FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu November 29, 2016 Women’s basketball opens conference slate on the road MSUB Women’s Basketball on Facebook | MSUB Women’s Basketball on ISSUU | GNAC Standings Preview Interviews with Rylee Kane, Taylor Edwards, and head coach Kevin Woodin
Junior Rylee Kane and the Yellowjackets are opening their conference schedule this week on the road at NNU and CWU.
After a full schedule to open the regular season, the 2016 MSUB women’s basketball begins conference action this week with games on the road at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. BILLINGS, Mont. – After a full slate of games to open the regular season, the MSU Billings women’s basketball team is preparing to open their Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule this week with games at Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. Although the Yellowjackets are 2-5 to start their 2016 season, the team has won the last two of three games, including a big 64-50 win over west region opponent Cal Poly Pomona. With two GNAC road games on the docket this week, the ‘Jackets will need to be prepared for the start of a competitive conference season. ROAD WARRIORS: Seven of the opening nine games for the 2016 season are not on MSUB’s home court. The Yellowjackets opened the regular season with a trio of games in California and last week were in Nebraska and South Dakota for a pair of contests over Thanksgiving weekend. This week, the ‘Jackets complete their opening month by
beginning their conference slate with two more games in difference states. From opening with a game on Nov. 11 in California, the ‘Jackets will have played nine games across six states – California, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Idaho, Washington – in 23 days. SENIOR LEADERSHIP: Tiana Hanson, the lone senior on the MSUB active roster, leads the team in points at 15.6 per game which is sixth in the GNAC. She is also 13th in the conference in rebounds per game at 5.6 and is 11th in free-throw percentage at 82.6 percent (38-46). The forward from Shepherd, Mont., scored 28 points and recorded 11 rebounds last week on the road. She was also 14-18 from the free-throw line. FLOOR GENERAL: Junior points guard Rylee Kane is the other player on the team averaging double-figures with 10.7 points per game. Kane is third in the GNAC in assists at 6.4 per game and ninth in steals at 2.3. The native of Red Lodge, Mont., scored 17 points and made 11 assists with six steals last week. She was 4-7 from the field at Chadron State and had five rebounds in a standout all-court performance. WELCOMING WEEKS: After sitting out the game at Chadron State, Grace Weeks returned to the floor in her hometown of Rapid City, S.D., playing 17 minutes in the game against the Hardrockers, contributing four points and three rebounds. ALL-COURT SPARK: Marissa Van Atta is averaging just under double digit-points at 9.0 per game. The junior is third on the team in points and is shooting 40.0 percent from the 3-point arc. Last week, Van Atta had 15 points and five rebounds. ENERGIZED EDWARDS: Back on the floor in her first game since a contest in California against Cal State San Marcos, Taylor Edwards made the most of her time on the floor, turning in a career-high 16 points and six rebounds at Chadron State. The sophomore had four 3-pointers in her third start for MSUB. BRINA BREAKING THROUGH: Sophomore Brina Hull turned in 10 points and five rebounds during the two Thanksgiving weekend games. Hull has been over 20 minutes in six games for the ‘Jackets and is averaging 4.6 points. She had seven points at SDSMT, shooting 3-5 from the floor with a pair of rebounds. FROM THE OUTSIDE: At Chadron State, junior Lexi Prevost completed 2-3 attempts on the 3-point arc. The guard from Sidney, Mont., is leading the team from outside attempts and is averaging 6.7 points for MSUB. Prevost passed a bench mark in scoring last week entering triple digits in career points at 103. She has already surpassed last year’s total in season points just seven games into the year. FRESHMAN FRENZY: Taylor Cunningham had five points and seven rebounds for the team last week. Cunningham is second on the team on offensive rebounds, averaging 1.4 per game. Jeanann Lemelin played the most minutes yet this year with 14 in the game at SDSMT. BY THE NUMBERS: MSUB is averaging 50.9 points per game on 37.6 percent shooting. The team is 33.1 percent from outside with 26.6 rebounds per game. Thursday, Dec. 1 – at Northwest Nazarene University Crusaders - 5:15 p.m. Nampa, Idaho | Live Stats | Live Video 2016-17 Record: 2-2, 0-0 GNAC Head Coach: Steve Steele, 1st season 2015-16 Record: 12-15, 10-10 GNAC, 5th
Northwest Nazarene enters the 2016 season under new leadership as former Seattle Pacific assistant coach Steve Steele has taken the reins of the program. In the preseason coaches’ poll, NNU was selected sixth after finishing last year in a tied for fifth place. The Crusaders return nine players to a roster that advanced to the GNAC tournament, playing MSUB in the opening round. Kate Cryderman is the lone senior returning to the team. The 6-foot forward averaged 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game and was a preseason all-GNAC pick along with junior Ellie Logan (13.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg). NNU is 2-2 in the early year, taking two losses at home last week in a home tournament to Hawaii Pacific (91-77) and Cal State San Bernardino (73-69). Northwest Nazarene leads the league in field goal percentage at 48.8 percent. Offensively, NNU is second in the GNAC with an average 82.2 points per game. McKenna Walker is averaging 12.0 and Cryderman just behind at 11.8. Colette Gall has a team-best 5.8 rebounds and Kaitlyn Merritt 3.8 assists. All-Time Record (17-9, 6-7 Away): MSU Billings holds a 17-9 overall advantage over Northwest Nazarene and has won the last eight of nine games. The ‘Jackets played the Crusaders three times last year, including during the opening round of the conference tournament where MSUB held off for a 70-65 win. Last Season: MSUB played NNU three times last season. The ‘Jackets won the first game 78-68 during the opening weekend of play. MSUB then won a game at NNU 74-55 during the last week of the season. The two teams played for the third time as MSUB earned a No. 3 seed and NNU the No. 6 seed for the GNAC tournament. MSUB defeated NNU by five, 70-65, during the quarterfinal round. Saturday, Dec. 3 – at Central Washington University Wildcats - 5:15 p.m. Pacific time Ellensburg, Wash. | Live Stats | Live Video 2016-17 Record: 4-3, 0-0 GNAC Head Coach: Jeff Harada, 3rd season 2015-16 Record: 17-12. 10-10 GNAC, 5th Central Washington was selected to finish seventh in the preseason coaches’ poll after tying NNU for fifth last season at 10-10 in GNAC action. CWU returns junior Jasmin Edwards, an all-GNAC preseason pick who led the team in points, assists, and steals. This season Edwards is averaging 11.4 points and 5.1 assists per game. Taylor Baird, a 6-foot-2 junior forward transfer from South Utah leads the team in points and is seventh in the GNAC with 14.7 per game. Baird has been impressive on the boards, leading the conference in rebounds at 9.6 per game. Central Washington’s defense is limiting opponents to a conference third-best 52.1 points per game. The Wildcats are second in the league in rebounding margin at +11.4. All-Time Record (20-10, 8-6 Away): MSUB holds a 10 game advantage over the Wildcats. CWU has been harder to beat on their home turf. The Yellowjackets have won the last seven of nine contests against the Wildcats. Last Season: Last season MSUB opened their conference schedule with a 61-51 win over CWU. The ‘Jackets finished with a 69-55 loss in Ellensburg. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--