BILLINGS, Mont. – A 31-point fourth quarter keyed a come-from-behind, 71-67 victory for the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team on Thursday evening at Alterowitz Gym, as the hosts started Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a win over visiting Northwest Nazarene University.
 
The Yellowjackets (6-4, 1-0 GNAC) trailed by as much as 15 points in the third quarter, but came to life late making all five of their 3-pointers in the fourth and holding off the Nighthawks down the stretch. "This was a huge win for us against a quality opponent," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "I was proud of our team for the fight they showed, especially in the fourth quarter. We finally made some 3-point shots and once we get our inside and outside game going, we are tough to guard."
 
Taryn Shelley led MSUB with 22 points on 9-for-17 shooting including a mark of 3-for-4 from the perimeter. Addison Gardner and Dyauni Boyce added 10 points apiece, and Shayla Montague hit three clutch 3-pointers for nine key points as well. The 'Jackets, who shot 16.4 percent (9-for-55) from long distance during their three-game losing streak entering the game, made 9 of 19 treys (47.4 percent) on the evening. "Taryn and Dyauni were tough around the basket tonight and Taryn's three threes were at key times too," said Woodin. "I thought Addison was effective on both ends and Shayla came through with some big-time threes in the final quarter. Kortney did a solid job defensively too."
 
Northwest Nazarene (4-3, 0-1) was led by a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds from Nyalam Thabach, who made 10 of 17 field goals while adding two blocks and two steals. Jordan Pinson added a dozen points and Teagan Thurman had 11 to go along with six rebounds for the visitors. "We had a rough start in the beginning, but in the second half we were able to push the ball up the floor and get back into it," said freshman Kortney Nelson, who finished with a team-high six rebounds. "The last few minutes were pretty awesome. We came back into the game and made it a good one."
 
With the 'Jackets trailing by three and 5:45 to go in the game, Gardner connected on a trey on an assist from Nelson that pulled the score even at 57-57. MSUB led the rest of the game – albeit never by more than two possessions as the Nighthawks stayed in it until the waning seconds. NNU's best chance to take the lead came on a turnover with 32 seconds left, but Thurman couldn't convert a breakaway layup as the 'Jackets dodged a bullet and clung to a 68-67 advantage.
 
Nelson took a charge with four seconds left, and persistent MSUB defense led to a five-second violation with two seconds left as the Nighthawks squandered a pair of last-second chances for a game-tying bucket. Free throws by Boyce, Danielle Zahn, and Cariann Kunkel in the final 10 seconds helped seal MSUB's first conference win of the year. "Our captains did a nice job of keeping our team together when we were down," Woodin said. "Once we started hitting shots, the momentum changed and it was a fun atmosphere down the stretch. We made enough free throws to finish the game but need to be a little better in that area."
 
Shelley hit the first bucket of the night – a 3-pointer – but it was MSUB's only lead of an otherwise one-sided first half of play. Thabach was nearly unstoppable under the basket, making 8 of 10 field goals en route to 17 points in the opening 20 minutes. The Yellowjackets kept pace and cut the deficit to six midway through the second quarter, but NNU finished the half on a 7-0 run to take a 35-22 advantage into the locker room. "NNU really took it to us early," Woodin said regarding the first half. "Thabach was great in the first half and we were too stagnant on offense. We needed to attack their pressure better than we did. We can't settle for perimeter shots when we are not hitting."
 
NNU maintained its double-digit lead throughout the third quarter, with the score reading 51-40 at the outset of the fourth. But after making just 3 of 11 treys in the opening half, the 'Jackets found their rhythm late. Montague set the tone with a three on the Yellowjackets' first possession of the fourth quarter, and the hosts never looked back on their way to a 7-for-10 finish. "Defensively, we played very well in the second half," Woodin said on limiting NNU to 10-for-28 shooting (35.7 percent) over the final 20 minutes. "We adjusted and played Thabach better and I thought we had some great defensive stops late in the game. Our bench was important tonight and our lineup we made our run in the second half with was a relatively new one. I was pleased with how they figured it out on the court and they were very determined."
 
The Yellowjackets shot 40.0 percent overall (22-for-55), but missed opportunities from the foul line at 18-for-27 in the game (66.7 percent). The Nighthawks meanwhile finished with a shooting percentage of 43.6 (24-for-55), while shooting 35.0 percent from the arc (7-for-20) and 12-for-18 from the free-throw line (66.7 percent). NNU out-rebounded MSUB 39-32, but the Nighthawks committed 20 turnovers which led directly to 21 points for the 'Jackets.
 
"It was a really aggressive game, and we have a lot of fight," Nelson said. "It's awesome. We were in a three-game losing streak and we broke that, and now we are going to get ready for this next game on Saturday."
 
THE BUZZ: Shelley was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…it was Shelley's second 20-point game of the year and she was three points off her season high…MSUB's nine made 3-pointers matched the team's season high…the fourth was MSUB's highest scoring quarter since the team scored 31 in the fourth quarter of an 80-70 win at Western Oregon University on Feb. 21, 2019…MSUB is now 21-19 overall against NNU and is 12-6 in games played at Alterowitz Gym.
 
NEXT UP: The 'Jackets return to the court on Saturday evening, hosting Central Washington with a 5:15 p.m. tipoff in the opening game of a doubleheader with the MSUB men's team. Live video will be available online here and live statistics will be available online here.