PORTLAND, Ore. – After starting its 2021-22 season with a pair of victories at the D2CCA Tip Off Classic at the Trailhead over the weekend, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Team of the Week while senior forward Taryn Shelley was named the GNAC Player of the Week announced by the conference office on Monday.
 
MSUB (2-1) defeated Minot State University 72-66 to open the tournament and beat Kutztown university 66-55 to close the event, with a narrow 67-61 loss to No. 1 Lubbock Christian University in between. The Yellowjackets also beat Montana Tech 67-54 in an exhibition contest last week. "It was a great weekend for our team," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "I thought we played some very good basketball on both ends. We are young and inexperienced, but I like what I am seeing and I believe we have great potential."
 
The GNAC Team of the Week award is presented weekly to the top-performing team in the conference across all sports. This is Shelley's second career GNAC Player of the Week award, after she claimed the honor on Dec. 24, 2018 during her freshman season at MSUB.
 
Shelley powered the Yellowjackets to the winning record, averaging 18.7 points and 9.0 rebounds en route to landing a spot on the all-tournament team. Shelley shot 57.8 percent overall from the field and added four blocked shots to her stat line. She completed the 19th double-double of her MSUB career with 14 points and 11 rebounds against the two-time defending national champion, after scoring a tournament-high 25 points on a career-high 12 made field goals in the opener against Minot State.
 
"Taryn played excellent basketball for us this past week," Woodin said. "She is an improved player on both ends and her experience and leadership are so important to our young team. Taryn's versatility and ability to score from many areas really helps our offense, and her interior defense has been solid. She is playing at an elite level."
 
As a team the Yellowjackets out-scored their opposition 66.3-62.7 and held a strong rebounding margin of 36.3-28.3 while out-boarding all three opponents. Cariann Kunkel earned all-tournament honors for the 'Jackets, averaging 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds during the first three games of her junior season.
 
MSUB held off a persistent Minot State team in the season opener, using a strong second half with 21 points in both the third and fourth quarters to seal a 72-66 win on Friday. Full game recap online here.
 
The 'Jackets stunned the Chaparrals, who had won 36 consecutive games entering Saturday's marquee affair, with a 17-8 opening quarter to gain early momentum. The visitors rallied to top the 'Jackets 67-61 however, and withstood a late MSUB push that put the hosts down by just three points with 30 seconds left in the game. Full game recap online here.
 
"We won a close game against Minot State and I was pleased with our execution offensively down the stretch," said Woodin. "The Lubbock game was a lot of fun. The atmosphere was electric and we started very well. The second quarter was our downfall but we responded in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit from double digits to three points. Lubbock is a powerhouse and we gave them our best shot, but it just wasn't quite good enough."
 
Playing its third game in as many days, MSUB overcame its worst half of the tournament to beat Kutztown 66-55 in the finale. The Yellowjackets scored just 26 points in the opening 20 minutes, and saw the Golden Bears go on a 16-0 run to build a 34-26 halftime lead. A kick-start from the bench in the third quarter and strong finishes from Kunkel and Shelley propelled the Yellowjackets to a late rally, as MSUB out-scored Kutztown 23-10 in the fourth quarter to storm back. Full game recap online here.
 
"Sunday was another hard-earned win for us," Woodin said on the comeback effort against Kutztown. "We struggled for most of the first two quarters and got down by double digits, but our bench really sparked us in the third quarter and we found a way to win. Once we got the lead back, we did a good job of limiting Kutztown to one shot and we executed offensively down the stretch. Overall, it was awesome to host the D2 Tip Off Classic at MSUB, and the event was very successful for our MSUB and Billings communities."
 
The Yellowjackets hit the road this weekend, taking on Holy Names University on Friday at 2 p.m. Pacific/3 p.m. Mountain and San Francisco State University on Saturday at noon Pacific/1 p.m. Mountain at the Holy Names Classic in Oakland, Calif. Live coverage for both games will be available online here.