BILLINGS, Mont. – Tied for the sixth and final playoff position in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team concludes the regular season this week when they host a pair of games at Alterowitz Gymnasium. The Yellowjackets play Thursday, February 27 at 5:15 p.m. against Western Washington University. Then Simon Fraser University visits Billings Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on Senior Night, a celebration of MSUB's three graduating captains, Jeanann Lemelin, Taylor Cunningham, and Janessa Williams.
 
Tickets for this week's important matchups can be purchased in the lobby box office on game night or by calling MSUB athletics at 406-657-2369. Ticket prices and information can be found on the MSUBsports.com ticket page. Those unable to attend the events can watch and listen online via the MSUB Stretch Internet Portal with live statistics and video. Both games are part of home doubleheaders with the Yellowjacket men's basketball team.

UPDATE 2/29/2020: The Yellowjackets will clinch a berth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships with a Saint Martin's loss versus Northwest Nazarene Saturday. 
 
CURRENT FORM: The Yellowjackets (14-13, 9-9 GNAC) split two games last week. Saint Martin's evened the season series between the two squads by defeating MSUB Thursday night at Marcus Pavilion 58-51. The 'Jackets bounced back with a 91-66 victory against Seattle Pacific Saturday night at Brougham Pavilion. Lemelin scored a career high 32 points against the Falcons and made a school record 10 of 12 attempted 3-pointers. Hannah Collins chipped in 16 points and TyLee Manuel continued her streak of strong play off the bench with 14 points, eight rebounds.
 
The Yellowjackets' calling card this season has been scoring by committee and a deep bench. Head coach Kevin Woodin called Saturday's win "a great GNAC road win for our team." He also credited Lemelin for her incredible performance.
 
Winning at home will be a challenging task for MSUB. The 'Jackets slipped past Simon Fraser University 73-70 at West Gymnasium on December 5, then fell two nights later to Western Washington University 81-61. Both of this week's opponents have clinched berths in the GNAC Championships and hold .500 or better win percentages away from their home arenas.
 
CONFERENCE RANKS: Using a balanced roster, the Yellowjackets have not led the conference in any one category, but they are solidly in the top half in many. Currently, the team ranks sixth in scoring (66.0 points per game), sixth in defense (65.8 points against), seventh in free throw percentage (.711), second in 3-point percentage (.355), and seventh in rebounding.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE RECORD BOOK: Sophomore Taryn Shelley ranks ninth in the league at 13.2 points per contest and third in the league in rebounds at 8.7. Shelley marked six double-doubles as a freshman and 11 more this season. Current assistant coach Alisha Breen tops the MSUB record book with 25 career double-doubles, though Shelley is on pace to surpass it. Shelley recorded a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes against Saint Martin' last week. She is tied for fourth all-time in career double-doubles at MSU Billings.
 
BIG PICTURE: The Yellowjackets have finished above .500 in win percentage every other season since 2012-13, when they had back-to-back winning seasons. Last season, the 'Jackets went 12-14 overall, 8-12 in the GNAC and this year's cast has already surpassed that mark with win No. 13 Saturday at Seattle Pacific. MSUB's 2017-18 squad proved a low seeding in the GNAC Championships was not a deal breaker, as they rattled off three straight wins to get back to the NCAA Division II West Region tournament and eventually the Elite Eight. Making the tournament as the five or six seed will be the priority this week for the 'Jackets to keep a continuation of the overarching trend.

2019-20 Womens Basketball Standings (as of 2/26/20)

	CONF	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
*+Alaska Anchorage	17-1	.944	27-2	.931	14-0	10-2	3-0	Won 9
*Northwest Nazarene	15-3	.833	20-6	.769	11-3	7-2	2-1	Won 5
*Western Washington	13-6	.684	19-8	.704	11-1	6-6	2-1	Won 1
*Simon Fraser	12-7	.632	17-12	.586	9-6	6-4	2-2	Lost 1
Central Washington	11-7	.611	16-10	.615	10-4	4-5	2-1	Won 2
Saint Martin's	9-9	.500	14-11	.560	11-2	3-8	0-1	Won 5
Montana State Billings	9-9	.500	14-13	.519	10-3	4-7	0-3	Won 1
Seattle Pacific	6-12	.333	8-18	.308	5-7	3-9	0-2	Lost 3
Concordia	4-14	.222	5-21	.192	2-8	2-9	1-4	Lost 2
Alaska	2-16	.111	7-20	.259	4-9	0-10	3-1	Lost 6
Western Oregon	2-16	.111	5-20	.200	4-9	1-10	0-1	Lost 12

* - indicated clinched berth in GNAC Championships. + -Indicates clinched share of regular season championship.
 
