BILLINGS, Mont. – Facing a pair of Montana opponents this week, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team returns to non-conference action.
 
The Yellowjackets (6-5) square off against NCAA DI Montana State University on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. in Bozeman. The game will be an exhibition for MSUB, with live video available through ESPN+ online here and live statistics available online here. "It's nice to play close to home and at home this week with final exams next week," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "It is a great opportunity for our team to play the Bobcats and I am thankful to Tricia for scheduling us. MSU started slow this year but had an impressive homestand last week and was picked near the top in their preseason Big Sky poll. They have great overall size, depth, and length. Darian White is an elite point guard and defender and really pushes the tempo for them. Our transition defense has to be better and we need to execute at a higher rate in the half court on offense."
 
On Saturday, MSUB hosts Rocky Mountain College in a doubleheader with the MSUB men's team, with the women playing the late game at 7:30 p.m. Live video will be available online here and live statistics will be available online here. Saturday's doubleheader will also be televised live regionally on SWX Sports. Saturday's game will be a rematch of the Oct. 27 meeting between the teams at the Fortin Center, which MSUB claimed 59-50. "Rocky is playing great basketball as of late," said Woodin. "Their backcourt of Flye and Thatcher is good, and we will be challenged on each possession to keep their guards out of the paint. Flye is also impressive on the glass. They have talented players at all positions and Bribiescas and Dethman are very good in the mid-range and near the basket. Like Bozeman, they push the ball in transition. It is always fun to play Rocky and it is a great game for our Billings community."
 
The Yellowjackets will continue with their final games of the non-conference season next week, playing West Texas A&M university on Dec. 17 and University of Wisconsin Parkside the following day at the Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas. When MSUB returns from the holiday break on Dec. 30, it will be 16 straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchups for the remainder of the regular season. "We need to use these two weeks before break to get better on both ends of the floor and establish some momentum before heading home for the break," Woodin said. "We play four quality opponents and the best way to improve is to play against good competition. I am excited to see how we perform these next four games."
 
MSUB is coming off a split during its opening weekend of conference play, opening with a 71-67 win over Northwest Nazarene University last Thursday before a 79-68 loss to Central Washington University last Saturday at home. The victory, in which MSUB overcame a 15-point deficit, snapped a three-game losing skid. "Our win against NNU was important," Woodin said. "We came from behind in the fourth quarter showing a lot of grit and determination. We have a young, inexperienced team but we have great potential. Our challenge continues to be our consistency and we need to start each half better. We came out flat in both games last week and we have talked about ways to improve our focus and hopefully this week we do start better. Like the NNU game, Central got us down early and we made a run in the third and fourth quarters, but we just couldn't get over the hump."
 
ANOTHER PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR SHELLEY: Senior forward Taryn Shelley earned her third career GNAC Player of the Week award and her second this season, as she led the way with 43 points in MSUB's two games last week. Shelley shot 54.8 percent (17-for-31) in the two games, while making 6 of 8 threes (75.0 percent) and grabbing 10 rebounds. Shelley leads the team and ranks ninth in the GNAC in scoring at 13.5 points per game, and she ranks seventh in the conference in rebounding at 7.2 boards per game. Shelley enters this week's games on the cusp of the 1,000-career point mark, having accumulated 985 points in her first three seasons at MSUB. She seeks to become the 25th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
 
KUNKEL REACHES 1,000 CAREER POINTS: Cariann Kunkel reached 1,000 career points in Saturday's game against Central Washington, in which she made 6 of 11 shots for 14 points in 23 minutes. Kunkel scored the first 758 points of her collegiate career during her two-year tenure at Wenatchee Valley College, and has scored 248 since joining MSUB last spring for a career total of 1,006 points.
 
Cariann Kunkel's Path to 1,000 Points

Points	Season	Games	Year	School
357	2018-19	33	Freshman	Wenatchee Valley College
401	2019-20	30	Sophomore	Wenatchee Valley College
112	2020-21	8	Junior*	MSU Billings
136	2021-22	11	Junior	MSU Billings
1,006	4 seasons	85

 *Retained junior eligibility after coronavirus pandemic shortened the 2020-21 season.
 


MONTAGUE HEATS UP FROM THE ARC: Shayla Montague was a key contributor in both of MSUB's games last week, making 6 of 12 threes and scoring 18 total points in the two games. Overall in the last four games Montague is shooting 47.6 percent from long range (10-for-21), and she ranks third on the team with 6.8 points per game.
 
