LACEY, Wash. – Landing in the 2022 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team kicks off postseason play on Thursday afternoon at Saint Martin's University.
The Yellowjackets (16-11) finished fifth in the final GNAC regular-season standings and drew a first-round matchup against No. 4 seed Northwest Nazarene University (18-8).
2022 GNAC Women's Basketball Championships - Quarterfinals
No. 5 Seed Montana State University Billings vs. No. 4 Seed Northwest Nazarene University
Date: Thursday, March 3, 2022
Time: Noon (Pacific)/1 p.m. (Mountain)
Location: Marcus Pavilion – Lacey, Washington
Live Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JkAjeQbb4k
Live Statistics: https://smusaints.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
"It is so great to again be playing tournament basketball in March after a two-year absence," said MSUB head coach
Kevin Woodin. "Our team is very excited and determined to play well. I know all teams get in this year however our team registered 10 conference wins and earned the right to be here. The league is very balanced and I expect the games to be very competitive. It should be a great atmosphere and I am happy for our team and especially our seniors to be in Lacey this week."
The winner of Thursday's game will advance to the semifinals, which will take place on Friday with one game at Noon Pacific and the second game at 2:15 p.m. Pacific. Matchups for the semifinal round will be determined upon completion of all four quarterfinal matchups. The full tournament schedule and championship information
can be found online here.
The Yellowjackets will have a chance at immediate redemption, after losing to the Nighthawks 86-76 in their most recent matchup on Feb. 26 in Nampa, Idaho, in the regular-season finale. The teams split the season series, as MSUB topped NNU 71-67 when the teams met at Alterowitz Gym in Billings on Dec. 2 in the conference opener.
"Both teams defended their home court this year in the split of our season series by having huge fourth quarters," said Woodin. "Thursday's matchup should be a great game and I expect a close, down to the wire contest. We are aware of what they will do and they know us well too. It will come down to who wants it the most and fourth quarter execution. I have liked our focus this week and I believe we are ready to play our best game of the season."
NIGHTHAWKS VS. 'JACKETS: Thursday will mark the fourth time that MSUB and NNU have squared off in postseason play, with the Yellowjackets holding a 2-1 edge in the playoff series. MSUB holds a slight 21-20 advantage in the overall series between the teams, which dates back to the 2000-01 season. Thursday will be the fourth neutral-site meeting between the teams, all of which have been in the postseason.
MSU Billings vs. Northwest Nazarene – Postseason All-Time Games
| Date |
Competition |
Location |
Result |
| 3/1/2012 |
GNAC Championships |
Lacey, WA |
NNU 77, MSUB 56 |
| 3/3/2016 |
GNAC Championships |
Lacey, WA |
MSUB 70, NNU 65 |
| 3/2/2018 |
GNAC Championships |
Anchorage, AK |
MSUB 76, NNU 69 |
| 3/3/2022 |
GNAC Championships |
Lacey, WA |
Thursday, Noon |
WHAT'S AT STAKE? The winner of the GNAC Championships will receive the conference's automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA West Region Championships, which will run March 11-14 at the site of the No. 1 overall seed. After breaking in at No. 9 last week, the Yellowjackets dropped out of the latest NCAA D2 regional rankings – which were released Wednesday and which will be used to eventually determine the field of eight teams that will advance to the regional tournament. Without winning the conference tournament, teams will need to vie for an at-large bid to make the regional. The regional tournament field will be revealed on Sunday evening at 8 p.m. Mountain time, with the selection show being streamed live online at
www.ncaa.com.
"I am very proud of our team this year," Woodin said. "We have responded to many adverse situations from COVID postponements and cancellations to injuries and playing with a limited roster. Our young players have progressed and a huge part of their development has been our senior leadership. We have benefitted from our great depth and I expect it to again help us in the tourney. We have improved and the challenge is now to peak in March."
'JACKETS IN THE POSTSEASON: Thursday will mark MSUB's 11th postseason appearance under the guidance of head coach
Kevin Woodin, who has led his team to the GNAC Championships in 8 of 11 seasons since the tournament's inception in 2010-11. The Yellowjackets are 6-6 all-time in GNAC tournament games, with their best finish being in 2018 when they went 3-0 to win the GNAC Championships title.
