ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team finished off the first weekend of regular-season action at the CWU DII Tipoff Classic in victorious fashion, taking down Midwestern State University 66-60.
The Yellowjackets (1-2) jumped out to a double-digit lead behind a big run in the middle of the first quarter, which they carried over into the second quarter behind a strong performance from the free-throw line. The 'Jackets shot 16-20 (80%) from the line in the entire game, using their ability to get to the line and a strong perimeter defense that held the Mustangs (0-3) to just one made 3-pointer in the game, seeing off a late rally from Midwestern State to claim victory.
"I was really proud of our team today for picking up our first win of the season," praised Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin. "I'm especially proud of our first half. We came out with great focus and really played our best basketball as a team on both ends of the floor in those first two quarters to build a double-digit lead. Give Midwestern State credit, they just kept fighting and kept battling to never really go away, but we hit some key free throws when we needed them to secure a win."
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Cassie Chesnut led MSUB in scoring for the third time on the weekend, putting up 21 points to go with eight rebounds, four blocks and four steals. Rae Smart finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and a block and steal each, while Molly Hays scored 10 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists. Lauren Kuhbacher came off the bench to score a career-high nine points and add a pair of steals. Brooklynn Brennan scored seven points with four rebounds in her first start of the season, and Layla Baumann scored six points. Alli Ligocki scored two points with three rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Tailey Harris dished out four assists.
"We played excellent team basketball today," Woodin said. "We had 17 assists which is a nice stat. Even though we didn't shoot quite as well as I'd like us to, we're certainly improving. And our defensive effort was great, I thought Alisha (Breen) prepared our team well and our ability to guard the perimeter changed the game today."
After a string of slow starts, the first quarter threatened to begin a similar way for the Yellowjackets, with the Yellowjackets scoring just two points in the first four minutes. MSUB overcame that slow start at the halfway mark of the first though, sparking a 13-5 run to end the quarter and take a big first-quarter lead. The Yellowjackets found most of their success from the paint and the midrange during that stretch offensively, while the defense held the Mustangs to just 3-11 (27.3%) shooting from the field and forced five first-quarter turnovers. The second quarter saw Chesnut take over, scoring nine of MSUB's 20 points in the quarter, with the Yellowjackets also hitting looks from the free-throw line, making each of their eight second-quarter free throws and 11-12 from the charity stripe in the opening 20 minutes. Midwestern State briefly pulled the lead back to single digits in the final minute and a half of the quarter, but MSUB finished the half on a 7-0 run, with Kuhbacher scoring the final five points of the half to lead MSUB into the locker room up 35-19.
The teams then played a near-identical third quarter in terms of scoring, with the Mustangs cutting into the Yellowjackets' lead by two points. While Midwestern State shot 7-14 (50%) from the field, MSUB was buoyed by a trio of 3-pointers as they matched pace. The Mustangs made things interesting in the fourth quarter, struggling to find traction from the field but capitalizing on some foul trouble from the 'Jackets to go 12-13 (92.3%) from the line in the final 10 minutes. Despite their opponents closing the gap, MSUB never let its foe pull the game to within one possession, responding at every turn to prevent Midwestern State from stealing the lead and closing out the 'Jackets' first win of the campaign.
"All in all, this tournament provides a team with three games in three days, which challenges a team early in the season both mentally and physically," said Woodin. "These games provided us with a great opportunity to evaluate where we are early in the season, I really like the potential of our team, and they know it's time to get back to work next week. But I'm really proud of how we responded to get the win today."
THE BUZZ: Hays was named the Player of the Game… Chesnut led the 'Jackets in scoring in each of their first three games of the regular season, nearly averaging a double-double with 16.3 points and 9.7 rebounds… the game was MSUB's highest scoring output of the regular season thus far…
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets take a quick reprieve from regular-season action next week, heading to Helena for their final exhibition matchup of the year against Carroll College on Friday, Nov. 6. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. at the PE Center, with live video available here.
