BURNABY, B.C. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team collected an emphatic victory over Simon Fraser University on Thursday night, winning 88-52 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
With their victory, the Yellowjackets (17-13, 9-8 GNAC) sealed their spot in the field for the GNAC Championships, guaranteeing at least one more week of basketball with the conference tournament commencing next week from March 5-7 in Bellingham, Washington.
 
"I'm very proud of our team for clinching a berth in the GNAC Tournament," praised MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "It's a really young group that started 0-2 with home defeats in December, which left us with a bit of a hole to dig out of. To win nine of our last 15 in conference play in order to get to the tournament is something we should be proud of. I'm very happy for my staff and our players. The GNAC Tournament was our first goal, and we were able to accomplish that despite the adversity we faced this season with injuries and setbacks."
 
The Yellowjackets would take control of the game late in the first quarter, jumping out to a commanding lead as the first half wore on behind a strong offensive start and maintaining that offensive output for the rest of the game. MSUB would finish the game shooting 35-72 (48.6%) from the field, scoring 20 points or more in each quarter and never shooting worse than 45% in a period. The 'Jackets would also shoot 40% from beyond the arc, hitting eight threes, while strong ball movement would see the 'Jackets total 21 assists. The bench would play a big role for the 'Jackets in the scoring effort, with MSUB's non-starters combining to score 32 points.
 
MSUB would continue it's dominance in the rebounding battle, outboarding the Red Leafs (9-19, 4-13 GNAC) 50-34 overall, and 13-8 on the offensive boards. Defensively, the 'Jackets would hold the hosts to just 18-61 (29.5%) shooting in the game and 3-21 (14.3%) from three, while forcing 18 turnovers with nine steals and six blocks.
 
"I thought we played a really complete game," said Woodin. "We were consistent throughout, and I thought we were locked in both offensively and defensively today. It was nice for us to win all four quarters, build up an early lead, and keep it going all game. Our defense was great all night, we defended the three-point line very well and were able to create a lot of transition baskets because of that."
 
Eight different Yellowjackets would score in the game, with five in double figures. Cassie Chesnut led the way with 21 points, shooting 9-17 overall and 2-3 from three while adding eight rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and an assist. Brooklynn Brennan scored a career-high 19 points, going 3-4 from three and posting six rebounds and four assists. Kaitlin Grossman scored 12 points with seven rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal, while Tailey Harris scored 11 points with six assists, four rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Rae Smart would finish with ten points, six rebounds, and three assists. Allison Kunze scored nine with a trio of rebounds and two steals. Alli Ligocki would finish with four points and rebounds, along with a pair of assists and a steal, while Kyla Momberg scored two points with a trio of rebounds and assists each.
 
"We had a really balanced scoring attack," Woodin said. "Brooklynn Brennan was very good off the bench, but I'm especially proud of our 21 assists tonight. Our players did a great job of making the extra pass and turning a good shot into a great shot."
 
A quick 5-0 start to the game would see MSUB gain an early advantage in the first quarter, but Simon Fraser would punch back with a 6-0 run to take the lead themselves. Continuing the game of runs though, a 6-0 run in response by the 'Jackets would see them retake a five-point advantage. The Red Leafs would keep things close, cutting the lead to one twice as they looked to regain an advantage, but the Yellowjackets would finish the final 2:10 of the first on a 8-0 run, ending the first quarter shooting 9-20 (45%) and 3-7 (42.9%) from three as they pushed their lead to nine going into the second quarter.
 
The Yellowjackets would continue that tear as the second quarter began, making their first three shots of the quarter and scoring the first 15-points uncontested. The 'Jackets would dominate on both ends of the court, shooting 8-15 (53.3%) on offense to stay on the front foot, while holding the Red Leafs to just eight points on 2-14 (14.3%) shooting from the field, leading by as much as 28 in the second quarter. MSUB would have five players score six or more points in the first half, with Smart and Chesnut each totaling ten as they would take a 45-22 lead into the break over Simon Fraser.
 
The 'Jackets would continue to pour it on the Red Leafs in the third quarter, continuing to keep their rhythm going offensively as they matched their first quarter scoring output with 23 points. Shooting 10-21 (47.6%) in the period, MSUB would add on to it's lead as it outscored SFU once more, with Brennan scoring ten of the team's points on her own to lead MSUB. It would set the 'Jackets up to put the game on cruise control, as they continued the beatdown of the Red Leafs as the fourth quarter wound to a close, as they outscored the opposition 20-13 down the stretch to put the finishing touches on a complete victory, and guarantee a trip to the conference championships next week.
 
THE BUZZ: Brennan was selected as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game… the Yellowjackets clinched their sixth consecutive trip to the GNAC Championships with the win, the 12^th GNAC Championship appearance for the 'Jackets under Coach Woodin, and 15^th conference championship berth for MSUB in Woodin's tenure… Chesnut improved her averaged in conference play to 15.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, one of two players in the GNAC averaging a double-double in conference play.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets finish off the regular season on Saturday, February 28, heading to Bellingham, WA to face off against Western Washington University at 6 PM MT (5 PM PT) in Sam Carver Gymnasium. Live video of the game will be available on the GNAC Network, while live statistics are available here.