manuel shot 2-for-3 from the field and collected nine rebounds to make her mark for MSUB. "I was really impressed with how TyLee contributed tonight," Woodin said. "She was really great on the interior on offense and continues to improve with every game."