SEATTLE – Winning its fourth straight game and for the eighth time in the last nine games, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team held off a late push from Great Northwest Athletic Conference foe Seattle Pacific University in Saturday's 56-53 victory at Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Falcons had the ball with 20 seconds left and a chance to tie the score, but a last-ditch 3-point attempt by Ashley Alter was off the mark. "The last two minutes were very contested, and we protected the ball better," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "We tried to take away the three, and we executed very well. Natalie (Andreas) came up big defensively for us and we needed that."
 
Taryn Shelley led all players with 21 points, connecting on 9 of 13 field goals including 3 of 6 from long range. The senior just missed her third straight double-double, finishing with a game-high nine rebounds. Danielle Zahn added 15 points on 7-for-15 shooting, while Kortney Nelson had nine points, four rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals. "Dani and Taryn shot the ball very well, and their teammates found them," said Woodin. "We used Dani a lot on ball screens today, and she was effective with that. She drove the ball well and played a very good game offensively."
 
The Yellowjackets (16-9, 10-3 GNAC) shot 42.0 percent (21-for-50) in the wire-to-wire victory, and overcame a tough day from the arc at just 26.3 percent (5-for-19). MSUB also made 9 of 12 free throws (75.0 percent), on the way to its 10th win in its last 12 games. "Our first half was a little sloppy offensively, with 13 turnovers," Woodin said. "We cleaned that up in the second half, and even though we didn't shoot great overall, we made some key shots in key moments."
 
Seattle Pacific was led by Ashley Alter, who scored 15 points while adding four rebounds in just her second game back from an injury that sidelined her for six weeks. Natalie Hoff scored 13 points and added five boards, while Abril Rexach Roure led the team in rebounding with six and in assists with five. SPU fell to 10-15 overall and is now 6-9 in conference play with the defeat. "This was a great team win, and GNAC road wins late in the season are hard to come by," said Woodin. "I'm proud of our team and we are looking forward to next week."
 
MSUB started the game with a bang, opening up a 15-5 advantage midway through the first quarter. The Falcons pushed back, and managed to even things at 20-20 midway through the second. SPU couldn't get over the hump however, as MSUB closed the quarter well enough to lead 27-24 at the break.
 
The second half started with a 7-0 Yellowjacket run, which reestablished a 10-point advantage at 34-24. In similar fashion to how the first half ended, the Falcons chipped away and trailed just 46-43 heading into the tightly contested fourth. "I liked the way we started each half," Woodin said. "We took leads right away, but couldn't quite sustain throughout the quarter. Those starts were critical tonight, and we found a way to win. SPU was very motivated today; they hit shots, especially in streaks."
 
The Falcons shot 36.7 percent overall (22-for-60), but made just 3 of 16 threes (18.8 percent) and 6 of 11 free throws (54.5 percent). SPU did well to limit its turnovers to 11, while generating 18 MSUB giveaways that led to 14 points off turnovers. The teams finished even in rebounding at 34-34.
 
THE BUZZ: Zahn was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…Shelley pushed her career point total to 1,200 on Saturday, moving up one spot to No. 17 in MSUB history…MSUB completed the season sweep of the Falcons, after winning 81-55 in Billings on Jan. 22…MSUB is now 25-33 all-time against SPU and is 7-22 in games played at Brougham Pavilion.
 
NEXT WEEK: MSUB is on the road again for the final two games of the 2021-22 regular season. The Yellowjackets play at Central Washington on Feb. 24 at 5:15 p.m. and at Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 26 at 5:15 p.m. Live coverage for next week's games can be found online here.