BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team split four-straight two-game weekends in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference to start the year. This week, they will be on the road in search of an elusive sweep against Northwest Nazarene University Thursday, January 30 at 5:15 p.m. followed by Central Washington University Saturday, February 1, at 5 p.m.
 
The 'Jackets are alone in sixth place in the conference table, just inside the playoff window with 10 regular season games left to play. Fans can watch both road games online via links on the MSUB women's basketball schedule page.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Jeanann Lemelin scored a career high 30 points and tied the MSUB school record with eight made 3-pointers in a 72-64 win over Saint Martin's Saturday night at Alterowitz Gymnasium. Lemelin made seven of her long-range jumpers in the second half and her sharp shooting proved the difference in a tightly contested game. The Yellowjackets shot 42.6-percent as a team and an impressive 50-percent from beyond the arc. Freshman Shayla Montague posted a season high 17 points along with six rebounds and one steal. Seven players recorded points and the bench contributed meaningful minutes for the Yellowjackets.
 
"Last week was a good week for us," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "We let one slip away at home on Thursday but responded on Saturday to get a much needed win versus SMU. Our team is healthier going into this week's games than we have been for a long time so we are excited about that."
 
STARTING FIVE: Nine players have started at least two games out of 19 for the 'Jackets this season. Woodin's consistent lineup shifting suggested a confidence in depth early, followed by a period of injuries which hurt the team over the past month. With starting point guard Hannah Collins back in the lineup, MSUB appears to be more coordinated offensively. Lemelin mentioned Collins as a major reason she was able to score 30 points on Saturday. Collins has 13 starts and ranks second on the team with 11.3 points and 7.8 rebounds.
 
Taryn Shelley is scoring at a rate of 12.2 points per game along with 7.8 rebounds. She leads the team in scoring, rebounds, and blocks (24). Lemelin continues to be the only player to start every contest and ranks third in scoring at 10.4 ppg and 3.1 rpg. Lemelin's 56 assists also rank No. 1.
 
 
FOUR QUARTERS: Slow starts have at times plagued the Yellowjackets this season but making up the difference has been their specialty. The 'Jackets have scored 659 points combined in the first half of games and 723 points in the second half, a difference of 64. The Yellowjackets rank ninth in scoring (61.7 ppg), fifth in defense (64.9 points against), ninth in field goal percentage (.375), fifth in 3-point percentage (.319), sixth in rebounds, and seventh in assists (7.0 apg).
 
Shelley and Collins crack the top-20 in scoring at 15^th and 19^th respectively. Shelley is up to fourth in rebounding and Lemelin ranks sixth in the league in steals.
 
GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Lemelin was named GNAC player of the week for the first time in her career last week. Lemelin shot 8-for-11 from the 3-point line Saturday and 10-for-16 overall. Thursday night, she posted 18 points against Seattle Pacific with four from beyond the arc. Combining the two games, Lemelin shot an impressive 67-percent from 3-point range. She also collected four steals and four assists.
 
 
Scouting Northwest Nazarene University
Thursday, January 30 – 5:15 p.m. – Nampa, Idaho – Johnson Sports Center
2019-20 Record: 14-5, 9-2 GNAC, 7-2 home, 5-2 away, 2-1 neutral
2018-19 Record: 29-3, 18-2 GNAC, 14-0 home, 10-2 away, 5-1 neutral
Head Coach: Steve Steele (4^th season)
 
Northwest Nazarene holds the league's best win streak heading into this week at three straight games. The Nighthawks have made more baskets than any other team and lead the GNAC with 77.6 points per game. Avery Albrecht ranks third in the conference with 15.6 ppg in 19 games. Albrecht scored a season high 29 points against Dixie State in November.
 
The Nighthawks are in second place in the GNAC, 0.5 games behind Alaska Anchorage. Last season, NNU won the GNAC Championships and fell in the second game of the NCAA Division II region tournament.
 
"NNU is a tough team," Woodin said. "They have two of the top players in our league In Valles and Albrecht. They have many other weapons too and our challenge will be to limit turnovers and to play in an attacking mode. We need to get the ball into the paint. Rebounding will also be key as last time they beat us terribly on the glass. Actually they flat out beat us in every aspect of the game the last time we played so we must show up this time and compete."
 
THE SERIES: On January 4 in Billings, MSU Billings suffered one of its worst losses of the season to NNU 80-48. Marina Valles went 8-for-8 from the field with three triples and 21 points. The Nighthawks outscored MSUB 31-9 in the first quarter and 23-9 in the fourth to pull away. Lemelin led MSUB with 12 points and four steals.
 
Scouting Central Washington University
Saturday, February 1 -5 p.m. – Ellensburg, Washington – Nicholson Pavilion
2019-20 Record: 11-8, 6-5 GNAC, 6-3 home, 4-4 away, 1-1 neutral
2018-19 Record: 18-11, 12-8 GNAC, 8-5 home, 7-5 away, 3-1 neutral
Head Coach: Randi Richardson-Thornley (3^rd season, 5^th overall)
 
The Wildcats split last week with a 70-50 win over Western Oregon, followed by a 72-63 loss to Northwest Nazarene. In the latter game, CWU were fast out of the gate but surrendered the lead late in the third quarter and failed to recover. The Wildcats coughed up 24 turnovers, which contributed to the defeat.
 
Alexis Pana leads the team with 13.9 points per game and 5.6 rebounds. Pana also has 30 steals, 19 blocks and 34 made 3-pointers. Kaelie Flores (12.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Taylor Shaw (11.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg) are the only players to start every game for the Wildcats.
 
CWU is fifth in the GNAC standings, 1.5 games behind Western Washington and Simon Fraser for fourth and fifth. Last season, the Wildcats fell to Alaska Anchorage after defeating Concordia University in the GNAC championships first round. Central Washington ranks fifth in the league in scoring (67.9 points per game) and third on defense (62.4 points against per game). They are also second in field goal percentage as well as 3-point percentage.
 
"CWU is extremely versatile on offense," said Woodin. "They have many players who can score inside and outside so they are very tough to guard. We must contain their 3-point shooting and find ways to score outside of our half-court offense. They are very explosive and we need to limit their runs while somehow getting a couple of our own."
 
THE SERIES: The Yellowjackets downed Central Washington 63-45 in Billings on January 2. Montague scored 16 points and MSUB held CWU to 3-for-15 shooting in the opening quarter. Hannah Collins also had 15 points with one steal and four rebounds.