LAS VEGAS – A career-high 17 points from Chloe Williams told the story on Friday afternoon at South Point Arena, as Montana State University Billings topped Texas A&M Kingsville 68-57 at the Holiday Hoops Classic.
 
Williams made 7 of 13 shots including 3 of 5 threes, as she reached double figures in scoring in back-to-back games for the first time in her young career. "Chloe was great tonight, and this was one of the best games of her career," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin on the sophomore's performance. "Kortney had a solid game, and to get 10 rebounds from the guard position is a special thing. Our balance offensively was very nice, and Dyauni was effective on the interior. We were able to make enough free throws down the stretch to stay away from them, and out-rebounding them by eight was a big stat too."
 
Dyauni Boyce – who scored a career-high 26 earlier this season against Post – matched Williams with 17 points to help lead the Yellowjacket offense. Cariann Kunkel added a dozen, and Kortney Nelson hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds for MSUB, which improved to 11-1 on the season with the victory. "This was an important win for us against a very good Kingsville team," Woodin said. "The first half I felt like we were a little flat coming out and it took a little while to get going. Towards the end of the first quarter our defense ignited our offense. We were able to get some steals and convert some single-shot opportunities by them into fast-break on the other end."
 
The 'Jackets led 18-12 after the first 10 minutes of play, and parlayed the steady start into a 37-25 lead by halftime. A key swing of six straight points by Kunkel proved important in an 18-18 third quarter, as the Yellowjackets kept pace with the Javelinas. "In the third quarter a couple of key things happened, and Cariann's back-to-back threes were big," said Woodin. "In the fourth quarter we got a little stagnant on offense. They made a nice run to cut our lead down, but Chloe Williams had a big steal and conversion which we really needed."
 
MSUB finished the game strong, never leading by less than six and seeing its advantage peak at 16 points late in the fourth quarter. The Yellowjackets shot 42.6 percent in the game (26-for-61), while making 7 of 18 threes (38.9 percent) and 9 of 10 free throws (90.0 percent). The Yellowjackets also held a 40-32 edge in rebounding, while committing just six turnovers.
 
Skylar Patton was a key contributor with eight points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal, while Shayla Montague hit a pair of threes to finish with six points. In addition to her big scoring night, Williams added five boards and a team-high three steals, while Boyce added six rebounds and Montague, Aspen Giese, and Patton had four boards apiece.
 
Georgia Ohiaeri led the Javelinas (5-4) with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Brianna Pena had 11 points and Mia Rivers grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. Texas A&M Kingsville shot 39.2 percent overall (20-for-51), made 5 of 15 threes (33.3 percent), and 12 of 18 foul shots (66.7 percent).
 
"It was good team defense throughout the game for us," said Woodin. "It is a short turn-around for us playing one of the top teams in the nation in Lubbock Christian, and it'll be a great challenge for us."
 
THE BUZZ: Williams was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…Friday was the first-ever meeting between the teams.
 
COMING UP: The Yellowjackets face Lubbock Christian on Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. (Pacific) tipoff in Las Vegas. Live coverage will be available online here.