BILLINGS, Mont. – For the first time since 1999 the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team swept its season series against University of Alaska Anchorage, with a 74-67 triumph over the No. 19 Seawolves on Thursday night at Alterowitz Gym.
 
The Yellowjackets, who led by as much as 18 points early in the third quarter, withstood a late push by the Seawolves to claim their first home win over UAA since the 2013-14 season. "I'm really proud of our players, and it was a hard-fought win," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "Their shooting came alive in the second half. They didn't have a three in the first half and they hadn't shot well in the last two games, but all of a sudden they made nine threes in the second half."
 
Sala Langi converted a layup with 1:10 to go in the game that brought the score to 69-64, but Cariann Kunkel scored the next four points and rescued MSUB from what would have been a costly turnover to help seal the victory. Kunkel, who led all players with 24 points in MSUB's 72-48 drubbing on Jan. 17 in Anchorage, finished with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. "Cariann inside is so strong, and I know I can always trust her to make a shot," said senior forward Taryn Shelley. "I just believe in all my teammates, and I am super proud of us. We played amazing defense, and we played awesome overall."
 
Danielle Zahn scored a career-high 18 points, hitting all three of her 3-point attempts while adding five assists, two rebounds, and a steal. Zahn took over the end of the second quarter, scoring 10 points in the final two minutes including a buzzer-beating floater that gave the Yellowjackets a 33-20 advantage at halftime.
 
The Seawolves went 0-for-10 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes, but were able to reverse the trend and use perimeter shooting to climb back into the game. Rachel Ingram hit a season-high seven threes for 21 points, tying the UAA school record for most threes made in a half. UAA went 9-for-15 from the arc in the final 20 minutes, but it wasn't enough to overcome a deficit that reached 38-20 when Shayla Montague hit her first of three treys early in the third quarter.
 
Montague finished with 14 points, three rebounds, and two steals, and Shelley also reached double figures with 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. "Everyone contributed, and Shayla and Dani hit some big threes that we needed," Shelley said on a night where MSUB went 7-for-19 from the arc (36.8 percent). "We have been doing a lot of work off court bonding with each other, and it feels like we have been ready to go for each of the last few games."
 
MSUB improved to 12-8 with the victory, and is now 6-2 in conference play to maintain its second-place position. UAA meanwhile slipped to 10-4 overall and 3-3 in league play with the loss, and suffered a third straight defeat for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Tennae Voliva finished with 18 points and a team-high seven rebounds, and Langi was the other Seawolf to reach double digits in scoring with 11 points.
 
The game got off to a sluggish start for MSUB, which trailed 6-0 and waited nearly four minutes for its first field goal which came from Shelley. The Yellowjackets quickly established momentum however, out-scoring UAA 16-2 over the final portion of the first quarter on their way to the double-figure halftime advantage. "We got down right away, but we settled in and to have the lead at halftime was great," said Woodin. "They had a lot of momentum but we hit a lot of shots in response to them. In the first half we built our lead through the defense, and in the second half we had to score along with them to keep them from getting any closer. It was a really complete win for us, and we found a way to win against a really great team."
 
Kortney Nelson chipped in nine points, two rebounds, and two assists, and Aspen Giese had four points to go along with a season-high six assists, three rebounds, two steals, and a blocked shot. "It was really important for us to go into the second half strong, because we knew they were going to come out strong," Shelley said. "We knew we had to fight back and play as hard as we could. We made sure we had energy, and we took what we did in the first half and made it work in the second half."
 
MSUB shot an even 50.0 percent in the game (26-for-52), marking its second-best shooting night of the season behind 55.4 percent in an 88-58 win over Holy Names on Nov. 12. The Yellowjackets also made 15 of 19 free throws (78.9 percent), marking their eighth straight game reaching double figures in made foul shots.
 
MSUB out-rebounded UAA 34-30 and won despite committing 16 turnovers, as the 'Jackets were one off their season high in assists with 21. "Our team is really unselfish, and they will give up a good shot to try to get somebody a better one," said Woodin. "They have created that mentality for themselves. Right now we feel good about what we are doing, and the key is that we don't get complacent. We have great senior leadership with Addison (Gardner), Shannon (Reny), and Taryn, and we have young players who are wanting to contribute."
 
THE BUZZ: Montague was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…Zahn's previous career high in scoring was 16 points, which she reached on Dec. 11, 2021 against Rocky…Giese's previous season high in assists was two…the last time MSUB won consecutive games against UAA was three straight wins from March 3, 2001-Dec. 19, 2003, with the three wins each occurring in a different season…the last time MSUB swept UAA in a home-and-home season series was on Jan. 23, 1999 in Anchorage and Jan. 30, 1999 in Billings, which capped off a series-high eight game win streak over UAA…MSUB is now 29-39 all-time against UAA and is 16-16 in home games against the six-time defending GNAC champions…the win makes it three straight seasons with a winning streak of four games, as MSUB claimed four in-a-row from Nov. 30-Feb. 26 during the shortened 2020-21 campaign, and four straight from Nov. 16-Dec. 5 during the 2019-20 season…Thursday's win marked the first time the 'Jackets have won multiple games against a nationally-ranked opponent in a season since winning three straight at the 2018 NCAA D2 West Region Championships in Azusa, Calif.
 
GNAC ALL-TIME GREATS IN THE GYM: Three of the top players in GNAC history were in Alterowitz Gym on Thursday night, with the conference's all-time scoring leader Alisha Breen (2,001 points) on the MSUB bench as associate head coach, the conference's all-time assist leader Kiki Robertson (700 assists) on the UAA bench as assistant coach, and Yellowjacket Hall of Famer Bobbi Knudsen in attendance as well. Knudsen finished her career as the GNAC's all-time leader in both points (1,831) and assists (532), before being surpassed by Breen and Robertson, respectively. All three were also in attendance the last time UAA endured a three-game losing skid, which began with a 75-72 loss at Alterowitz Gym during Knudsen's senior year and Breen's and Robertson's freshman season. The victory, which clinched MSUB's first-ever GNAC regular-season title, was the last time UAA did not win the GNAC regular-season title, as the Seawolves have claimed six in-a-row from 2014-2020.
 
NEXT UP: The Yellowjackets are back in action Saturday night, hosting University of Alaska Fairbanks with another 5:15 p.m. tipoff in the early game of a doubleheader with the MSUB men's team. Live coverage for Saturday's game can be found online here, and the game will also be broadcast live regionally on SWX Television. MSUB will then face a quick turnaround, taking on the Nanooks in a makeup game on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Nanooks (1-10, 0-7 GNAC) lost to Seattle Pacific University 68-48 on Thursday night.