Yellowjackets in the Playoffs – Kevin Woodin Era (2004-2022)
| Season |
Conference |
W |
L |
Regional |
W |
L |
National |
W |
L |
Notes |
| 2004-05 |
-- |
- |
- |
NCAA West |
0 |
1 |
-- |
- |
- |
|
| 2005-06 |
Heartland |
0 |
1 |
-- |
- |
- |
-- |
- |
- |
Heartland Reg. Season Champion |
| 2006-07 |
Heartland |
2 |
0 |
NCAA South Central |
0 |
1 |
-- |
- |
- |
|
| 2010-11 |
GNAC |
1 |
1 |
-- |
- |
- |
-- |
- |
- |
|
| 2011-12 |
GNAC |
0 |
1 |
-- |
- |
- |
-- |
- |
- |
|
| 2012-13 |
GNAC |
0 |
1 |
-- |
- |
- |
-- |
- |
- |
|
| 2013-14 |
GNAC |
0 |
1 |
NCAA West |
2 |
1 |
-- |
- |
- |
GNAC Reg. Season Champion |
| 2015-16 |
GNAC |
2 |
1 |
NCAA West |
0 |
1 |
-- |
- |
- |
|
| 2017-18 |
GNAC |
3 |
0 |
NCAA West |
3 |
0 |
NCAA Elite Eight |
0 |
1 |
|
| 2019-20 |
GNAC |
0 |
1 |
-- |
- |
- |
-- |
- |
- |
|
| 2020-21 |
ALL POSTSEASON PLAY CANCELED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC |
| 2021-22 |
GNAC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All-Time MSUB Women's Basketball Postseason Results by Coach (sorted by total wins)
| Rank |
Coach |
Wins |
Losses |
Percentage |
Appearancees |
Seasons |
| 1 |
Kevin Woodin |
13 |
12 |
.520 |
10 |
17 |
| 2 |
Frank McCarthy |
6 |
5 |
.545 |
5 |
10 |
|
Marcia Caneff |
6 |
5 |
.545 |
2 |
2 |
| 4 |
Linda Ponikvar |
4 |
4 |
.500 |
2 |
2 |
| 5 |
Darcy Conway |
2 |
1 |
.667 |
3 |
1 |
| 6 |
Nancy Monger |
2 |
2 |
.500 |
1 |
1 |
| 7 |
Elwin Heiny |
1 |
1 |
.500 |
1 |
1 |
| 8 |
Karyn Ridgeway |
1 |
2 |
.333 |
2 |
3 |
| 9 |
Ted Anderson |
0 |
2 |
.000 |
2 |
6 |
3 'JACKETS EARN ALL-CONFERENCE: Taryn Shelley,
Cariann Kunkel, and
Kortney Nelson were singled out on Wednesday, each earning all-conference recognition for their standout performances this season. Shelley earned the third all-league honor of her career, and made the first-team after being an honorable mention selection both in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Kunkel became the third player in program history to earn the conference's Newcomer of the Year title, and she was a second-team all-league pick as well. Nelson landed on the honorable mention list, earning the first all-conference recognition of her career.
MSUB TO LEAN ON SHELLY IN TOURNEY: The lone Yellowjacket to start all 27 games this season, Shelley leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game and rebounding at 8.2 boards per game. Those figures rank her seventh and second in the GNAC, respectively. Shelley enters this week's conference tournament shooting 49.1 percent, ranking seventh in the league, and with 30 blocked shots for an average of 1.1 per game to rank her fifth in the conference. Shelley has completed eight double-doubles this season, bringing her four-year career total to 26.
Shelley has accumulated 1,251 points in her four seasons at MSUB, as she enters the week ranked No. 15 in school history in scoring. She is also seventh in rebounding at 748, third in blocked shots with 127, and 12th in field goals made with 524. Shelley is the first MSUB player to earn first-team honors since
Alisha Breen earned the accolade during the 2017-18 season.
KUNKEL SET FOR FIRST GNAC CHAMPIONSHIP: After postseason play in 2019-20 was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kunkel is set for her first-ever GNAC tournament. Kunkel ranks second on the team with 11.5 points per game and with 5.2 rebounds per game. Kunkel is also shooting 49.1 percent from the floor, and she leads the team with 29 steals. Including the 870 points she scored during her two-year career at Wenatchee Valley College, Kunkel reached the 1,000-point plateau earlier this season and has accumulated 1,158 total points entering this week in her four college seasons.
NELSON CONTINUES RAPID IMPROVEMENT: After breaking in as a true freshman during the coronavirus-shortened 2020-21 season, Nelson has quickly become one of the Yellowjackets' most consistent threats on both sides of the ball. Nelson ranks third on the team with 7.5 points per game and with 4.8 rebounds per game. Nelson is shooting 45.5 percent overall, and her 68 assists are second-most on the team. Nelson notched her first collegiate double-double on Dec. 18 against Wisconsin-Parkside, and is averaging 14.0 points per game over the team's last four contests.
VETERANS HAVE TOURNEY EXPERIENCE: In addition to Shelley, the other Yellowjackets with experience at the conference tournament include senior
Addison Gardner and sophomores
Shayla Montague and
Danielle Zahn. Montague, Gardner, and Zahn all saw action in the team's most recent playoff game, which was a 69-54 defeat against Western Washington in the quarterfinals of the 2020 GNAC Championships. The team's top 3-point shooter this season, Montague has made 45 treys and has hit at a clip of 31.5 percent from the arc. After missing six weeks with an injury, Gardner has returned to average 5.6 points over her last five games including a career-high 15-point performance against Western Oregon on Feb. 12. Zahn meanwhile has averaged 10.1 points and 3.6 assists over her last seven games.
LAST WEEK: The Yellowjackets wrapped up regular season play with a pair of defeats on the road, falling 81-77 in overtime at Central Washington before the 10-point loss to the Nighthawks. MSUB finished the regular season 10-5 at home, 4-4 on the road, and 2-2 in neutral-site contests.
Northwest Nazarene University Nighthawks
Thursday, March 3, 2022 – 12 PM (PST) – Marcus Pavilion – Lacey, Washington
2021-22 Record: 18-8, 12-6 GNAC (4th place)
Head Coach: Steve Steele, 6th season
Regular Season: Dec. 2 at Billings, MT – MSUB 71, NNU 67 | Feb. 26 at Nampa, ID – NNU 86, MSUB 76
The Nighthawks cruise into the conference tournament on the heels of a five-game winning streak, and took fourth in the GNAC regular-season standings.
NNU is led in scoring by Teagan Thurman, who is averaging 12.6 points per game and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game. Nyalam Thabach is close behind at 11.8 points per game and 6.5 boards per game, and Erin Jenkins is also in double figures in scoring at 11.4 points per game.
The second-leading scoring offense in the conference, NNU averages 73.0 points per game while allowing 67.9 points per game. NNU also holds a positive rebounding margin at 39.1-37.5. NNU shoots 41.6 percent as a team, 29.2 percent from 3-point range, and 71.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Last Time Out: The Yellowjackets held on late and finished strong in their home victory over NNU, which came at the outset of the conference season. The Nighthawks flipped the script and used their powerful offense to out-pace MSUB in last week's game in Nampa.
