LAS VEGAS – Kevin Woodin became the winningest coach in the 95-year history of the Montana State University Billings athletic department on Saturday at South Point Arena, as he led the Yellowjacket women's basketball team to a 72-58 triumph over University of Wisconsin Parkside for the 281st victory of his 18-year career.
 
"I'm proud I have been able to coach as long as I have, and I still love it," said the Libby, Mont., native. "It's nice to get a win, especially since it was our last game before the break. It is a team game, and all of my wins are because of our players first and foremost. They decide the outcome much more than me. I'm lucky to have coached with all of the staff I have enjoyed working with over the years, and any individual achievement like this needs to be shared with all of the people who played a part in it."
 
Woodin passed MSUB Hall of Famer Mike Harkins, who won 280 games coaching the Yellowjacket men's basketball program from 1960-76. "I'm so happy for him," senior forward Taryn Shelley commented on Woodin breaking the wins record. "He always wants the best for us on and off the court, and I feel really lucky to be coached by him."
 
A four-time conference coach of the year, Woodin ranks third among active Great Northwest Athletic Conference coaches behind Western Washington University's Carmen Dolfo (627 wins) and Simon Fraser University's Bruce Langford (417 wins). "We are all so lucky to have Kev in our lives," said associate head coach Alisha Breen, who spent five seasons under Woodin's guidance from 2013-18. "He is a great coach but an even better person, who puts so much into the program. There is no one more deserving to hold this title, and when people talk about MSUB women's basketball they will forever tie Coach Woodin's name to it. I am beyond happy to be part of his 281st win."
 
Shayla Montague hit a career-high six 3-pointers, leading the team with 18 points while adding six rebounds. Shelley made 7 of 15 shots for 17 points, while Cariann Kunkel and Kortney Nelson each recorded double-doubles in the comprehensive team victory. "We were really focused today, and I liked our practice session yesterday," said Woodin. "We talked about things we needed to do, went out, and executed against a good team. We have been struggling with our consistency the last few weeks, and I thought today we took a step forward there. We played excellent team basketball today from start-to-finish, and everyone contributed on both ends. When they took the lead late in the third quarter, we responded with one of our better quarters of the year to finish out the game."
 
UW Parkside's Courtney Schoenbeck hit a three with 2:04 to go in the third quarter, giving UW Parkside its first lead of the half up 45-44. The Yellowjackets had led since the 1:48 mark in the first quarter, but quickly overcame the brief momentum change with arguably their best quarter of basketball this season. Just as she started the second quarter with a trey, Montague got the fourth started the same way to get the Yellowjackets back in front 49-47. MSUB never looked back, out-pacing the Rangers 26-11 over the final 10 minutes to run away with the triumph. "Shayla did awesome today," said Shelley, who was selected to the Holiday Hoops Classic all-tournament team. "She was hitting clutch shots that gave us a spark when we needed it. It was fun to see her shots fall."
 
"We ran some actions for her, and she got some good inside-out passing from her post players," Woodin commented on Montague's performance, which came up just two points shy of her collegiate high of 20. "Parkside was doubling from the weakside on Taryn and Cariann, and Shayla rose up and hit those shots. We really needed those. We were effective on the interior, and our players protected the ball well today. It was nice to get a balance of scoring both inside and outside."
 
MSUB snapped a three-game losing skid with the win, and pulled its record on the season even at 7-7. The 'Jackets won thanks to a dominant mark of 49-25 on the boards – their third-highest single-game margin of the year. "Today's win was a good one, and from start-to-finish we played focused but loose with a lot of energy," said senior Shannon Reny, who chipped in a pair of rebounds and an assist. "It was definitely the note we wanted to go off on before Christmas break. We knew we were so close to breaking out of our skid, and we had people step up in big ways today to get it done."
 
UW-Parkside (6-8) was led by a 21-point performance from Alyssa Nelson, who hit 6 of 12 shots including 5 of 8 threes. No other Ranger reached double figures however, as the 'Jackets played sturdy defense and limited themselves to 12 turnovers in the game.
 
Back-to-back buckets by Shelley followed by an open jumper from Nelson helped the 'Jackets use a 6-0 run to grab a 15-13 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Nelson came to life in the second quarter, scoring six of her eight first-half points in the period to carry the 'Jackets offensively. Nelson finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the first double-double of her career. "Kortney had an excellent all-around game today, and distributed the ball well," Woodin said of Nelson, who also had a career-high seven assists. "Cariann was tough today, and she was all over the offensive glass for us. Rebounding was a key today, and to have almost a 2-to-1 advantage was a major reason we came out on top."
 
Kunkel notched her first double-double of the year and the 15th of her collegiate career, with 15 points and a team-high 11 boards. Kunkel also had four assists, while shooting 5-for-11 and making all five of her free-throw attempts. Dyauni Boyce provided a spark off the bench with eight points, four rebounds, and three assists in 22 solid minutes.
 
MSUB finished the game shooting 39.7 percent (27-for-68), including a mark of 6-for-15 from 3-point range (40.0 percent. The 'Jackets converted 12 of 15 free throws as well (80.0 percent). UW Parkside meanwhile shot 32.8 percent overall (19-for-58) while making 10 of 25 threes (40.0 percent) and 10 of 15 free throws (66.7 percent).
 
The first-ever meeting between the opponents resulted in one of the landmark wins in MSUB history, with the 1927-28 season being the inaugural year of intercollegiate athletics at then-Eastern Montana Normal School. The women's basketball program was founded during the 1973-74 season, and Woodin has been the winningest women's basketball coach since surpassing Frank McCarthy with his 192nd win on Jan. 20, 2015. "When I started coaching I wasn't thinking about this," said Woodin, who led the 'Jackets to their second Elite Eight appearance in school history during Breen's senior year in 2017-18. "It is a neat thing, and I am just thankful I've been able to do this as long as I have. This year's team has amazing potential, and I am really looking forward to the things we can accomplish the rest of this season."
 
"It was extra sweet to get it done for Kev," said the fellow Libby native Reny, who has been coached by Woodin since her freshman season in 2018-19. "We didn't know it happened until after the win, and our team just erupted. He does so much for our program and for our school. We are excited for him to hold this record."
 
THE BUZZ: Montague was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…her previous high for threes in a game was four, which she achieved on four previous occasions…Kunkel's double-double was the second of her MSUB career, after she recorded 13 during her two seasons at Wenatchee Valley College…MSUB is now 1-0 all-time against UW Parkside.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Yellowjackets are off for almost two weeks, as they prepare to resume Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Dec. 30 at University of Alaska and on Jan. 1 at University of Alaska Anchorage. Live coverage for the conference contests will be available online here.