BILLINGS, Mont. – Powering their way past Minot State University on Saturday at Alterowitz Gym, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team cruised to a 78-44 victory in non-conference action.
 
The Yellowjackets kept their 2022-23 record undefeated, improving to 4-0 on the young season with the decisive victory. "This was a real good win for us today," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "We started slow in the first quarter, but we regrouped and we felt fortunate to be leading by three after the first quarter. I really thought we played well in the second and especially the third quarter, and our defense picked up a lot."
 
The difference on Saturday came in the middle two quarters, when MSUB stormed to the halftime break with its foot on the gas in the form of a 25-11 second quarter. Nothing changed in the third period, as MSUB put the game to bed out-scoring the Beavers 22-4 to leave no doubt.
 
Kortney Nelson and Dyauni Boyce led all players in the game with 16 points apiece, and Cariann Kunkel also reached double figures with 10 points while adding six rebounds and three assists. All 11 Yellowjackets who saw action on Saturday scored at least two points and grabbed at least one rebound, as MSUB dominated all aspects of the game. "Our depth is just a big part of our success right now," Woodin said. "We are able to go deep to our bench and get some great minutes from a lot of people. Also our versatility on offense showed in the final three quarters, and we shared the ball well. Several people hit 3-pointers, and because of the way we shot the ball we were able to space the floor well and create some driving angles."
 
Minot State (2-2) was led by a 10-point effort from Emily Srejma, while Natasha Elliott had nine points and a team-high six rebounds. The Beavers shot just 32.1 percent in the game (18-for-56), while making 5 of 19 threes (26.3 percent) and just 3 of 4 free throws (75.0 percent).
 
MSUB meanwhile lit up the shooting categories, at 48.3 percent overall (29-for-60), while making 8 of 22 threes (36.4 percent), and 12 of 16 foul shots (75.0 percent). The 'Jackets held a dominant 40-28 margin in rebounding, marking the fourth consecutive game to start the year they have won the rebounding battle.
 
After a relatively even opening quarter, with MSUB holding a narrow 16-13 advantage, things began to unravel in the second. Elliott made a layup with 4:53 to go before halftime, keeping the Beavers close down just 26-21. The 'Jackets proceeded to end the half on a 15-3 run however, as Minot State went just 1-for-6 over the final five minutes of the half.
 
The dry spell continued at the outset of the second half, as Minot State failed to score for the first 3:30 of action while MSUB built an insurmountable 18-point cushion. A layup by Emma Mogen and a jumper by Brieanna Smestad proved to be the only offense of the detrimental period, while MSUB made 5 of 9 threes in the third to set up a comfortable fourth quarter and finish.
 
Shayla Montague contributed eight points and five rebounds, while Aspen Giese had seven points, three boards, two assists, and a block. Freshman Kaitlin Grossman made 3 of 5 shots in her 12 minutes off the bench for six points, and Chloe Williams had five points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. Natalie Andreas and Bailee Sayler each had three points, and Skylar Patton and Madeline Heggem each made a bucket for the 'Jackets.
 
The Yellowjackets also won the turnover battle committing just 12, while coming away with 11 steals which helped lead to 19 giveaways by the Beavers.
 
"Anytime you can out-rebound an opponent by more than 10 that will always be a tough stat to beat, so I was proud of our team for that," Woodin said. "We are looking forward to playing on Tuesday at home against Black Hills. It'll be a really tough game and they have an excellent program. It's a short turnaround, but we are looking forward to it."
 
THE BUZZ: Nelson was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is now 3-1 all-time against Minot State with all games in the series being played at Alterowitz Gym…the four straight wins marks MSUB's best start to a season since it went 9-0 at the outset of the historic 2017-18 campaign.
 
UP NEXT: Black Hills State University visits Alterowitz Gym on Tuesday evening for another non-conference affair. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., with live coverage available online here.