BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team would be defeated by Simon Fraser University Thursday night, falling 68-66 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
The result would be inopportune for the Yellowjackets (24-6, 13-4 GNAC), who would start strong in the first half, but would be unable to withstand a second half surge from the Red Leafs (13-13, 6-11 GNAC). MSUB would outrebound Simon Fraser 51-38 overall, including 20-8 on the offensive boards, but despite a strong advantage on the boards and second chance points, 54.5% shooting from the Red Leafs across the last two quarters would flip the game on it's head, and see the Yellowjackets drop a home game for just the second time this season.
"This was a tough loss," said MSUB head coach
Kevin Woodin. "Give Simon Fraser credit, they came ready to play and did a good job tonight. They shot the ball well and were difficult to guard in the second half. We had our opportunities, but just got a little complacent and our lead just shrunk. The game could've gone either way late, but they just made one or two more plays than us. I do like how we rebounded the ball tonight, but we know that on Saturday we have to come out and play better."
Dyauni Boyce would total 20 points in the game, along with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Just behind her was
Aspen Giese, who scored 19 points on 8-15 shooting overall, and a 3-7 mark from three. The senior would also total her second consecutive double-double, grabbing 14 rebounds along with four assists and a steal.
Chloe Williams would score eight points with 11 rebounds, a career-high four blocks, three assists and a steal, while
Kortney Nelson would score eight with six rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
Kaitlin Grossman and
Chenoa Louie would each score four points, with Grossman grabbing ten boards to go with an assist, a steal, and a block, while Louie had a pair of rebounds and an assist.
Layla Baumann would score three points and add a pair of rebounds.
The game would begin with the two sides swapping leads in the opening stages of the first quarter. But after a Giese three would give MSUB a two-point lead at the 4:16 mark, the Yellowjackets would find their rhythm from the field, finishing the rest of the quarter on a 12-4 run and building up a ten point advantage. MSUB would shoot 45.0% from the field in it's highest scoring period of the night, hitting a trio of three-pointers. And while the Red Leafs would begin to even things out with a more balanced second half, the 'Jackets would still maintain control holding the visitors to just a 29.0% mark from the field across the opening two quarters, and just one made three-point shot. Their defense, along with another steady scoring output in the second quarter, would see MSUB head into halftime holding a 38-24 lead.
But a reinvigorated Red Leaf's team would come out to begin the third quarter, and star to cause issues for the 'Jackets. Opening the first three minutes on an 8-2 run, Simon Fraser would begin to chip away at the MSUB lead. After an anemic start from deep, the Red Leafs would hit 3-7 long range attempts in the third. The 'Jackets would continue to respond, pushing the lead back to double-digits multiple times, but would struggle from three-point range themselves, going 1-9 across the third quarter. MSUB would push the lead back to 11, but six late points, including a last second three from the Red Leafs, would close that gap to five heading into the fourth quarter. In the final period, the Red Leafs would stay hot, with a mid-quarter 11-0 run helping the vistors take back the lead, and put MSUB on the ropes. The Yellowjacket would continue to battle, with a pair of late threes and clutch defense from Williams helping them stay right in the fight. But the Red Leafs hot shooting would be hard to overcome, with SFU hitting shots at a 64.3% clip across the final period. The 'Jackets would have chances from the free throw line late, but would be unable to convert, with Simon Fraser picking up the comeback win.
"One of the standards we abide by is no excuses; and we're not going to make excuses tonight," Woodin said. "We got beat by a good team, we didn't shoot as well as we'd have liked, and we know what we need to work on. Saturday is an important game for us as we honor five seniors before their final home game, and we look forward to that game."
THE BUZZ: Williams was selected as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game… MSUB remains second in the GNAC Standings heading into it's regular season finale, with a win or Central Washington loss Saturday sealing the second seed and a bye at the GNAC Championships… Boyce would move up to 1,530 career points scored, surpassing Taryn Shelley and Megan Mason-Dickerson to move up to seventh in program history… her total also ranks as the 15
th most points scored in GNAC history… Giese has now hit 92 three-pointers this season, tying for the third most in conference history, and moving to 212 in her career… Nelson currently sits at 444 career assists, moving four away from tying Tera Silvius for the fifth most in program history…
UP NEXT: MSUB is set to wrap up it's regular season on Saturday, March 1 with a matchup against Western Washington University. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:15 PM at Alterowitz Gym, with five MSUB seniors set to be recognized pregame with a senior day ceremony. Live video of the game and ceremony will be available online here. Live statistics are available online here, and tickets can be purchased online here.
