BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team kept it's Cinderella run going at the GNAC Championships, taking down Central Washington 79-74 to advance onwards to the conference title game tomorrow evening.
 
It marks the fifth time in program history, all coming in the past ten seasons, and third time in the last four seasons that the No. 6 seed Yellowjackets (19-14, 9-9 GNAC) have advanced on to play in the conference title match. It also marks just the second time in GNAC Championships history that the No. 6 seed has advanced on to play in the conference title game.
 
"I'm really proud of our team," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "This is a tremendous win for our program, and we're especially excited for Kaitlin Grossman being our only senior, and that we were able to get her back here. I'm so happy for this team that we get the opportunity to move on and play in the championship tomorrow."
 
The 'Jackets would lead for the majority of the game, despite an impressive effort from the Wildcats (23-6, 14-4 GNAC), the No. 2 seed at the tournament and #23 ranked team in the WBCA Coaches Poll. MSUB would take an early lead, before the Wildcats would battle back to set up a high intensity second half, with the Yellowjackets playing clutch basketball down the stretch to hang on to the win.
 
Shooting 46.9% from the field, MSUB shoot 17-31 (54.8%) across the second and third quarters in an impressive offensive output. MSUB would own the paint, outscoring Central inside 40-26, while winning the rebounding battle narrowly 42-38 in the contest, with the team's 15 second chance points proving pivotal in the result.
 
Cassie Chesnut led MSUB in scoring with 24 points, continuing an efficient shooting run of games after shooting 10-16 from the field and 2-5 from three. Chesnut would also finish with a double-double, grabbing 13 rebounds and adding on three blocks and two steals. Kaitlin Grossman would score a career-high 21 points with seven rebounds, six assists, and a pair of steals. Rae Smart would post 12 points with six boards and an assist, block, and steal each, while Tailey Harris and Kyla Momberg each scored 11 points. Momberg would flirt with a triple-double, dishing out a career-high nine assists and grabbing seven rebounds, while also picking up five steals, while Harris dished out three assists and had a pair of rebounds.
 
"Kaitlin and Cassie combined for 45 points and 20 rebounds, they each played exceptional," Woodin raved. "
I thought our whole starting five was great together, with each of them in double figures for scoring. They passed the ball so well and found the open man, and were really great on the boards. Kyla was great today too, maybe played her best game of the season. She was clutch on both ends of the floor, and I was so proud and happy of her for the impact she made today at this point in the season. And Rae and Tailey played with so much poise and confidence."
 
The first quarter would open heavily in favor of the Yellowjackets, who would swarm on both ends of the court early to jump out to a 12-2 run until the first media timeout. Harris would spark things with another four-point play, her third in the past two games, while Chesnut would pace the 'Jackets with six points in the opening quarter of action. The Wildcats would recover though, finishing the quarter on a run of their own to close the lead to within five as the second quarter began.
 
"I think it showed us that we had nothing to be scared of," said Grossman when asked about her team's hot start. "We just needed to focus on doing what we do best, and it worked right away."
 
Central Washington would continue to push as the second half began, quickly cutting the score to a one possession game. It would kick off a back-and-forth run where MSUB would respond to push the lead, but the Wildcats would quickly close the gap over the next few minutes, before a 10-5 stretch by the 'Jackets would push the lead to double-digits. But the Wildcats flashed the ability that made them one of the GNAC's strongest offensive units, going on to hit five consecutive three-pointers as they slowly chipped away at MSUB's lead, who would pound the paint and score twos over that stretch. After the lead stood at eight points in favor of the Yellowjackets with 1:36 remaining, the Wildcats would then finish that final minute and a half with an 8-0 run, hitting two more threes to shoot 7-10 (70%) in the second. But a last second foul would send Harris back to the line, who would score one to give MSUB a 41-40 lead going into the break.
 
"The start was really good," Woodin said. "We had great intensity and were sharing the ball in the first quarter. The second quarter just became a high-scoring one. They got so hot from the three-point line, and it felt like they couldn't miss as they clawed back. But it felt great to look up at the scoreboard and see us ahead at the half."
 
The Wildcats would take the lead for the first time in the game after a trio of free throws to open the second half, opening on a 6-0 to go up by multiple baskets. But MSUB would battle back with a pair of shots in the paint to close the gap to one, and would keep pushing to overtake Central Washington over the next few minutes. A three-pointer by Smart would put MSUB back in the driver's seat briefly, but four quick points by the Wildcats would swing the game back in the higher seed's favor. But Grossman would pull MSUB back with six straight points to put them back in the lead, and eight of MSUB's 11 in a quarter-ending 11-6 stretch, helping but MSUB on top 62-59 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Five points to opening the quarter off of a layup by Momberg and three-pointer by Chesnut would build up a cushion for MSUB, who opened the fourth on a 12-4 run across the first 4:06 of the final period to push their lead out to a game-high 11. Central would continue to push in the final stages as they battled to climb back into it, but led by nine points in the final quarter from Chesnut, the Yellowjackets would never give back the lead in the game, finishing out the game strong to keep the Wildcats at bay. Central would close the lead to four in the final 1:31, but MSUB's defense would hold strong, forcing three missed shots and three turnovers to close out the upset win, and move MSUB to within one game of a GNAC Championships crown.
 
"The third quarter was back-and-forth," commented Woodin. "They started the third quarter on us well, but we took a timeout and I thought that we settled down after that, and we executed so well in the fourth quarter. I'm just so very proud of our players and assistants. We just jumped out on a big run to get some separation, and then we held on because they're a great team. Our players were just really mature out there, we found each other, made the extra pass, and handled their pressure well offensively. This was a monumental win for our program, and I'm so proud of how much improvement we've been able to make over the last three months."
 
"Throughout the year we've experienced close games like this," said Momberg. "So we we're able to keep our composure and stay together. Overall, our team just stuck together to get some big stops late and take care of the ball."
 
THE BUZZ: Chesnut and Momberg were named the Intermountain Health Players of the Game… the double-double was Chesnut's tenth of the season… MSUB is 1-3 all-time in conference championship games, winning in 2018 previously when the 'Jackets qualified as the No. 4 seed.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets are set to go for the conference crown in the GNAC Championships title game on Saturday, March 7 when they square off against tournament hosts and No. 1 seed Western Washington University. The GNAC Championships is scheduled for a 6 PM MT (5 PM PT) tipoff in Sam Carver Gym, with live video available on the GNAC Network, and live statistics available here. All GNAC Championships Information can be found on the Championships Homepage.