ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team finished it's regular season campaign by taking Alaska Anchorage to overtime, but were ultimately defeated 84-72 on the road in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
The loss was the Yellowjackets (25-5, 16-2 GNAC) first defeat in over a month, with the Seawolves (18-8, 13-5 GNAC) picking up an important win for their west regional qualification hopes. It was a sloppy match, with the two teams combining to commit 46 turnovers, but Anchorage was able to shoot 52.5% from the field, overcoming their turnover woes while MSUB shot 38.3 overall. The Yellowjackets continued to battle hard all night, with a last second three pushing the game into overtime, but it wouldn't be enough at the end, with the home Seawolves closing things out in overtime to take the win.
 
"I thought we came out a bit flat tonight," said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin. We struggled on both ends early on, and Anchorage played great basketball early. We we're also hurt by our turnovers all night, and had to play with some different combinations all night due to foul trouble, but I liked how our team battled until the end."
 
Dyauni Boyce finished with 22 points, including a three-pointer with two seconds remaining to tie up the game. She shot 7-17 overall, and was 5-12 from long range. Kola Bad Bear had 16 points, going 9-9 from the free throw line in just 22 minutes of play, along with three rebounds and a block. Shayla Montague added ten points with five rebounds and two assists. Aspen Giese scored nine with five boards, four assists, and two steals, Chloe Williams had seven points with four assists and three rebounds, and Kortney Nelson had five points, five rebounds, four assists, and a trio of steals. Danielle Finally, Danielle Zahn had three points, four rebounds, and three assists.
 
Both offenses got off to a quick start, with MSUB taking a 6-4 lead in the opening minutes. But the scoring dried up from then on out for the 'Jackets, with the Seawolves outscoring them 17-3 the rest of the quarter to take a 12-point lead after the first quarter. The Yellowjackets would recover some momentum on offense, recovering to score 16 points in the second quarter. They would only be able to match the scoring of the Seawolves however, with the two teams playing even in the second quarter to head into halftime with the Yellowjackets trailing 37-25.
 
In the second half however, MSUB would begin to chip away at the Anchorage lead, putting up 21 points in the third quarter to cut the lead in half. The 'Jackets would cut down their turnovers to just two in the third quarter, while knocking down 46.7% of their shots from the field and a trio of three pointers. They would improve to 54.5% shooting in the final quarter of play, threatening to take the lead back for the first time since the opening quarter. The Seawolves wouldn't make it easy though, taking the lead back after a pair of Yellowjacket tied the game at 62, taking a five-point lead with 2:49 remaining. MSUB wouldn't let the hosts score for the entirety of regulation though, and after a pair of Bad Bear free throws would cut the lead to three, Boyce's three point shot with just seconds remaining would find the net, tying things up and sending the game to overtime. It would be all Seawolves in the extra period however, with the hosts scoring the first seven points in the period before seeing the game out with free throws late, handing the 'Jackets just their second conference loss of the year.
 
"We regrouped nicely in the second half and did a great job to keep cutting the lead," Woodin said. "Our defensive intensity got much better, and offensively we did a better job on the inside, which opened up some shots for us outside. Dyauni had the big shot to send us to overtime, but Anchorage was able to hit some big shots in OT that we couldn't quite answer. Even with the loss tonight, I think this game will help us moving forward. We are excited about the upcoming GNAC Tournament, and look forward to getting things started next Friday."
 
THE BUZZ: Williams was selected as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game… Boyce now sits at 989 career points, just 11 away from crossing the 1,000 mark in her MSUB career… MSUB remains just one win away from breaking the program record for most wins in a single season.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB is set to begin it's postseason campaign at the GNAC Championships, where the Yellowjackets clinched the top seed. The 'Jackets received a bye to the semifinals, where it will then take on the winner of No. 4 Seed Central Washington and No. 5 Seed Simon Fraser on Friday, March 8 at 2:15 PM PT (3:15 PM MT). Live coverage of Yellowjacket women's basketball at the GNAC Championships can be found online here.