BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team would use an electric offensive performance to collect a dominant win over Western Oregon University Saturday, winning 85-48 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
The Yellowjackets (14-11, 6-6 GNAC) came out of the gates on fire, knocking down 22-36 (61.1%) of their shots in the first half, including 6-10 (60%) from three-point range to take a 29-point lead into halftime, running away with the win over the Wolves (11-10, 6-7 GNAC), and overtaking them in the GNAC Standings for fifth place in the process. MSUB would finish the game shooting 49.3% overall from the field, but would also stand out defensively, where the 'Jackets would hold their opponents to just 18-64 (28.1%) shooting in the game, and 5-24 (20.8%) from three-point range.
 
"I think our defense helped lead to our offense," said associate head coach Alisha Breen. "We did something different today with Western Oregon running a lot of sets, so switching into our zone prevented them from running those sets, and the girls bought in and did a great job of getting the ball in transition. We did a great job sharing the ball across the lineup with 21 assists as a team. We found the open person all game, and everyone who stepped on the court did great and helped us play four consistent quarters."
 
The 'Jackets would dominate nearly every statistical category in the game, besting the Wolves 51-34 in the rebounding battle and outscoring the Wolves in the paint 42-22 in the game. MSUB would also spread the ball around at an elite level, finishing with 21 assists as a team while turning the ball over just five times, a season low. The 11 three-pointers the Yellowjackets hit on the night would tie a season best, as would their 33 made field goals as a team.
 
"We really regrouped well after Thursday," said Breen. "The girls came in, we watched film and got after us right away. The big thing for us on Thursday was we got outrebounded, which doesn't happen very much, so we focused on attacking the glass and pushing the pace, and it worked well for us."
 
Ten different Yellowjackets scored in the game. Rae Smart led the 'Jackets in scoring with 17 points, hitting 7-10 from the field and grabbing three boards. Tailey Harris scored 16 points, hitting 4-7 from three while dishing out eight assists and grabbing a pair of boards. Cassie Chesnut would grab another double-double, her eighth of the season, posting 15 points and 13 rebounds with a pair of blocks, going 4-6 from three. Allison Kunze scored ten points with five rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block, while Kaitlin Grossman scored eight points with seven boards and three assists. Alli Ligocki matched a career-best with seven points and seven rebounds, while Kyla Momber scored six points with four assists and three boards. Lauren Kuhbacher scored three points, while Brooklynn Brennan scored two points and Avery Burkhart scored one.
 
The Yellowjackets would waste no time getting started, with Harris scoring the first eight points of the game to help spark a 12-0 run to open the game for MSUB. Harris would finish the quarter with ten points, while the 'Jackets would stay hot as the quarter went on, hitting four threes and scoring 26 points on 10-20 shooting across the opening ten minutes. Chesnut would then score eight points of her own to end the quarter with the 'Jackets ahead by 13, helping MSUB take that offensive momentum into the second quarter, where they would somehow find another level offensively. The 'Jackets would knock down 12-16 (75%) of their looks in the quarter, outscoring the Wolves 27-11 as they kept their foot on the gas, expanding their lead to 53-24 heading into halftime.
 
From there, MSUB was able to put the game on cruise control, seeing out the final 20 minutes with little trouble on their way to victory. Western Oregon would adjust defensively after MSUB scored the first nine points of the third quarter to play a more even third quarter, but the Yellowjackets would remain too much to handle, outscoring the Wolves 32-24 across the final two periods of action to see out the contest, and collect one of their largest victories of the season.
 
THE BUZZ: Chesnut and Harris shared Intermountain Health Player of the Game honors… the Yellowjackets earned a regular season split against the Wolves, avenging an earlier loss back in January on the road… MSUB has now won four of it's last six games in GNAC play.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets will return to action with a road trip next week, starting things off on Thursday, February 12 with a matchup against conference leaders and #12 nationally Central Washington University. Tipoff is set for 6:15 PM MT (5:15 PM PT) in Ellensburg, Washington, with live video available on the GNAC Network, and live statistics available here.