BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team finished it's opening week of play in victorious fashion, taking down University of Findlay 62-52 to conclude the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead.
 
The #6 Yellowjackets (2-1) rebounded from defeat on day two to finish the Tipoff Classic 2-1 overall, seeing off a challenge from the Oilers (1-2) in an up-and-down, fast paced game. The 'Jackets would play strong on the defensive end as a unit, holding Findlay to just 32.1% shooting from the field, and just 3-17 from beyond the arch, while big performances from the team's seniors on the other end helped propel the Yellowjackets to victory.
 
"Today's win felt great," said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin. "I thought Findlay played really hard and we're tough to guard, but our defense did a good job of locking in. We finally got a few more shots to go; once we start hitting shots at a higher rate, I think we'll be pretty good. But I thought today was a total team effort for us today, our bench gave us some good minutes, and we showed that we're a veteran team that knows how to win."
 
Dyauni Boyce had a game-high 21 points, shooting 7-17 while going a perfect 4-4 from the line. Boyce added six rebounds, a pair of steals, and a block to her stat line. Meanwhile, Aspen Giese collected her first career double-double, scoring 14 points on 50% shooting, and adding 11 rebounds and a pair of steals. Kortney Nelson did it all with eight points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, while sophomore Layla Baumann added seven points for a new career high. Chenoa Louie scored six points with four rebounds and two blocks, and Kaitlin Grossman had four points, two rebounds, and six assists. The Yellowjackets shot 37.7% overall in the game, while going 9-10 from the free throw line.
 
The Yellowjackets imposed their style of play early in the first quarter, sprinting out of the gates to go on a 9-2 run, while quickly putting the Oilers in an early hole. The Yellowjackets would head into the first media timeout shooting 60% from the field, but Findlay would battle back to conclude the quarter, cutting into the Yellowjacket lead with a mini run of their own. But the 'Jackets would respond in kind, scoring the last six points of the first quarter to take a nine-point lead into the second. The offenses for both teams would struggle to generate much in the second quarter, where despite cooling off from a hot-shooting start, the Yellowjacket would take a 31-25 lead into halftime, after holding the Oilers to 36.4% shooting, and not allowing a single outside shot to go in.
 
The Oilers would continue to push to steal the lead as the second half kicked off, pulling within one multiple times. But the Yellowjackets would hold firm, with the hosts continuing to make clutch baskets to stay ahead of the Oilers. The Yellowjackets would be led by Boyce, who scored seven points in the third, with her, Nelson, and Louie each finishing impressive contested looks around the basket to help keep MSUB in the driver's seat as the game made it's way into the fourth quarter. Findlay would make one more push early in the final quarter of play, but would never be able to take the lead from the Yellowjackets, who would use a 8-0 run in the middle of the quarter to restore a double digit lead, which would be enough of a cushion for the Yellowjackets to see out the rest of the game, and collect the victory.
 
"We should a lot of determination and mental toughness to finish the game out," Woodin said. "Both teams have played three games in three days, and fatigue might be a factor, but you have to be able to execute, and I thought we executed well in the fourth quarter."
 
The win helped the Yellowjackets conclude their slate of games for the D2CCA Classic at 2-1, finishing off another successful tournament hosted at Alterowitz Gym.
 
"This tournament has really developed into a great thing," said Woodin. "This is the third time we've hosted this, the first time alongside the men, and it's become one of the marquee tournaments of it's kind opening weekend. It's become an event that teams really want to come to, and it's a lot of fun to see and play high level basketball early."
 
THE BUZZ: Boyce was named the Intermountain Health Player of the Game... Boyce has now scored 1,105 career points, passing Quinn Peoples and moving into 24^th on MSUB's all-time scoring list… Grossman's six assists were also a career high for the junior… through the first weekend of action, the Yellowjacket defense is allowing teams to shoot just 32.9% from the field... Dyauni Boyce and Aspen Giese were the two Yellowjackets named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets take to the road next week to compete in the GNAC/PacWest Crossover hosted in Burnaby, B.C. by fellow GNAC school Simon Fraser. MSUB opens it's slate of games on Friday, November 8 against Westmont College, with tipoff scheduled for 2 PM MT (1 PM PT). Live video will be available here, and live statistics available here.