FAIRBANKS, Alaska – In their opening game of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play this season, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team came away with a 67-61 victory over the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks on Monday evening at Alaska Airlines Court.
After coming into the halftime break trailing, the Yellowjackets (7-1, 1-0 GNAC) used a big third quarter to jump in front of the Nanooks (1-5, 0-1 GNAC). Senior
Cariann Kunkel led all players with 21 points in the game. She was lights out from the free throw line, hitting 11 of 12 shots from the charity stripe.
Shayla Montague followed up her tournament MVP award from the previous weekend's games by scoring 19 points, 18 of them coming from beyond the arc.
While Kunkel and Montague carried the scoring load, the 'Jackets found contributions throughout the lineup.
Aspen Giese scored eight points, while collecting seven rebounds and four steals.
Dyauni Boyce led MSUB's efforts on the glass with eight rebounds.
Kortney Nelson had a team high four assists, to pair with seven rebounds and a pair of steals.
Fairbanks proved to be a challenge all game. After the Yellowjackets finished the first quarter ahead 14-11, the Nanooks scored 18 points in the following quarter to go into halftime up by three. The 'Jackets fell cold, shooting 4-for-15 in the second period, which the Nanooks took full advantage of, shooting over 50 percent. MSUB came out of halftime motivated to reverse the trend they set in that quarter though, and they did just that, shooting 9-for-15 (60 percent) in the third quarter to regain the lead in emphatic fashion, outscoring the hosts 24-16.
But the Nanooks wouldn't go down without a fight. They held the Yellowjackets without a basket after a
Chloe Williams free throw at 8:12 in the fourth quarter and didn't allow another score for the next 4:26 of game time. Alaska Fairbanks pulled to within one point with just three and a half minutes to go. The 'Jackets would pick up their play down the stretch though, allowing Fairbanks to score only five points the rest of the way. After Kunkel scored a huge basket in the post to push the game back to three, the 'Jackets closed out by hitting nine free throws late to never let the Nanooks within one possession the rest of the way.
Taylor Tiulana and Sam Tolliver tied for a team high 11 points to lead Alaska Fairbanks offensively. Emma Wass completed a double-double, totaling 10 points and 12 rebounds to go with three blocks. Paola Perez-Mendoza had a team high six assists.
THE BUZZ: Kunkel was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB shot 22-for-27 (81.5 percent) from the free throw line in the game, a game high this season…Kunkel's 11 made free throws tied a career high for her, last set against Yakima Valley in 2020…the Yellowjackets are 57-15 all-time against Alaska Fairbanks, and 8-2 in their last 10 games.
UP NEXT: MSUB concludes their Alaska road trip Thursday, December 1 at 9 p.m. MST when they face off against the University of Alaska Anchorage.
