BILLINGS, Mont. – Starting strong and never looking back on Saturday afternoon at Alterowitz Gym, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team led from wire-to-wire in an 81-44 triumph over visiting South Dakota Mines.
 
Eleven different Yellowjackets scored in the lopsided victory, which pushed MSUB's winning streak to four games. MSUB started the game on a 7-0 run and never looked back on the way to its largest win of the year. "Our whole goal was to jump on them from the start," sophomore point guard Danielle Zahn said after the game. "The last couple of games we have kind of struggled with that, so Kevin and Alisha really tried to emphasize that from the start."
 
Zahn made 6 of 8 field goals including both of her 3-pointers, leading the Yellowjackets and tying her career high in scoring with 14 points. The sophomore added a game-high six assists, four rebounds, and three steals. "I was just trying to do my job well," said Zahn. "When I have the shot I'll take it, but other than that I'm just looking to control the pace and control the game."
 
Taryn Shelley and Cariann Kunkel chipped in a dozen points apiece, with the latter adding six rebounds, three assists, and a pair of blocked shots. The Yellowjackets (5-1) shot 49.2 percent (32-for-65) in the game, including a mark of 40.9 percent from the arc (9-for-22), and made all eight of their free-throw attempts. "We went through the last two weeks with very limited practice and no time to work on ourselves, but this week we got five days of practice," said associate head coach Alisha Breen. "We put up a lot of shots and defensively fixed a lot of things fundamentally, and I think that showed today."
 
South Dakota Mines (0-4) received a standout performance from Makenna Bodette, who led all players with 21 points. Bodette made 9 of 18 field goals – primarily in the paint – while adding six rebounds and a pair of blocks. No other Hardrocker reached double figures however, as SDM shot just 32.0 percent in the game (16-for-50) and scored just 16 points in the second half.
 
Ryan Weiss made a layup with 1:46 to go in the first half, which cut the spread to eight points with SDM trailing 33-25. An ensuing layup by Shelley put the 'Jackets back up by 10, and the lead never fell below double figures the rest of the day. Weiss hit an incredible half-court shot at the buzzer, helping bring her team's deficit to 40-28 after the opening 20 minutes of play.
 
The Yellowjackets put the game out of reach with a 17-8 third quarter, and finished the game on fire out-scoring the Hardrockers 24-8 in the final 10 minutes. The end of the third quarter belonged to true freshman Chloe Williams, who made her first bucket with 14 seconds to go before picking up an offensive rebound on an ensuing breakaway and laying home another one as time expired. "Chloe pushed our starting 2 guards all week in practice, was getting her hands on passes," Breen said. "We gave her an opportunity in the game and she came in and delivered."
 
Fellow freshman Aspen Giese had another strong performance off the bench, reaching a season-high nine points while adding five rebounds, an assist, and a steal in 15 minutes. Skylar Patton scored all eight of her points in the final two minutes of the game, and Addison Gardner – who had two treys in the first quarter to kick start the team – finished with nine points.
 
Shayla Montague led the team with seven rebounds, Dyauni Boyce had five points and three boards, and Kortney Nelson matched her career high with five assists. "It was great to see people nailing their shots, and we had great play off the bench," Breen said. "We played all of our girls and all of them had very meaningful minutes. The confidence 1-through-13 is phenomenal, and it was nice to have a win that showed that."
 
BREEN'S JERSEY HONORED PREGAME: Prior to tipoff on Saturday, Breen's No. 20 jersey that she wore for five seasons from 2013-18 was honored in a ceremony on the floor. The first-team All-American led MSUB to its second NCAA D2 Elite Eight appearance during her senior season in 2017-18, and she became the sixth player in school history to have her jersey hung in the Corridor of Champions outside of Alterowitz Gym.
 
"It was very humbling and I am very honored," said Breen, who is the MSUB and Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-time leading scorer with 2,001 career points. "This is my home, and I was very lucky to play with the girls that I did. It's really fun to look back on all of that, and to see all of the memories that MSUB has given me."
 
THE BUZZ: Zahn was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…she matched her point total of 14 from Feb. 27, 2020 against Western Washington…Saturday was MSUB's largest win since a 103-59 triumph over University of Alaska on Feb. 15, 2020…MSUB is now 7-2 all-time against SD Mines and is 7-0 in games played in Billings.
 
NEXT UP: The 'Jackets are back in action on Sunday, hosting NAIA No. 6 Carroll College (6-1) at Alterowitz Gym. Tipoff against the Saints is set for 2 p.m., with live video available online here and live statistics available online here.
 
"It's going to be a tough game for us," Breen commented on the impending matchup against the sixth-ranked Saints. "A lot of our girls played against them in high school, so I know they have kind of been itching for this Carroll game. We are excited to take them on our home court, and we are going to give them our best shot tomorrow."