'Jackets fall 68-56 to No. 23 Hawks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu December 18, 2015 Cold in Las Vegas, ‘Jackets drop game 68-56 to No. 23 Hawks MSUB Women’s Basketball on Facebook MSUB Women’s Basketball on ISSUU Interactive Box Score South Point Holiday Hoops Classic

Monica Grimsrud and the MSUB women’s basketball team tipped-off against No. 23 Quincy.

Poor shooting had MSUB falling behind early as the Yellowjackets were defeated by No. 23 Quincy at the Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS - Cold shooting across the board had the MSUB women's basketball team behind early as No. 23 Quincy took control of the scoreboard in the first half, widening the gap down the stretch, defeating the Yellowjackets 68-56 during the second game of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas Friday.

For the first time this season, no player from MSU Billings (5-4) finished with points in the double-figures. Alisha Breen, Tiana Hanson, and Rylee Kane all scored nine points each as the Yellowjackets ended the game shooting 18-54 from the field and 15-22 from the free-throw line.

The No. 23 Hawks were led by 15 points from sophomore Anika Webster as four players finished in double-digits. Quincy University (9-1) turned in 50.0 percent shooting from the field and 45.0 (9-20) percent from the 3-point arc.

In the first half turnovers and forced shots had MSUB struggling to keep up.

QU’s Rachel Ruzevich drained a 3-pointer to give the Hawks an eight point lead, 26-18 with 3:41 left in the second quarter. Two free-throws from Breen and a 3-pointer from Grimsrud closed the gap to three points, but a trey from Quincy’s Maggie Cunningham put the Hawks back up by six at half-time 29-23.

“Quincy got us down early as they got off to a great start,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said. “We were in a hole initially and we were trying to get out of it for most of the first half. With the way we played I thought we were fortunate to only be down six at half-time.”

In the first half, MSUB was 7-27 from the field and 2-10 from the 3-point arc. The Yellowjackets were also 7-12 from the free-throw line for 58.3 percent.

Both teams opened the second half on a dry spell. Breen broke the 3-minute drought with a pass down low to Hanson for the first two points of the second half.

The teams traded layups under the basket. MSUB’s Marissa Van Atta drained a 3-pointer to put the ‘Jackets five points back, 37-32.

Webster gave the Hawks their first double-digit lead with a trey with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. A jumper from Van Atta and a layup from Taylor Edwards had MSUB scoring the last four points of the third quarter to close back to an eight point deficit.

Quincy was able to keep that eight point gap for most of the last quarter. MSUB’s Vanessa Stavish made a jump shot for 49-43, but that was as close as the ‘Jackets would come. For every basket in the fourth period MSU Billings made, QU would counter with one or two of its own.

Two 3-pointers from Nikia Edom had Quincy back up to a 12-point margin as the Hawks closed out the game on a 10-3 run.

“In the second half, I thought we battled back, but we just did not shoot well enough to stay in the game tonight,” Woodin said. “We missed too many shots inside the key and struggled from the perimeter as well. When we don’t shoot very well it puts a lot of stress on our defense. Overall I thought our defense was pretty solid, but offensively that was where our problem was. I also thought our bench played well tonight which should help tomorrow with our back-toback schedule.”

Breen finished with a game-high 10 rebounds. Senior Janiel Olson added seven as MSUB collected 35 rebounds in the game, including 17 offensive to win the battle on the glass by six.

Both teams were similar in turnovers (16-15) and second chance points (10-8), but it was the shooting percentage that kept the teams apart. The No. 23 Hawks finished the game holding a 16.0 percent deferential over MSUB, knocking down nine 3-pointers from outside and making 11-12 from the free-throw line in the game.

“Quincy was also very good,” Woodin continued on the overall game. “They were scrappy and knocked down enough shots to keep us away from them in the second half.”

UP NEXT: MSU Billings returns to the court tomorrow for its second game of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic. The Yellowjackets will face Tarleton State at 4:30 p.m. Mountain time. The TexAnns (6-3) won their game against Stonehill in the game before MSUB by a final score of 55-50. Live statistics and a live video stream will be available.

“Tomorrow we are going to play a good Tarleton team,” Woodin said on tomorrow’s match-up. “I was impressed with their comeback today against Stonehill. They play at a very fast temp and we are going to have to really be careful with our shot selection and get the ball inside in order to be effective against them.”

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