NAMPA, Idaho – Holding off the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team in the season finale on Saturday at Johnson Sports Center, host Northwest Nazarene University claimed a 75-72 victory.
 
Dyauni Boyce drained a wild, corner 3-pointer with 37 seconds left in regulation, bringing the Yellowjackets within a single point down 73-72. NNU's McKenna Emerson made both free throws on the other end after being fouled, and MSUB was unable to get a final look at a game-tying 3-pointer before the clock expired. "We tried to go deeper into our bench in the second half," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "We kept fighting, but we just couldn't quite get the lead at the end. Give our players credit, and we hit a couple shots and got some stops in the last few minutes to stay in it."
 
Skylar Patton scored a season-high 19 points, making 6 of 10 shots and all seven of her free throws to lead MSUB. The junior guard also had seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Taryn Shelley matched Patton with 19 points, as she made 7 of 10 shots and added a team-high eight rebounds. Boyce also reached double figures for MSUB, scoring 14 points and adding six rebounds in 21 productive minutes off the bench.
 
The Nighthawks (7-7) were led by Nyalam Thabach, who made 12 of 16 shots and scored 26 points in the game. Erin Jenkins finished with 13 points, while Haley Hanson reached 10 points for the hosts.
 
The Yellowjackets (5-3) got off to a hot start, with three different players scoring during a game-opening 7-0 run. The offensive momentum continued over the first 10 minutes of play, as the 'Jackets led 19-13 after a productive first quarter.
 
The second quarter belonged to the Nighthawks however, as NNU out-scored the 'Jackets 28-15 in the period and took a 42-34 advantage into the locker room. Thabach hit back-to-back 3-pointers that keyed a 15-4 run by NNU, which proved to be the momentum-changing stretch during the first half of play. "The first half was very similar to last night, and I thought we had great focus from the beginning," Woodin said. "Our start was fantastic, and we were up quite a bit early. The second quarter was our demise, and we just turned it over too many times. We also didn't guard very well, and Thabach hurt us a lot. We had no answer for her in the first half."
 
The Yellowjackets got the deficit as low as four points on a jumper by Patton at the 4:20 mark in the third quarter, as MSUB narrowly out-scored NNU 18-16 in the period to stay in the game. The Nighthawks did well to keep the margin at two possessions or more into the final minute of play, before the Yellowjackets' last-ditch three to cut the spread to a single point.
 
Northwest Nazarene shot a solid 45.3 percent in the game (29-for-64), and made 14 of 18 free throws (77.8 percent), but once again struggled from the arc going just 3-for-17 (17.6 percent). The Nighthawks also won despite being out-rebounded 40-27 by the 'Jackets, as they forced 23 giveaways which led to their 25 points off of turnovers.
 
MSUB meanwhile shot 45.6 percent overall (26-for-57), but also struggled from the 3-point line with a mark of 4-for-24 in the game (16.7 percent). The Yellowjackets benefitted from their trips to the free-throw line, making 16 of 17 attempts (94.1 percent).
 
Cariann Kunkel and Shayla Montague each added eight points for MSUB, while grabbing four and six rebounds, respectively. Kunkel and Kortney Nelson tied for the team lead with three assists apiece and a pair of steals apiece.
 
"Overall it was great for us to play these two games on the road," Woodin commented on Friday's 80-79 win preceding Saturday's defeat. "We learned a lot from these close GNAC games. I thought Skylar Patton really played well in transition, and helped give us a chance. Taryn was consistent, and Dyauni's spark at the end offensively was needed."
 
THE BUZZ: Patton was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is now 20-19 all-time against NNU and is 7-12 in road games…Boyce's 14 points were a season high…the teams split the season series, going 2-2 in the four-game home-and-home set.