BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team completed it's regular season in style Saturday, taking down Western Washington University 66-51 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
With the Yellowjackets (25-6, 14-4 GNAC) needing a win to finish in second place in the GNAC standings, MSUB would battle back after a strong start from the Vikings (17-10, 12-6 GNAC). It would be all Yellowjackets from there on out, with MSUB outscoring the Vikings 35-14 across the second and third quarters to build a commanding lead, and see out a victorious result in the team's final game at Alterowitz Gym this season.
 
"It was a great win for us," said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin. "We played really well against a good Western team. Thursday's loss was frustrating for us, we didn't play or coach the way we usually do at home, but we put a lot into these past two days, and we came to play."
 
The game also marked the final appearance at Alterowitz Gym for five MSUB players, with Dyauni Boyce, Kortney Nelson, Aspen Giese, Chloe Williams, and Chenoa Louie being recognized in a pregame ceremony.
 
"This group of seniors is special," said Woodin. "Chenoa joining us this year really helped us. We really needed another body, and we were so lucky to find her. She's been a great player and an amazing person for us. Our other four seniors have been here for four or five years just do it all. They're great leaders, they excel in the classroom, they share the ball, and they win games. I've had some great classes over 20 years here, but this group, to come in here and do what they've done is impressive. I can't say enough about how this group has led us, and our seniors led the way again tonight."
 
Aspen Giese would lead the way for the 'Jackets with a season-high 26 points, shooting 9-12 from the field and 5-6 from three. Giese would collect her third straight double-double and fifth of the season, grabbing ten rebounds to go with a pair of assists and a steal. Dyauni Boyce would finish with 18 points, adding four rebounds, three blocks, and two assists to her stat line. Kortney Nelson and Kaitlin Grossman would each score six points, with Nelson finishing with six rebounds, five assists, and a block, while Grossman had five assists, four rebounds, two steals, and a block. Chloe Williams totaled five points and five rebounds to go with three assists and a pair of blocks, while Layla Baumann would score three, and Chenoa Louie would score two points.
 
The Yellowjackets would open the game with a three from Giese, but following that moment the early stages of the first quarter would be all Vikings, with Western Washington scoring the game's next 11 points before a Nelson layup would end the run. But MSUB wouldn't stay down for long, closing the gap as the period wound on. Giese would lead the way for the 'Jackets with eight points, but a late three from the Vikings would run their lead back up to six as the game made it's way into the second quarter. Both teams would tighten up on defense to begin the second quarter, but the Yellowjackets would break through first, putting together a 10-2, and taking back the lead at the 5:16 mark. Western Washington would make the 'Jackets work for baskets, but MSUB would make life even more difficult on the defensive end, holding the visitors to just two made shots on 20.0% shooting in the quarter. As the end of the half made it's way closer, Giese would take over, scoring the 'Jackets final five points of the quarter to help MSUB take a 30-25 lead into halftime.
 
"The first half was a battle," said Woodin. "Both teams came out ready to play and played good defense and good offense. Western is a balanced team that's hard to guard, but we did a great job holding them in the second quarter. We recovered well on the boards, and I thought we did a great job of both attacking and defending in transition, and our team really communicated and was locked in."
 
MSUB would continue it's strong stretch of play as the game made it's way into the third quarter, starting the quarter on a 12-1 run to stretch the lead to double digits. MSUB's stingy defense from the second quarter would stretch into the third quarter, where they would hold the Vikings to two made field goals once more, this time on 12.5% shooting from the field. Meanwhile the Yellowjackets would make half of their shot attempts in the third, extending the lead to double-digits and taking a 15-point advantage into the fourth quarter. Riding the momentum they had built over multiple quarters now, the Yellowjackets would never look back, hitting 46.2% of their shots and going 3-4 from three to close out the game. MSUB would remove it's five seniors late to the sound of thunderous applause, which would be repeated shortly after when the final buzzer would sound, sealing a Yellowjacket victory in the team's regular season finale.
 
THE BUZZ: Giese was selected as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game… she raised her three-pointer total on the season to 97, claiming sole possession of third in GNAC history and moving just two three-pointers away from second place… Boyce moved up to 1,548 career points, surpassing Deb Provost and moving into sixth in program history… Nelson has now totaled 449 career assists, the fifth most in MSUB history… MSUB claimed a regular season sweep of the Vikings… the Yellowjackets finished the season 15-2 when playing at Alterowitz Gym, and are 37-7 when playing at home over the past three seasons.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjacket's season continues onward next week at the GNAC Championships hosted in Lacey, Washington at Marcus Pavillion. The 'Jackets receive a bye to the semifinals, where they will face the winner of a quarterfinal matchup between the 3-seed Central Washington University, and the 6-seed Saint Martin's University on Friday, March 7 at 8:30 PM MT (7:30 PM PT).
 
"The tournament is going to be wide open," said Woodin. "The bye is important, but we've had success in the GNAC Tournament with or without the bye. It'll be nice to have that extra day off. We take things one game at a time, but we're looking forward to the tournament, no matter who we play on Friday night."
 
 Information about the GNAC Championships can be found online here, while game links will be available on the MSUB schedule page.