WINIFRED, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team completed it's final preseason exhibition game against Montana State University Northern, taking the victory 73-38.
 
The game was played in the gym of Winifred School, as part of an outreach effort by the Yellowjackets, who offered a free basketball clinic for children in the area Sunday, before taking the court to face off against the Skylights Monday night.
 
"It was a great environment to play in," said Yellowjacket's head coach Kevin Woodin. "I can't thank the Winifred community enough. Their new school is an awesome facility, and the down-home hospitality everyone showed us was amazing. We enjoyed doing the clinic for younger kids on Sunday and spending time at Dyauni's (Boyce) and learning about Winifred."
 
Dyauni Boyce, a Winifred native, showed out in front of her hometown fans, leading the 'Jackets in scoring with 16 points, adding 11 rebounds and three assists, all of which led or tied for the team lead in each category. Aspen Giese was right behind her, adding 15 points with three rebounds and two assists. Shayla Montague had ten points, Danielle Zahn had nine, and freshman Layla Baumann totaled eight points.
 
The Yellowjackets and Skylights played a close first quarter, with MSUB leading 15-13 after the first quarter. But the 'Jackets turned it on from there, outscoring Northern 20-6 in the second quarter to carry a 16-point lead into halftime, and continued their impressive defensive display into the second half as MSUB went on to win comfortably. The 'Jackets held the Skylights to just 22.4% percent shooting from the field, and 11.1% from three-point range. Meanwhile the long ball played a crucial role in MSUB's scoring, with the Yellowjackets hitting 12 triples in the game, shooting 41.4% from beyond the arc.
 
"Northern played very well in the first quarter and we struggled with our shooting early," said Woodin. "I felt our full court defense late in the first quarter sparked us and then our half-court defense was solid in quarters 2 and 3. Overall, our entire team made positive contributions on both ends tonight."
 
It was the final preseason game for MSUB, who are set to begin their season with a trio of games this week at the Tipoff Classic, a ten-team women's basketball tournament hosted at Alterowtiz Gym.
 
"We are looking forward to opening our regular season at home on Friday in the Tipoff Classic," Woodin said. "It will be a great showcase of Division 2 women's basketball talent, and I am excited for the Billings community to witness all of the games."
 
 THE BUZZ: Boyce was selected as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets begin slate of games at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic with a matchup against Texas Woman's University on Friday, September 3, with tipoff scheduled for 7 PM at Alterowitz Gym. Tickets for the entire tournament can be purchased online here. Live video will be available here, and live statistics will be available here.