BILLINGS, Mont. – Electric energy from upwards of 300 elementary school students filled Alterowitz Gym on Monday afternoon, and it propelled the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team to a season-opening 67-54 win over visiting Montana Tech.
 
The program's annual Elementary School Game featured a special noon tipoff, as students from three local elementary schools spread out throughout the bleachers. "Today's game was a lot of fun," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin, who won his 275th game on Monday. "The environment was both exciting and loud, and the staff and students from Newman, Meadowlark, and Boulder schools were really into the game. The Billings community is very important to our program, and we hope to continue our relationship with these schools for years to come."
 
The loudest noise on the court came from the Yellowjackets' Taryn Shelley, who posted a monstrous double-double, and Shayla Montague, who hit a career-high six 3-pointers en route to 20 points. The Yellowjackets (1-0) pulled away from the Orediggers (0-2) midway through the third quarter to finish the game with their foot on the gas.
 
Shelley, who completed her double-double by halftime, finished with 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting, while adding 15 rebounds, three blocks, and three assists in an efficient 26 minutes on the floor. Montague meanwhile matched her career high in scoring on 7-for-13 accuracy including 6-for-11 from the arc, and caught fire in the second half during which she scored 14 of her points. "Shayla shot the ball great today," Woodin said. "She is a tremendous shooter with great range. Her teammates did a nice job of finding her, and it was nice to see her making shots."
 
Cariann Kunkel chipped in 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists in 27 minutes, complimenting Shelley's post presence with a solid overall performance. "Both Taryn and Cariann were effective in the paint and offensively, and we shared the ball better than we did against Rocky," Woodin said, referring to last Wednesday's 59-50 exhibition triumph over the crosstown rival Battlin' Bears. "We still need to clean up the turnovers, but we have multiple people who can score on different levels."
 
MSUB's lone glaring inefficiency was a mark of 21 turnovers, but the team more than made up for it on the glass where it dominated to the tune of 47-19. MSUB also bounced back from a 3-for-16 3-point field-goal performance last week at Rocky, and hit 10 of 24 from beyond the arc for a percentage of 41.7. "Defensively, I thought we played well today and we really dominated the glass," Woodin said. "(Assistant coach) Alisha (Breen) emphasized rebounding this week in practice and it was nice to have a large advantage on the boards."
 
Dani Urick led Montana Tech with nine points, while Celestina Faletoi had a line of eight points, four rebounds, and four steals in 19 minutes off the bench. Ally Cleverly, Madison Allen, and Soda Rice each added seven points in a game where no Oredigger reached double figures.
 
A slow 6-0 run by MSUB started the game, and three minutes went by before Tech scored its first bucket on a layup by Urick. The Yellowjackets never led by more than seven points in a back-and-forth opening half, as the visitors did well to keep the deficit manageable and trailed just 26-24 at halftime. "The first half was up and down for us," said Woodin. "We had stretches where we were really good, but then would struggle. We turned it over too much and missed a lot of easy shots."
 
The theme continued through the first half of the third quarter, and after a three-point play by Tech's Brooke Heggie the Yellowjackets led by just three, 37-34. Montague responded with her first big scoring burst, hitting the next three buckets to kick off a 10-0 run that proved to be the defining point in the game. The Yellowjackets maintained an advantage that peaked at 16 points and never sank below eight the rest of the afternoon.
 
"Tech was very determined today," Woodin said on the opponent, who faced a quick turnaround after falling at home last night against Viterbo University 70-65. "I thought they played very hard and they are difficult to guard due to their great balance."
 
All 13 players on MSUB's roster saw the court in the season opener, with sophomore transfer Natalie Andreas making her MSUB debut and true freshmen Aspen Giese and Chloe Williams making their collegiate debuts. Danielle Zahn scored nine points and added four boards in her return from a season-ending injury last spring, and senior Shannon Reny posted a stat line of seven points, five rebounds, and two blocks in 10 minutes off the bench.
 
"Our depth helped us once again," said Woodin. "Our bench was critical to our success today, and many players contributed solid minutes. Shannon Reny hit some timely shots for us. We are playing a lot of people and it will take time for us to trust our rotations. Once we do, I think we will be very good."
 
Overall in the game MSUB shot 40.0 percent (26-for-65) and made 5 of 8 free throws (62.5 percent). Montana Tech by comparison shot 35.8 percent (19-for-53) while making 11 of 13 foul shots (84.6 percent).
 
THE BUZZ: Shelley was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…the double-double was the 19th of Shelley's career…Shelley matched her career-high in assists, reaching three in a game for the third time…Montague matched her point total from Feb. 26, 2021 against Northwest Nazarene…her previous single-game high for 3-pointers was four, which she achieved on four previous occasions…MSUB is now 35-8 all-time against Montana Tech and is 25-1 in home games against the Orediggers…MSUB has won 18 of the last 19 meetings between the teams dating back to 1989…Monday marked MSUB's first season-opening win since the 2018-19 season.
 
COMING UP: The D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead awaits the Yellowjackets this weekend, with 10 of the top teams in Division II women's basketball headed to Alterowitz Gym for 15 games in three days. The Yellowjackets play three times over the weekend, and a full tournament schedule including live coverage options is available online here.
 
"Our program is very excited about our home tournament this weekend," said Woodin. "The event will showcase NCAA D2 women's basketball on a national stage, and it will be great for our Billings community too. The games will be amazing and there will be a ton of talent on the court. I am very grateful to all of our sponsors and staff who have worked so hard to make this tournament a reality."