SANTA BARBARA, Cali. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team would be unable to recover from a slow offensive night, falling to Westmont College 63-38 to wrap up the GNAC/PacWest Crossover.
 
Playing in their first true road game of the 2025-26 season, the Yellowjackets (2-3) were unable to keep pace with the Warriors (2-0), shooting just 13-50 (26%) from the field in the game, and wouldn't score more than ten points in a quarter until the fourth. Despite a solid defensive effort, which saw the Yellowjackets hound the Warriors early to stay close, Westmont would eventually begin to hit more of their looks, continuing to increase their lead until they had built up a comfortable advantage over the Yellowjackets.
 
"This was a difficult loss," said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin. "We just did not play very well offensively, especially early. We missed a lot of looks that we needed to go in. Give Westmont credit, they played excellent defense, but some of those issues stem from us. Some days the ball just doesn't go in the basket, and tonight was one of those games for us."
 
Allison Kunze led MSUB in scoring with eight points, shooting 3-5 from the field and dishing out a pair of assists. Behind her, it would be a career game for sophomore Alli Ligocki, who in her most minutes ever played for the 'Jackets, totaled a career best seven points and six rebounds, hitting a pair of three-pointers in the game and adding an assist and a steal. Kaitlin Grossman had six points and two rebounds, while Kyla Momberg likewise scored six points with a board and a steal. Katelyn Hamilton, Camryn Koester, and Cassie Chesnut would each score three points, while Kaylie Neary would score two points.
 
"I thought we got some good bench play today," Woodin said. "Our reserved played well throughout the game, but especially in the second quarter. That is definitely an encouraging sign for us moving forward."
 
Both teams would struggle to score out of the gate, with neither team putting up a single made basket until Momberg finished a layup at the 5:33 mark. The 'Jackets and Warriors would then exchange baskets for the rest of a low-scoring first quarter, with a three-pointer from Ligocki marking MSUB's only other points in the quarter. The Yellowjackets defense would prove difficult to break through on the other end of the floor, but after tying up the game, Westmont would hit a turnaround to take a 7-5 lead heading into the second quarter. And while the Yellowjackets would remain anemic from the field as the quarter wore on, the Warriors would hit their stride, shooting 8-16 (50%) and going 3-5 (60%) from three-point range as the hosts outscored MSUB 22-10 over the second, taking a double-digit lead into halftime.
 
"I thought we did a great job at locking them down on defense," said Woodin. "Especially in the first 15 minutes of the game. But unfortunately, we just dug ourselves too big a hole and couldn't make our baskets."
 
The third quarter would play out in a similar fashion to the one preceding it, with the Warrior's continuing to excel on the offensive end, making 50% of their shots for the second consecutive quarter of action, while the 'Jackets would remain ice cold from the field. MSUB would finally begin to generate some scoring in the fourth quarter, shooting 5-12 (41.7%) from the field and outscoring Westmont over the final ten minutes of action, but by that point the result was all but sealed, as the Warriors closed out a win over MSUB.
 
"This was a tough road trip for us," said Woodin. "We're definitely disappointed to have gone 0-2, but I know that we will learn from this, keep getting better moving forward, and we have our opportunities to get back on track next week."
 
THE BUZZ: Kunze was named as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets waste no time before heading back out on the road, heading east to face off against Minot State University on Tuesday, November 18 at the Minot State Dome in North Dakota. Tipoff is set for 4:40 PM MT 95:30 PM CT), with live video available on the NSIC Network, and live statistics available here.