OAKLAND, Calif. – Starting and finishing strong on Saturday afternoon at Tobin Gymnasium, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team claimed a 64-51 triumph over San Francisco State University to close out the Holy Names Classic.
 
The Yellowjackets (4-1) burst ahead to a 25-13 lead after the first quarter, and closed the game strong with a 23-point fourth quarter to ensure their third straight victory. "I liked our start today, and we got ahead quite a bit right away," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "We switched to a zone defense early in the game, and that was really good for us. Give SF State a lot of credit – they really battled back. We got a lot of good looks, but weren't converting them very well in the second and third quarters. I was proud of the way we finished the game."
 
Addison Gardner and Skylar Patton led the Yellowjackets with 11 points apiece, in a game where 10 different Yellowjackets scored. Gardner made 5 of 11 shots, while adding two rebounds and turning the ball over just once in 31 minutes. "Addison played very well today, and was steady for us," Woodin said. "Skylar did a nice job of getting to the line, and she hit some critical free throws for us down the stretch."
 
MSUB was also boosted by Shannon Reny off the bench, who made a major impact in the six minutes of time she had with three points, three rebounds, and a block. "Shannon off the bench, when we really needed a spark, gave us two or three really solid minutes to help get that lead back to double digits," Woodin commented on Reny's second-half performance. "She inspired us with her play and how hard she was working."
 
Cariann Kunkel had a game-high 11 rebounds while adding seven points, while Taryn Shelley chipped in nine boards and six points. Shayla Montague finished with eight points and six rebounds, while Danielle Zahn made 4 of 9 shots for nine points to go along with five rebounds and a game-high six assists.
 
SF State (1-1) was led by Ashley Hart, who scored 14 points on 7-for-12 field goal accuracy. Mya Blake added a dozen points and Taimane Lesa-Hardee and Alexsandra Alvarado led the team with five rebounds apiece. SF State shot just 34.5 percent overall (20-for-58) and just 13.0 percent (3-for-23) from 3-point range. The Gators made 8 of 10 free throws in the game (80.0 percent), but were out-rebounded 51-26 in the loss.
 
MSUB by comparison shot 36.1 percent (22-for-61) and made just 2 of 14 threes (14.3 percent). The Yellowjackets made up for that and their 19 turnovers with the big game on the glass, and MSUB went 18-for-25 (72.0 percent) from the free-throw line.
 
After their third-highest scoring quarter of the season to open the game, MSUB's offense slowed down in a low-scoring second quarter for both teams. The 'Jackets battled through the dry spell and managed to edge SF State 9-8 in the period, to carry a 34-21 advantage into the halftime break.
 
The Gators made their push in the third quarter with a 13-7 scoring advantage, pulling within seven points down 41-34. Reny helped boost the team back to life however, and after regaining the double figure lead early in the fourth the Yellowjackets never looked back. "They are very good off the dribble and are perimeter oriented," Woodin commented on his team's opponent. "Going 2-0 in California is hard to do. The style of play is a little different, and what I liked about our two games is that we won each of them in completely different ways. This one was a low-scoring, grind-it-out defensive battle, and today we found a way to win."
 
Kortney Nelson and Dyauni Boyce each had four rebounds off the bench, with Nelson adding six points and three steals to boost MSUB.
 
THE BUZZ: Gardner was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…Gardner was three points off her career high of 14 and her five made field goals were her most ever in a single game…Zahn was one assist away from her career high of seven…MSUB is now 1-0 all-time against San Francisco State after the initial meeting between the teams on Saturday.
 
NEXT UP: The 'Jackets host South Dakota Mines next Saturday at 2 p.m. and Carroll College next Sunday at 2 p.m. in their return to the Magic City. Live coverage for next week's home games will be available online here.