BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team earned it's second win over Rocky Mountain College this season, finishing with a 69-46 victory at Alterowitz Gym Saturday night.
 
In front of a large home crowd, the Yellowjackets (10-2, 2-0 GNAC) overcame a slow start and tired legs after playing in their second game in as many days, using a big second half to push past the Battlin' Bears to earn the victory in MSUB's final home game of 2023.
 
"Rocky played us great in the first half," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "We didn't shoot very well to start, but I thought our defense was solid most of the night. We did a good job defending their strengths, taking away their post play, and started to hit some shots as the game went on."
 
The Yellowjackets once again found scoring from seemingly everywhere, with ten different players scoring in the contest. Kola Bad Bear finished with game highs in points with 21 and rebounds with 12, adding two assists, a steal, and a block to her statline. Aspen Giese added 13 points and eight rebounds, going 3-6 from three-point range. Danielle Zahn scored nine points, while leading the Yellowjackets in assists with four, and steals with three. Dyauni Boyce had six points, three rebounds, and a pair of assists and steals, while Shayla Montague scored five points. Kortney Nelson and Chloe Williams each had four points, Natalie Andreas had three, and Layla Baumann and Kaitlin Grossman each had two.
 
Points were hard to come by for both teams in the first quarter, with neither team reaching double digits after the first ten minutes. MSUB shot 22.2% from the field, while Rocky managed to shoot just 21.4%, but both teams would begin to find their scoring touch as the game went into the second quarter. The 'Jackets improved from the field, shooting north of 40% in the quarter while hitting a trio of three pointers, while Rocky took advantage of second chance points and free throws to keep things close. But the Yellowjackets would end the half on a 5-1 run over the final minute and a half to take a 27-24 lead into the half.
 
The 'Jackets would really find their stride in the third quarter, finally breaking through on the offensive end with a 13-4 run to start the quarter. MSUB scored 21 points in the quarter, shooting 64.3% from the field. While Rocky would remain somewhat close, trailing by ten points following the third quarter, MSUB would repeat it's scoring efforts in the fourth quarter, while holding the Battlin' Bears to just eight points in the final quarter of play, seeing the game out to earn the 'Jackets fourth win in a row, and move to 6-1 on the season when playing at Alterowitz Gym.
 
Gracee Lekvold led Rocky in scoring with 15 points, while Ky Oliver scored 11 points. The Yellowjackets held Rocky to just five scorers in the game, limiting the Battlin' Bears to just 30% shooting in the game, and forced 15 turnovers.
 
THE BUZZ: Bad Bear was selected as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game.
 
UP NEXT: The 'Jackets head to Florida for their final non-conference games of the season, with a pair of contests scheduled for next week at the Daytona Beach Shootout. MSUB faces off first against West Texas A&M, with tipoff set for Saturday, December 16 at 5 PM MT (7 PM ET). Live video for the game can be found here, and live statistics can be found here.