BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team fell just short of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, losing 76-71 to Western Washington University.
It was a battle of the heavyweights between the second seed Yellowjackets (24-7, 14-4 GNAC) and the top seeded Vikings (24-3, 16-2 GNAC), and the game certainly lived up to it's billing. The 'Jackets were able to jump out to a lead in the second quarter, with excellent shooting from the three point line putting the Vikings on the ropes. But Western Washington was able to recover and rally, outscoring MSUB 46-27 in the second half to give the Vikings the win on their home court.
"Tonight was a great experience for our team," said Yellowjackets head coach
Kevin Woodin. "We played our hearts out. Tonight was two really talented teams facing off in a great game. I'm very proud of this team and our season, and am looking forward to regionals next week."
As they have done many times this season, the scoring distribution was spread out for the Yellowjackets.
Aspen Giese led the way with 14 points, adding four boards and two assists. Billings native
Shayla Montague had 13 points.
Kortney Nelson had ten, going 8-10 from the free throw line, to go with five rebounds and five assists.
Dyauni Boyce had nine points with two steals.
Cariann Kunkel and
Taryn Shelley each scored seven, with Shelley adding two blocks.
Natalie Andreas added six points, and
Chloe Williams had five with a pair of steals. As a team, MSUB shot 37.3% from the field, 56.3% from three, and 77.4% from the line.
The first quarter began as a back and forth affair, with both teams showing why they finished the season first and second in the GNAC Standings. The Vikings shot 57.1% in the quarter, but the 'Jackets held Western Washington to just one three pointer, while knocking down four in the opening ten minutes. The 'Jackets would catch fire in the final three minutes of the quarter though, ending the quarter on a 10-2 run to take a five point lead into the second quarter. They kept up their hot shooting start in the second quarter, improving to 9-13 from beyond the arc in the first half. Six different 'Jackets made a three pointer, with Montague going 3-4 and Andreas going 2-2 in the second period. Riding high, the Yellowjackets went into the halftime break up 44-32.
"The first half was as good a half as we played on the road all season," Woodin said. "We came out with great intensity, shared the ball and shot with great confidence."
Western Washington wouldn't stay down for long however, roaring back in the third quarter. The Vikings caught fire coming out of the break, shooting 71.4% from the field while putting up 24 points. WWU finished the third quarter on a 12-0 run in the final three minutes, closing the Yellowjacket lead to just 58-56 at the conclusion of the third.
All that led to a tense fourth quarter, where Western Washington would finally grab the lead back at the 8:25 mark. They continued to inch closer to victory as the game went on, with the Yellowjackets unable to make a field goal for almost ten minutes, stretching back to that third quarter. The 'Jackets were able to stay in the game with free throws though, going 15-19 from the line over the final two quarters. It wouldn't be enough though, as the Vikings were able to see out a victory, holding the Yellowjackets to just six made shots from the field in the second half, and no threes.
"Western Washington really took it to us down low," said Woodin. "They were hard to guard, and unfortunately we just couldn't get the ball to go in the hoop. We had our chances at the end, I'm proud of our fight, but just came up short."
Tournament MVP Brooke Walling scored 22 for the Vikings, adding eight rebounds and a block. Avery Dykstra had 12 points with five assists, while Carley Zaragoza also scored 12 with eight rebounds and two blocks. Katrina Gimmaka and Maddy Grandbois each finished with ten.
THE BUZZ: Montague was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game.
UP NEXT: The Yellowjacket's await the results of Selection Sunday tomorrow, to see who they will match up with in the West Region Championships.
