MINOT, N.D. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team would be unable to get back in the win column against Minot State on the road Tuesday afternoon, falling 77-70 in non-conference play.
 
Returning to competition quickly after games in California last Friday and Saturday, the Yellowjackets (2-4) would put together one of the team's better shooting games of the season, connecting on 26-61 (42.6%) of their shots in the game. But despite their success inside the arch, MSUB would go just 4-24 (16.7%) from three-point range, and would struggle to overcome a hot-shooting Beavers (1-4) team, who hit 27-56 (48.2) of their looks in the game, overtaking the 'Jackets for their first win of the season.
 
"This was a tough loss today," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "Congratulations to Minot. I thought they played very well, and you could tell that they really wanted to get the victory today. Our young team just needs to keep working hard to be more consistent. We have stretches of really good offense and really good defense, but we're still working on putting it all together. Inconsistency is something that we as coaches must coach better with, and our players need to buy in more and keep improving."
 
Allison Kunze would post her best scoring performance since joining the Yellowjackets, posting 24 points on an efficient 9-10 shooting from the field, and hitting 6-7 from the free throw line. The junior, who joined MSUB this summer, added four rebounds to go with one assist and one steal. Behind her, Kyla Momberg would also finish in double figures with 16 points, shooting 7-13 from the field. Tailey Harris would score nine points with four rebounds and a steal, while Kaitlin Grossman would total eight points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Cassie Chesnut scored five points with seven rebounds. Katelyn Hamilton would score three points, while Rae Smart and Brooklynn Brennan scored two, and Indie Browning scored one point.
 
"I thought Allison (Kunze) played really good offensively tonight," praised Woodin. "She was very aggressive and helped lead us tonight. We had moments where we looked good, especially in the second half, and made a few big runs to come back, but still just a bit too inconsistent. Credit to Minot, we made a run at the end, but they hit some big shots to stay ahead throughout the night."
 
A tightly contested first quarter would see the Beavers take an early 6-2 lead in the first two minutes of action, but the Yellowjackets would never let Minot State build up on that early lead, keeping the hosts on their toes until Harris's three-pointer at the 3:17 mark would help the 'Jackets wrestle back the lead. It would be a short-lived lead though, with the Beavers outscoring MSUB 6-1 in the last few minutes to take back the lead going into the second quarter. MSUB would battle back once more to tie the game with 6:36 remaining at 18-18 but the Beavers would respond once more with a 10-0 run across the next three minutes to build up their largest lead of the game thus far, keeping the 'Jackets at bay to lead 35-26 heading into halftime.
 
MSUB would continue to work to find their way back into the game as the third quarter commenced, and would never truly let the Beavers take full control of the game. After kicking off the second half by trading baskets, a 9-0 run at the 9:00 minute mark would help MSUB pull back within one basket of tying the game up once more. But Minot State would righten the ship once more, never letting MSUB even the game up again, responding by building their lead back out to nine before the fourth quarter would begin. The fourth quarter would follow a similar script, with MSUB once more putting together a rally to close the gap to as little as five. But despite a 25-point fourth quarter from the 'Jackets, the Beavers would match that total behind 70% shooting effort over the past ten minutes, and hitting 8-12 from the free throw line to help Minot State hold on for the win.
 
"To win on the road you just have to be better," said Woodin. "You have to take care of the fundamentals and the little things, and right now we aren't doing that, and that's contributing to our losses. We look forward to returning back to Billings for a homestand this weekend for the Yellowjacket Classic. We're going to regroup and keep working to play better basketball."
 
THE BUZZ: Kunze was named the Intermountain Health Player of the Game… her 24 points were the most scored by a Yellowjacket in a game this season… MSUB had it's highest single-game field goal percentage of the season so far in the contest, along with tying for their most made field goals in a game.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets will look to righten the ship when the team returns home to host the Yellowjacket Classic, a four-team tournament hosted this Friday and Saturday at Alterowitz Gym. The 'Jackets will open their slate of games by taking on University of Jamestown on Friday, November 21, with tipoff scheduled for 7 PM. Live video can be found on the GNAC Network, while live statistics are available here, and tickets available online here.