LAS VEGAS – Unable to recover from a slow start on Friday morning at South Point Arena, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team fell 59-46 to West Texas A&M University in the opening game of the Holiday Hoops Classic.
 
Yellowjacket senior Taryn Shelley reached 1,000-career points early in the third quarter, on her way to a team-high 15 points and 12 rebounds. It wasn't enough in a game where MSUB shot just 35.4 percent (17-for-48) and made just 2 of 16 threes (12.5 percent), as it fell to 6-7 on the season with its third straight defeat. "Overall we struggled offensively today, especially from the 3-point line," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "Taryn and Cariann scored on the interior, but we need to be better balanced. West Texas played multiple defenses effectively against us."
 
Jayla Burgess led all players with 16 points on an efficient shooting mark of 6-for-7 from the field. Zamorye Roberts added 14 points and three steals, while Azia Himeur also reached double figures with 10 points. Alivia Lewis led the team with seven rebounds, and Karley Motschenbacher added six to help the Buffs improve to 7-6 on the season. "Defensively we were solid, and keeping an opponent under 60 is always a goal of ours," Woodin said. "We need to continue to improve defensively, but we limited them to nine offensive rebounds which was also an emphasis today."
 
The Yellowjacket defense stood out from the opening tip, with the Buffs being held scoreless over the first 3:50 of play. Despite holding its opponent to the lowest scoring total since an 81-44 win over South Dakota Mines on Nov. 20, MSUB failed to gain traction offensively and played from behind for the majority of the game.
 
Cariann Kunkel, who finished with 11 points, scored six of them in the opening quarter to help MSUB out-pace WTAMU 10-8 over a slow opening 10 minutes of play. Back-to-back threes by Himeur at the 3-minute mark in the opening half gave WTAMU its largest lead to that point, as the Yellowjackets faced a 21-16 deficit. A last-second three by Danielle Zahn that would have tied the game was just off the mark, and the Buffs carried a 21-18 edge into the locker room.
 
A layup by Madison Kast with just under two minutes to go in the third quarter followed by a pair of free throws gave the Buffs a double-figure lead at 38-28. All four were second-chance points, after WTAMU battled for a pair of key offensive rebounds. Shelley responded with a burst of six straight points, with the third layup being the one that lifted her to the 1,000-point mark.
 
Zahn hit a three to open the fourth quarter to make the spread 41-33, and a late push by the 'Jackets got them within six down 47-41. Burgess responded with a key bucket as the Buffs kept a grip on the lead in the fourth quarter, and that proved to be the closest MSUB got the rest of the way. A late full-court press defense created some chances for the Yellowjackets, but WTAMU handled the stress and closed out the victory.
 
WTAMU won despite shooting just 34.6 percent (18-for-52) including a mark of 24.0 percent from long range (6-for-25). The Buffs were also out-rebounded 38-35, and although they did not shoot well from the foul line (17-for-27) the volume of free throws aided in the triumph.
 
MSUB meanwhile committed 18 turnovers and made just 10 of 16 free throws (62.5 percent). Zahn hit a pair of threes for six points in the game, and Kortney Nelson matched her career high with five assists. "We need to pass the ball better, and several of our passes were deflected today," Woodin said. "The combination of poor shooting and minus-nine in the turnover category was too much to overcome."
 
THE BUZZ: Shelley was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…Shelley's double-double was her third of the season and was the 21st of her MSUB career…Shelley became the 25th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark, and finished the game with 1,007 total points in her four seasons with the 'Jackets…MSUB is now 0-2 against WTAMU…Friday's point total was MSUB's lowest since a 60-42 loss to Black Hills State on Nov. 13, 2019.
 
NEXT UP: The 'Jackets are back in action on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Pacific/11 a.m. Mountain, taking on University of Wisconsin Parkside in their final non-conference game of the year. Live coverage for Saturday's game will be available online here.
 
"It is important that we regroup and get a win tomorrow," said Woodin. "We have potential, but need to execute better. No one but ourselves can get us out of this slump, and I am looking forward to our game tomorrow."