Scouting Western Washington University
Thursday, February 27 – 5:15 p.m. – Billings, Montana – Alterowitz Gymnasium
2019-20 Record: 18-8, 12-6 GNAC, 10-1 home, 7-6 away, 1-1 neutral
2018-19 Record: 17-13, 11-9 GNAC, 11-7 home, 5-5 away, 1-1 neutral
Head Coach: Carmen Dolfo (29^th season)
 
Moderately improved from a year ago, the Vikings split a pair of games last weekend and have won two of their last five. Saturday night, WWU fell victim to No. 7 Alaska Anchorage on the road 83-76. Kelsey Rogers led the Vikings with 19 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. Emma Duff also had 16 points with five rebounds. WWU lost, despite shooting 55.1-percent as a team and 70-percent in 27 trips to the free throw line.
 
Senior Anna Schwecke (Evergreen, Colorado) is the team leader in scoring with 12.9 points per game through 26 starts. Listed as a six-foot-three-inch center, Schwecke collects all of her points from inside the paint. She is tied for the top spot in rebounds with Emma Duff, each of whom average 6.3 boards per contest. Duff (Tumwater, Washington) has had a strong junior campaign wih 11.0 points per game. She also ranks second in steals (35) and first in blocks (28). Despite just five starts, sophomore guard Mollie Olson (Napavine, Washington) holds a team high 118 assists, second best in the conference behind Central Washington's Alexis Pana.
 
WWU ranks first in the GNAC in offensive and defensive rebounding. The Vikings also boasts the league's third best offense (74.4 ppg), third best defense (63.3 points against). The Vikings average a league high 5.0 blocked shots per game and 18.0 assists per game.
 
THE SERIES: The Vikings won 81-61 against MSUB on December 7 in Bellingham and held the lead all the way through. Duff scored 24 points and nabbed eight rebounds. Schwecke was equally effective with 21 points, nine rebounds. The Yellowjackets shot just 37.3-percent and committed 17 turnovers. MSUB is 16-23 all-time against the Vikings in games dating back to 1994. MSUB lost both games in the season series last season but won both in 2017-18.
 
Scouting Simon Fraser University
Saturday, February 29 – 7:30 p.m. – Billings, Montana – Alterowitz Gymnasium
2019-20 Record: 17-11, 12-6 GNAC, 9-6 home, 6-3 away, 2-2 neutral
2018-19 Record: 17-11, 13-7 GNAC, 7-3 home, 8-4 away, 2-4 neutral
Head Coach: Bruce Langford (19^th season)
 
The Clan has two 4-game win streaks this season and defeated University of Alaska 76-52 on Saturday. Having matched their 17-game win total from a year ago, Simon Fraser is looking to take the next step having already qualified for the GNAC Championships again.
 
Junior guard Jessica Jones (Richmond, British Columbia) ranks second in the conference with 17.5 points per game and is knocking on the door of the top-50 in Division II. Senior point guard Tayler Drynan (Spokane, Washington) is one of two players to start every game for the Clan and averaged 10.4 points, 4.2 assists, and 2.5 rebounds. Ozioma Nwabuko (9.3 ppg, 1.0 rpg), Claudia Hart (7.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg), and Georgia Swant (6.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg) have also been consistent starters for SFU.
 
In the GNAC, The Clan ranks fourth in scoring (71.7 ppg), 10^th in defense (69.1 points against), third in free throw percentage (.731), and eighth in rebounding. SFU has wins over Cal Poly Pomona, Western Washington, and Saint Martin's this season.
 
THE SERIES: On December 5 at West Gym, MSUb defeated MSUB 73-70. Both teams struggled from the field in the first half, then traded baskets in the second. Hannah Collins sparked the team with 27 points and 4 made 3-pointers in the final 20-minutes. Taryn Shelley dominated the paint with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Yellowjackets are 11-11 all-time against SFU. The two teams split the season series 1-1 in 2018-19.  

THE BUZZ: Thursday night's game is presented by Montana Army National Guard. Saturday night's game sponsor is Rimrock Subaru.