MINOT, N.D. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team were victorious Saturday afternoon against Minot State University, picking up an impressive 79-62 road win.
 
Coming into a tough game on the road, the Yellowjackets (5-1) started slow in the game, but came out for the second half firing on all cylinders, as they handed the Beavers (1-5) a loss on their home floor. It was the fifth consecutive win for the 'Jackets, who shot an impressive 51.9% from the field, and 45% from three-point range.
 
"Overall, this was a great regional win for us," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "We got off to a slow start in the first half, and Minot came out ready to go. But we started to get our legs in the second quarter, and we we're able to really get going with a complete performance in the second half."
 
All five starters for the Yellowjackets ended up with double digit points in the game. Aspen Giese led the 'Jackets in scoring, dropping 22 points, while shooting 8-11 from the field, and 6-8 from three. Giese also let MSUB with three steals, while adding two rebounds and an assist. Kola Bad Bear scored 16 points, along with grabbing six rebounds and an assist. Dyauni Boyce had 13 points, and led MSUB with eight rebounds and five assists. Kortney Nelson scored 12 points with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Shayla Montague finished with ten points, two rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
 
"We were balanced again scoring wise, five players in double figures is impressive," said Woodin. "We were able to get the ball inside and outside. We shot well from the perimeter, and a big part of our success out there is the post play by Kola and Dyauni. They make people double team them, and it opens things up for our shooters on the outside."
 
The game started slow, with neither team managing to shoot above 40% in the opening quarter. While Minot State would exit the quarter with a two-point lead, they would be unable to break the game open, as the Yellowjackets reversed their shooting woes, shooting 63.6% in the second quarter. But the Beavers would also begin to heat up on offense, keeping hold of a narrow 33-31 lead into the break.
 
It wouldn't take long though for the Yellowjackets to get things going at the start of the third quarter though, as they tightened things up on both sides of the floor. MSUB once again shot over 50% in the quarter, outrebounding the Beavers 8-2 in the quarter, and using five offensive boards to capitalize on second chance opportunities, flipping the game on its head to take a nine point lead. That lead would only grow in the fourth quarter, with MSUB going 4-5 from three in the final quarter, while allowing the Beavers to grab only another two rebounds in the game to extend the Yellowjacket's lead, giving MSUB a comfortable win on the road, and their fifth straight in competitive games.
 
"We guarded much better in the second half," Woodin said. "Minot has a lot of quick players who can attack off the dribble, and it takes a lot of team discipline to defend them. We held them to only four rebounds in the second half, and everybody got involved on the boards, it was a real rebound by committee approach. That helped us get some big second chance points and see out the game."
 
Sydney Gustavsson scored 15 points for Minot State, with two rebounds and three assists, while Taylor Goss had 12 points. Vilborg Jonsdottir had a team high four rebounds for the Beavers, while Jaime Skeggs had seven assists.
 
THE BUZZ: Giese was selected as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game… the Yellowjackets now have five different players averaging more than eight points per game, and three players averaging double digits… the team also had five players averaging at least four rebounds per game, and four players averaging multiple assists per game… Montague now has 186 career made three pointers, 12 away from matching the mark for third most in program history.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB heads to Colorado next week to participate in the Thanksgiving Invitational, hosted by Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. Their first game is against Regis University on Friday, November 24 at 7 PM. Live video will be available here, and live statistics will be available here.