BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings women's basketball team finished just shy of the victory in its regular-season opener, falling 66-58 to #24 University of Texas-Tyler on day one of the CWU DII Tipoff Classic.
The Yellowjackets (0-1) staggered out of the gate, struggling to find an answer for the Patriots (1-0) on both ends of the floor in the first two quarters of action, trailing 42-23 going into halftime. The 'Jackets mounted a strong second-half comeback effort, pulling to within four points of the Patriots in the fourth quarter. The comeback effort ultimately fell short, with UT Tyler holding out for the win despite MSUB's best efforts.
"It was nice to get a game early in the tip off tournament," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. "However, I felt that our performance wasn't where it needed to be. In the first quarter, we struggled offensively, which led to some defensive errors. I think we showed some preseason jitters in the first half, and Texas Tyler played excellent and shot the ball well in the first half."
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The 'Jackets won the rebounding battle, dominating UT Tyler on the boards 36-24 overall and 11-3 offensively. The difference came from three-point range, where the Patriots went 8-18 (44.4%), while the 'Jackets were held to 3-16 (18.8%) from long distance. MSUB shot 21-55 (38.2%) overall, while the Patriots shot 21-50 (42.0%).
Cassie Chesnut collected her first double-double of the campaign, putting up a strong all-around effort with 18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Layla Baumann scored 12 points, hitting a pair of threes along with five rebounds and a pair of steals, while Rae Smart scored 11 points to round out MSUB's scorers in double figures, while totaling six boards, three assists, and two blocks and steals apiece.
Brooklynn Brennan scored seven points off the bench with two rebounds and a steal, while Alli Ligocki finished with six points and five rebounds. Tailey Harris scored four points with three assists, while Molly Hays pulled down six rebounds to go with three assists.
A tough first quarter saw MSUB dominate on the boards, outrebounding the Patriots 13-7 overall and 7-0 offensively. But the Yellowjackets' shooters went cold, knocking down just 2-16 (12.5%) attempts from the field, while UT Tyler shot over 50% from the field, boosted by a 4-6 (66.7%) start from three-point range to pull ahead by 10 heading into the second quarter. The 'Jackets found a rhythm on the offensive side of the ball in the second quarter, improving to 50% shooting. The Patriots remained red hot though, shooting 8-12 (66.7%) from the field and hitting three more triples to outscore MSUB by nine in the second, building a commanding lead heading into halftime.
MSUB began to chip away at the UT Tyler lead in the third quarter, with the third-quarter shooting percentages almost inverse of the first quarter. The Yellowjackets went 6-12 (50%) from the field while holding the Patriots to just a 2-13 (15.4%) clip. MSUB cut the lead to 13 going into the fourth quarter and dove even further into that lead as the fourth quarter ticked away, pulling to within four points with 5:40 remaining. But the Patriots recovered in the final minutes, finishing the game on a 10-6 run across the final five minutes to stave off the Yellowjackets, with MSUB finishing with the loss despite an impressive effort across the final 20 minutes.
"I was proud of our team and how we regrouped," stated Woodin. "We made a good run to chip away at their lead and battle back, but then they just had that last burst we couldn't match. I think we learned a lot from this game though, we just need to be more settled in at the start of games. We lost to a good team today, but now the challenge is how we respond tomorrow."
The buzz: Chesnut was named the Player of the Game.
The Yellowjackets are back in action tomorrow, October 31, in a matchup with Minnesota State University Moorhead. Tipoff is scheduled for 10 a.m. MT (9 a.m. PT), with live video available on the GNAC Network, and live statistics available online here.
