FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu November 9, 2016 Women’s basketball opens regular season against No. 17 UC San Diego MSUB Women’s Basketball on Facebook | MSUB Women’s Basketball on ISSUU |
MSUB women’s basketball’s Lexi Prevost and the Yellowjackets are opening their regular season in California.
The MSUB women’s basketball team is heading for California to open their regular season against west region opponent No. 17 UC San Diego. BILLINGS, Mont. – After three exhibition games in Billings, the MSUB women’s basketball team is headed for California to open their regular season with a trio of tilts, beginning with last season’s NCAA Division II west region runner-up and No. 17 in the WBCA preseason national poll, UC San Diego. The Yellowjackets will take to the floor this season without senior Alisha Breen. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year and a DII Super 16 Preseason All-American sustained a torn ACL in last week’s exhibition game against Montana Tech and will redshirt the 2016-17 season. Senior Tiana Hanson and junior Rylee Kane will provide on-court leadership for the team that finished 21-11 last season and 15-5 in the GNAC. Last year, MSUB competed in the GNAC tournament title game against the national runner-up Alaska Anchorage. The Yellowjackets earned a berth to the NCAA Division II national tournament, travelling to California to play against host and No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific.
Returning to the team for her second season as a Yellowjacket, Hanson is a transfer to MSU Billings from Sheridan College. The 6-foot native of Shepherd, Mont., averaged 5.3 points and 2.7 rebounds last year. She was second in the GNAC at the free-throw line, shooting 86.6 percent. Kane, a point guard from Red Lodge, Mont., averaged 7.4 points and 4.5 assists per game for the ‘Jackets. She was fourth in the GNAC in assists and assist/turnover ratio. A confident leader, Kane will be looked to for offensive management and as a veteran in the league, knowledgeable experience against west region opponents. Marissa Van Atta, Lexi Prevost, and Grace Weeks will play an important role for MSUB during the opening week of competition. Van Atta averaged 7.2 points and 3.9 rebounds for MSUB. She was a defensive spark for the ‘Jackets, leading the team in steals. Prevost will have an increased on-court presence this season. From Sidney, Mont., the 5-foot7 guard saw time in 31 games last season. The lone transfer joining the roster this year is Weeks. A 6-foot-2 forward from Casper College, Weeks averaged 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds for the Thunderbirds. The underclassmen will also play a pivotal role for the Yellowjackets this season. Returning for their second season as a Yellowjacket are Taylor Edwards and Brina Hull. Competing in their opening collegiate campaigns are Taylor Cunningham, Abbie Lohof, Jeanann Lemelin, and Sophia Wass. Friday, November 11 – vs UC San Diego Tritons – 8:30 PM MTN The Sports Center | San Marcos, CA | Live Video | Live Stats 2016-17 Record: 0-0 Head Coach: Heidi VanDerveer, 5th season 2015-16 Record: 26-5, 18-2 CCAA, NCAA D2 west region runner-up UC San Diego lost two important starters from last season’s west region runner-up team in Jamie Katuna and Farrah Shokoor, but do return five experienced starters. The Tritons enter 2016-17 with a preseason national ranking of No. 17. UC San Diego returns two all-conference players in Beth Mounier and Taylor Tanita. Mounier is a 5-foot-9 senior guard that averaged 10.7 points per game and 3.4 rebounds. Tanita is a 5-foot-4 junior that continued 7.7 points and 4.7 assists per game. The Tritons played a preseason game against Stanford, falling 85-41 to the Cardinals. Mounier scored 11 points, Tanita had four assists, and junior forward Dalayna Sampton led the team in rebounds with six. The Yellowjackets and Tritons will open their respective regular seasons against each other. The two teams have met three times in their history with MSUB getting the best of UCSD in each contest. The teams met in 2001 (67-57) and twice in Alterowitz in 2002 (75-65, 62-57). Saturday, November 12 – at Cal State San Marcos Cougars– 6:30 PM MTN The Sports Center | San Marcos, CA | Live Video | Live Stats 2016-17 Record: 0-0 Head Coach: Renee Jimenez, 2nd season 2015-16 Record: 7-18, 5-15 CCAA
Cal State San Marcos is in its final year of transition to NCAA Division II. Last season in its California Collegiate Athletic Association debut, CSUSM finished 5-15 in league play. This year, the Cougars played lost an exhibition game to San Diego State 74-53. CSUSM will open its regular season against No. 2 Cal Baptist followed by the contest against MSUB. The Cougars have 12 new players on its roster. However, returning to the team is CCAA honorable mention last season Ashley Jenkins. The 5-foot-5 senior averaged 10.3 points and 3.7 assists per game. Savannah Camp is a 5-foot-10 junior and CCAA second team honoree. She led the Cougars in points at 16.0 per game and rebounds with 6.6. This will be the first meeting between MSUB and Cal State San Marcos. Monday, November 14 – at Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions – 8 PM MTN Golden Gymnasium | San Diego, CA | Live Video | Live Stats 2016-17 Record: 0-0 Head Coach: Lisa Faulkner, 1st season 2015-16 Record: 19-10, 12-8 PacWest Last season, Point Loma advanced to the PacWest tournament, losing out in the first round to Academy of Art 77-70. This year, three PLNU players were named to the preseason all-conference team and the Sea Lions were picked to finished fifth in the preseason coaches’ poll. Point Loma opens its regular season on the weekend with games against Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Dominguez Hills before facing MSUB the following Monday. Junior Alex Brunk returns to the team averaging 15.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The 6-foot forward was a third team All-PacWest honoree and set the PacWest tournament record for a single game scoring performance with 36 points in the loss to ARTU. The Sea Lions return their second leading scorer in 5-foot-11 senior Madison West. Last year, West averaged 15.6 points per game. Roya Rustamzada averaged 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. The 5-foot-11 junior was the assist leader for PLNU last season with 3.1 per game. Senior Sydney Tonack contributed 11.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. From the 3-point arc, West led the team at 2.8 buckets per game. This will be the first meeting between MSUB and Point Loma. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--