BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team picked up both it's fifth conference win of the season and fifth straight victory, defeating Saint Martin's University 75-63 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
The #5 Yellowjackets (16-2, 5-0 GNAC) rebounded from a slow shooting night on Thursday, shooting 51.9% from the field and 54.5% from three-point range, seeing off a challenge from a tough Saints (9-6, 2-4 GNAC) squad to remain undefeated in conference play.
 
"This was a good win for us against a tough Saint Martin's team," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "I was pleased with how we shot the three today. Going 12-22 was outstanding, and a huge key for us in the win. We did a great job of going inside and outside for looks, and defensively, I thought we really settled in in the final three quarters, and really made the difference for us."
 
The 'Jackets were led in scoring by Aspen Giese, who scored 19 points on 7-11 shooting, and went 5-8 from beyond the arch. The senior guard also chipped in with five rebounds, three steals, two rebounds and a block. She was followed by her two fellow Montana seniors in Dyauni Boyce, who scored 16 points with eight rebounds, four steals, and an assist, and Kortney Nelson, who had 14 points, six assists, three rebounds, and a block. Chloe Williams did a bit of everything for the Yellowjackets, scoring seven points, grabbing six rebounds, and collecting five assists and three steals. Chenoa Louie also scored seven points in a game against her former collegiate team, adding five rebounds and a steal. Layla Baumann finished with five points, while Kaitlin Grossman finished with four points and four blocks, and Bailey Finn scored three points.
 
The early first quarter was dominated by the Saints, who would open the game on an 11-2 run, in part thanks to a trio of three pointers in the first three minutes of action. But the Yellowjackets would respond strong to cut the gap, using a run of three-pointers, with shots from Boyce, Baumann, and Finn helping to bring the game back to within one basket. A big and-one from Louie would give MSUB their first lead of the game, but a late triple from Saint Martin's would restore the visitor's advantage going into the second quarter. MSUB would remain hot from beyond the arch in the second, with early triples from Nelson and Giese helping the 'Jackets retake the lead. MSUB would shoot 5-8 from three overall in the second quarter, while tightening up on defense to allow Saint Martin's to score just eight points in the quarter, building momentum and taking a 35-27 lead into halftime.
 
"The start was a bit of a shock to our system," said associate head coach Alisha Breen. "We haven't been letting teams hit many threes on us the last few games, and they came out and started 3-3. Our discussion at the end of the first quarter about locking in more defensively, and the girls responded so well. It was a huge reason why we were able to turn the game around, and our ability to hit shots from the outside was huge."
 
The third quarter would see the Yellowjackets open on a 14-4 run, pushing the lead to nearly 20 and giving the home team their first comfortable lead of the game. That early run would feature seven points from Boyce, while MSUB continued to excel from three by hitting a pair of long-range shots on the run. MSUB would finish with a 60.0% mark from the field in the third quarter, and would shoot even more efficiently in the fourth quarter, going 63.6% from the field across the final ten minutes. The Saints would attempt to battle their way back into the game, but would be unable to overcome a strong all-around performance by the Yellowjackets, with the final buzzer sounding on a 12-point victory, MSUB's 13^th double-digit win of the season.
 
"I thought we executed well the entire second half," said Woodin. "Saint Martin's played tough and kept it within arm's reach, but I thought we put together a lot of good possessions, and did a great job hitting our free throws down the stretch to secure the win."
 
THE BUZZ: Nelson was selected as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game… Nelson has now totaled 985 career points in her MSUB career as she inches closer to the 1,000 career point mark… also moving closer to her 1,000^th career point was Giese, who has now scored 976 career points as a Yellowjacket… Nelson has also now totaled 394 career assists, and is just five away from tying Shiloh Schwab's mark of 399 for 6^th all time in program history… the Yellowjackets currently rank second in the GNAC for average margin at 14.7, with the second best scoring defense in the GNAC in terms of points per game (54.6).
 
UP NEXT: The #5 Yellowjackets will take their unbeaten conference record on the road for a pair of games next week, opening things up with a game against Northwest Nazarene University on Thursday, January 16 in Nampa, Idaho. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:15 PM, with live video available online here, and live statistics available online here.