BOYCE REACHES DOUBLE FIGURES FOR 3RD TIME: Second-year freshman Dyauni Boyce reached double figures in scoring for the third time in her career, making 3 of 5 shots and a career-best four free throws en route to 10 points in the win over the Nighthawks.
 
NELSON CRUCIAL IN GNAC WIN: Kortney Nelson played an important role in MSUB's first conference win of the year, grabbing a team-high six rebounds while adding four assists, four points, and two steals. What didn't show on the stat sheet however was Nelson's defense, as she took four key charges including one on the Nighthawks' penultimate possession of the game that resulted in a turnover and free throws for the 'Jackets. Nelson ranks third on the team this season with 4.6 rebounds per game.
 

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Montana State University Bobcats
Thursday, December 9, 2021 – 7 PM – Brick Breeden Field House – Bozeman, Montana
2021-22 Record: 4-5, 2-0 Big Sky Conference
Head Coach: Tricia Binford, 17th season
2020-21 Record: 17-7, 13-3 Big Sky Conference
 
The Bobcats have won three straight games heading into Thursday's matchup, including going 2-0 in the opening weekend of Big Sky Conference play. MSU topped Northern Colorado 63-57 and beat Sacramento State 76-69 last week, kicking off a six-game home stand with two victories. The Bobcats host Utah Valley on Saturday after Thursday's game against the 'Jackets.
 
Darian White is MSU's leading scorer, averaging 14.2 points per game while adding 4.8 rebounds and a team-best 4.4 assists. White totaled 29 points in last week's two conference wins, and has scored in double figures in all nine of MSU's games this season.
 
Lexi Deden is the team's top rebounder at 4.9 boards per game, but the Bobcats are being out-rebounded 40.9-34.7 this season. Katelynn Limardo ranks second on the team with 8.8 points per game, and is the top 3-point shooter at 40.5 percent from the arc.
 
Overall MSU is being outs-cored 71.9-64.0, while shooting 36.8 percent overall, 30.3 percent from long range, and 75.0 percent from the free-throw line.
 
The Series: MSU is 15-9 all-time against MSUB and is 14-3 in games played in Bozeman, but the teams have not played a counting contest since the 1994-95 season. The Yellowjackets' last win was a 57-54 exhibition triumph on Dec. 29, 2012 in Bozeman.
 
Last Time Out: The teams last met in an exhibition game on Nov. 25, 2017, with MSU claiming a 67-47 win in Bozeman.
 

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Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears
Saturday, December 11, 2021 – 7:30 PM – Alterowitz Gym – Billings, Montana
2021-22 Record: 7-1, 2-0 Frontier Conference
Head Coach: Wes Keller, 8th season
2020-21 Record: 1-11, 1-9 Frontier Conference
 
Since dropping the exhibition game to the Yellowjackets, the Battlin' Bears have gotten off to a 7-1 start to their season and enter the week on a five-game winning streak. Rocky plays at Dickinson State University on Wednesday night before making the short trip to Alterowitz Gym for Saturday's game. Saturday will be an exhibition contest for the Bears.
 
N'Dea Flye leads RMC with 18.3 points per game, while shooting 40.3 percent overall from the field and averaging 3.4 assists. Shauna Bribiescas is second on the team with 13.6 points per game, and Kloie Thatcher is also in double figures at 13.4 points per game. Thatcher also leads the team with 4.4 assists per game, while Bribiescas is shooting 51.9 percent from the floor.
 
The Bears are out-scoring the opposition 67.5-56.6 while narrowly being out-rebounded 37.6-36.4. RMC shoots 42.3 percent overall, 33.9 percent from the arc, and 54.3 percent from the free-throw line.
 
The Series: MSUB is 66-14 all-time in counting contests between the teams, and holds a record of 42-5 in games played at Alterowitz Gym. MSUB has won 21 consecutive counting games between the teams dating back to the 1998-99 season, and the 'Jackets haven't lost a counter to the Bears at Alterowitz Gym since a double-overtime defeat on Jan. 13, 1982.
 
Last Time Out: Flye led all players with 18 points but Cariann Kunkel posted a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double and the 'Jackets outlasted the Bears in their season-opening exhibition affair.