BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team sent a statement to open conference action for the 2024-25 season, taking down Western Washington University 64-58 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
Opening their GNAC campaign with their frequent foe, tonight's matchup featured the GNAC's top two teams in the GNAC preseason coaches' poll, separated by just a point. When it was all done however, it would be the #3 Yellowjackets (8-1, 1-0 GNAC) who would claim first bragging rights for the season, fighting hard on the road to get past the Vikings (4-4, 0-1 GNAC) to claim a signature win to open conference play. Despite being outshot from the floor (46.0%-37.3%), MSUB would find a way past the Vikings behind their excellence from beyond the arc (53.8% three-point shooting), and a strong performance from the free throw line, going 19-25 in the game.
 
"This is a great win for our program," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "I'm really proud of our team; everyone who played tonight did their job, and our bench helped provide some necessary energy. It was a complete victory. Winning on the road in the GNAC is always hard, especially at Western, so I was happy our girls were able to come in and take care of business."
 
Dyauni Boyce led all scorers in the game with 19 points, adding five rebounds, a pair of assists, and a block. She was shortly followed by Aspen Giese, who scored 17 points with five rebounds, two assists, and a steal, while never leaving the court. Kortney Nelson chipped in 11 points, going 7-8 from the free throw line and adding seven rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Chenoa Louie had six points, while Chloe Williams and Kaitlin Grossman each added four points, with Grossman totaling five boards, a pair of blocks, and a steal, and Williams getting four assists, three rebounds, a block, and a steal. Layla Baumann finished with three points.
 
The first quarter was defined by both team's defensive efforts, with MSUB and WWU forcing a handful of turnovers and making it difficult to score in the early stages. While the 'Jackets would manage to grab the first basket and an early lead, the two squads would trade baskets and a narrow lead over the opening ten minutes, while locking up on the defensive end. MSUB would hold the Vikings to just 36.4% shooting and force six turnovers, but with struggles to find space against Western's press, the two teams remained knotted 9-9 heading into the second quarter. The script would remain similar in the next quarter, but the 'Jackets would manage to grab a quality stretch of momentum, going on a 7-2 mid quarter run to go up by seven. The Vikings would close the gap to one in the final minute and a half, but a pair of late baskets from Grossman and Giese would send the Yellowjackets into the half up 22-18.
 
"The first half was a great battle, said Woodin. "Both teams made it really hard to score. I thought we missed some opportunities, and I give Western a lot of credit for their defensive effort. We battled some foul trouble as well, but I felt we were fortunate to go into the half with the lead."
 
The Yellowjackets would adjust their offense coming out of halftime, and their changes would pay off, with MSUB opening the second half with it's highest scoring quarter of the night. After trading some early looks, the Yellowjackets would hold momentum for the rest of the third quarter, outscoring the Vikings 22-17 and shooting 46.7%. The stretch was sparked by the team's veteran leadership, with MSUB's seniors scoring all but two of their points in the quarter. After ending the final two minutes on another run, MSUB would head into the fourth quarter up nine, before Western Washington would begin their final push. The Vikings would make it interesting, closing the gap throughout the quarter, before taking back a one-point lead twice within the final minutes of action. But the Yellowjackets would have a response each time, finding a majority of their success from the line with 11 free throws in the fourth quarter. After the 'Jackets would take back the lead for the final time at the 2:07 mark, it would be Nelson and Boyce who helped see them out down the stretch, making a combined eight of MSUB's free throws in that span to help shield the lead, and open GNAC play with some fireworks.
 
"We played really well in the third quarter, and it was important to get some separation from them," Woodin said. "I thought we did a great job of finding the open player, and our defense helped to spark our offense. Western battled back strong, but I thought our players showed great maturity and confidence in one another. I didn't see any panic in them, they just came back out and took back the lead. I thought we had great control of the game in the final few minutes, putting together some great defensive stands and making some key free throws."
 
THE BUZZ: Both Boyce and Giese were named Intermountain Health Players of the Game… MSUB has now won it GNAC opener in five consecutive seasons… Boyce now moves to 1,176 career points, 19^th most in program history, while Nelson moved up to 910 career points in her chase for 1,000, and Giese moved to 853 career points… Nelson has also now totaled 341 career assists, and is 14 away from passing into seventh in program history.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB moves on to it's next GNAC game by heading to face off against Simon Fraser University on Saturday, December 7 in Burnaby, B.C. Tipoff is set for 2 PM MT (1 PM PT) at West Gym, with live video available here, and live statistics available here.