LEWISTON, Idaho – Despite coming back from a double-figure deficit to tie the score in the fourth quarter, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team was held off by Lewis-Clark State College in a 67-61 defeat at the Activity Center on Friday evening.
 
Addison Gardner and Skylar Patton connected on back-to-back threes early in the fourth quarter, helping MSUB tie the score at 55-55. It was the first time since MSUB led 2-1 in the opening quarter that the Warriors were not ahead in the game, and LC State enjoyed a lead of as much as 14 points in the contest. Neither team scored over the next 3:30 of game time however, as they combined to go 0-for-8 with three turnovers during that stretch as the score stayed tied.
 
Cariann Kunkel had a pair of big buckets on back-to-back possessions to help MSUB keep pace and tie the score once again at 59-59, but the Warriors finally distanced themselves for good over the final two minutes of play as that proved to be MSUB's last chance to take the lead. "We played hard and fought back after we got into a big deficit early," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "We came all the way back, but give them credit. We just couldn't quite finish at the end."
 
Kunkel and Gardner tied for the team high with 14 points apiece, while Patton finished with 13 and Taryn Shelley added a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. "Addison hit some big shots for us at the right time to stop runs of theirs, but unfortunately her fouling out was tough for us," Woodin said as Gardner exited with five fouls after 25 minutes on the floor. "She was really starting to play her best."
 
Kortney Nelson was MSUB's leading rebounder with a dozen boards, while Dyauni Boyce and Shannon Reny had four points apiece. Nelson was also the primary defender on LC State's Jansen Edmiston, who was limited to just one point on the night after entering the game as the team's third-leading scorer at 11.5 points per game. "Kortney led us again in rebounding, and did a good job guarding one of their top scorers," Woodin said. "We have a lot of potential as a team, but we need to be a little more consistent throughout the game. We gave up a couple runs and tomorrow it's important we start better."
 
LC State was led by Abby Johnson, who finished with 26 points thanks in large part to a mark of 13-for-18 from the free-throw line. Kiara Burlage added 18 points, and Abby Farmer had seven points, six assists, and three steals for the Warriors.
 
Patton connected on a 3-pointer to help break MSUB out of a cold spell that saw it score just four points over the first six minutes of the game. Farmer however responded with a three-point play on the other end to help LC State stay in front 14-7 early on. Burlage connected on her first three of the game with 2:30 to go in the first quarter, helping the Warriors complete a 10-0 run and build a 21-7 advantage. Gardner meanwhile hit back-to-back threes which helped keep the 'Jackets in the game as time wound down in the first.
 
Farmer raced the length of the court and made a last-second layup to end the opening period, capping off a quarter in which the Warriors shot 55.6 percent (10-for-18).
 
Reny was a difference maker in the second quarter, battling hard for her first two buckets of the game while also grabbing a pair of rebounds. Reny's second bucket came right after a three by Rachel Schroeder, helping MSUB cut the deficit back below double figures at 33-26. By halftime however, the Warriors had extended the advantage back to 10 points at 38-28.
 
After a pair of Shelley foul shots, Kunkel hit her second trey of the third quarter to bring it to a one possession game as MSUB trailed just 43-40. No LC State player other than Burlage managed to score over the first eight minutes of the third quarter, as her seven points were just enough to keep the Warriors in the lead at 45-42 with 1:51 left in the period. After Kunkel's big three, the score remained within two possessions all the way down to the exciting finish in the fourth.
 
LC State shot 40.4 percent (23-for-57) in the game, while MSUB hit at a clip of just 32.9 percent (23-for-70). While the 'Jackets managed a mark of just 32.0 percent from 3-point range (8-for-25), the Warriors had an even tougher time from range at 13.6 percent in the game (3-for-22). The 'Jackets held a 45-40 advantage in rebounding, but committed a season-high 21 turnovers which the Warriors converted into 14 points. The Warriors also benefitted from 18 made foul shots in the game, and while MSUB was excellent from the line at 7-for-8, its lack of trips hurt its final point total.
 
"I really liked our effort, especially in the second half," Woodin said. "In the first half we gave up a lot of transition buckets, and I thought we cleaned that up at halftime and began to share the ball better as well. We need to cut back on our turnovers, but I liked the way we attacked the glass. We have to shoot the ball better, and our 2-point percentage was not very good tonight."
 
THE BUZZ: Gardner was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB was without one of its top returners from last season, Shayla Montague, for the fourth straight game, and without guard Danielle Zahn, who was injured in Wednesday's game against Rocky Mountain College.
 
UP NEXT: The teams reconvene Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. (Pacific) tipoff in another exhibition contest at the Activity Center. Live video will be available online here and live statistics will be available online here.