BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team emerged victorious in their matchup against #6 Western Washington University, knocking off the conference leaders 73-61 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

The Yellowjackets (16-4, 7-2 GNAC) faced an uphill battle at home against the Vikings (14-2, 8-1 GNAC), who traveled to Billings as the undefeated leaders in the GNAC. The Yellowjackets had to play some of their basketball of the season, and they did just that, handing Western Washington their largest loss of the season, and their first since their opening game. The win not only kept the 'Jackets in control of second place in the GNAC, but moved them within one game of Western Washington for the conference lead.

"Tonight was an awesome win for us." Said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "Our players were ready and focused tonight, and I liked our aggressive mentality throughout the game. I am happy for our girls; they played their hearts out."

Kortney Nelson played 38 minutes in the win, and had one of the best games of her career. The junior from Scobey, Montana did it all, leading MSUB in almost every category with 16 points, 11 rebounds, six rebounds, four steals and a block. "Kortney Nelson was incredible tonight." Said Woodin. "She was a factor on both ends, and her rebounding from the guard position was critical to our win."

But it was hardly just Nelson making an impact for the 'Jackets. Danielle Zahn scored 13 points, while Taryn Shelley scored 11, each coming in off the bench. "Balanced scoring was again a key for us.  Dani and Taryn hit some big shots when we really needed them, and I thought we handled their full court pressure well in the second half."

Cariann Kunkel had 12 points, four rebounds and two steals. "Cariann was impressive on both ends tonight," Said Woodin. "We couldn't have done it without her." Dyauni Boyce scored eight, with three rebounds and two steals. Shayla Montague hot two early threes to help push MSUB ahead early, while Chloe Williams played shutdown defense. Nine different 'Jackets played, all of them making an impact in MSUB's upset win. "Defensively, our entire team was connected.  They are so good in the post offensively, but we got great efforts from our posts and our perimeter players defended effectively."

Coming off a string of slow starts, the Yellowjackets knew that a good start would be important to knocking off the #6 team in Division II. And they couldn't have asked for a much better one, holding the Vikings to 12 points while more than doubling that number with their own offensive putout. Scoring 25 points on 9-15 shooting to tie for their highest opening quarter of the season, the 'Jackets put themselves in good position to start the game. And while MSUB's scoring slowed down in the second quarter, their defensive effort did not. The Yellowjackets limited one of the best shooting teams in the GNAC to just one made three pointers in the half, taking a 38-26 lead into the half.

"Our first quarter set the tone and was our best quarter of the season so far." Woodin said. "We got multiple stops early and we were able to turn many of those stops into points. I knew Western would make runs at us because they are so good, but fortunately we were able to hold them off all night."

Western Washington came out of halftime motivated, and they fought hard, making life difficult for MSUB with an aggressive defense and press combination for the majority of the second half. But while the Vikings matched the 'Jackets even for the second half of play, they wouldn't make a dent in the lead when it was all said and done. The Yellowjackets kept their lead, going 8-14 on free throws down the stretch to seal an upset victory, the team's fifth in a row.

"It was an important win for our program, and a nice way to end the first half of the conference season." Woodin said. "The atmosphere in Alterowitz tonight was amazing, thank you to everyone who attended and cheered us on tonight."
 
THE BUZZ: Nelson was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game… Her 16 points and 11 rebounds resulted in her first double-double of the season, and second of her career… Zahn's 13 points were a season high for her… The win was MSUB's second against a ranked opponent this season… MSUB stopped a six-game losing streak against Western Washington, winning their first game since 2017-2018.

UP NEXT: The 'Jackets take their winning streak on the road for a pair of games, the first occurring on Thursday, January 26 at 5:15 in Nampa, Idaho against Northwest Nazarene.