BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team collected the victory in the team's final game before beginning conference play, taking down Minot State University by a score of 65-51.
 
The Yellowjackets (7-1) used a hot start to grow a sizable first half lead, shooting 45.7% in the first half to go ahead by double digits early, never truly letting the Beavers (1-6) get back into the game despite a second half push to win the team's sixth consecutive game heading into a week off, before jumping into the start of GNAC play in two weeks.
 
"We're doing a lot of good things out there," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "I think we looked a little bit fatigued, and Minot played hard and kept our hands full. But our players understand the importance that when a team makes a run, you've got to go right back at them, and I thought we did that well."
 
Kortney Nelson paced the 'Jackets in scoring, dropping a season best 19 points on 6-12 shooting from the field, and 3-7 shooting from three. The senior guard also added a pair of rebounds and a steal. Behind her, Chenoa Louie and Layla Baumann each scored ten points, with Louie adding seven rebounds, and Baumann collecting five boards along with an assist and a steal. Chloe Williams scored eight points with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block, while Aspen Giese totaled seven points, four assists, three steals, two rebounds, and a block. Dyanui Boyce scored five points while leading MSUB in rebounds with nine, and assists with five. Rounding out the scoring for the Yellowjackets with three points each was Kaitlin Grossman, who also added six rebounds, two assists, and a block, and Bailey Finn.
 
"We've got a strong senior class where any of them are capable of getting 15-20 points on their day," said Woodin. "And it was nice to see Kortney score well today. She's a good shooter, we tell her to keep taking those shots, so it was nice to see the ball go in the basket for her. As a group, we share the ball well and do what we need to do to score. Any of our players are willing to give up a good shot to create a great shot for a teammate."
 
"We had a lot of open shots out there, and were able to knock them down early," Nelson commented. "My post players were doing a great job of getting me the ball, and it was just awesome. But you can't always control if your shots are falling, and our defense is definitely the key for helping us win big, both today and throughout the season."
 
The game opened with both teams playing strong defense, with MSUB leading just 8-3 following the first media timeout. But as the first quarter wore to a close, the Yellowjackets would explode on the offensive end of the court, finishing the final 3:12 of the quarter on a 11-6 run, taking an eight-point lead over the Beavers heading into the second quarter. The 'Jackets would then expand their lead further in their most complete quarter offensively, shooting 47.1% from the field in the second, including four three-pointers, outscoring the Beavers 21-10 to take control of a 40-21 halftime lead.
 
The Beavers would tighten things up defensively to set up a physical second half, slightly chipping into the Yellowjacket's lead by narrowly outscoring MSUB in both the third and fourth quarters. But the lead would never shrink below nine points, while MSUB would stay ahead behind the team's clutch shooting from the free throw line, going 11-13 across the final two quarters as the Yellowjackets would see out the victory, extending the team's winning streak before the 'Jackets take a week off, jumping back into action in December with the team's first GNAC games of the season.
 
The Yellowjackets forced 17 turnovers from Minot State, grabbing nine steals and holding the Beavers to just 35.6% shooting throughout the game. Lara Dobbins led Minot in scoring with 13 points, while Maya Aguilar finished with 11.
 
THE BUZZ: Nelson was selected as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game… Nelson now sits at 899 career points, 101 away from reaching the 1,000-point mark in her MSUB career… Giese trails behind her at 836 points in her career through the first eight games of the regular season, also on pace to reach 1,000.
 
UP NEXT: Following a week off, the Yellowjackets return to action with their GNAC opener, renewing their rivalry with Western Washington University at Carver Gym in Bellingham, Washington. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 PM MT (7 PM PT), with live video available here, and live statistics available here.