FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu January 19, 2017 No. 22 Simon Fraser pulls away late to hand MSUB 86-72 loss MSUB Women’s Basketball on Facebook | MSUB Women’s Basketball on ISSUU | Interactive Box Score
MSUB’s Grace Weeks fights for a layup against Simon Fraser’s Meg Wilson.
The Yellowjackets kept it close, closing a double-digit lead to under 10 in the last three minutes, but No. 22 Simon Fraser finishes strong, handing MSUB its third loss to a nationally-ranked conference opponent. BURNABY, B.C. – The Yellowjackets closed a double-digit deficit down to eight in the final three minutes before No. 22 Simon Fraser closed on a strong scoring run to hand MSU Billings an 86-72 Great Northwest Athletic Conference loss Thursday. After falling behind by 17 in the third quarter, MSUB battled back to close the deficit down to eight on a pair of freethrows from Marissa Van Atta with 3:17 remaining. Van Atta made a jump shot 20 seconds later to keep the gap before the Clan engaged on a 11-2 scoring surge to finish out the win. “I was proud of our effort tonight,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said. “Multiple times we were down and we kept coming back. They are a difficult team to defend because they have great size and they combine that with great outside shooting. I felt we played a solid first half, but unforced turnovers hurt us and they made several key runs in the game to pull away.”
“We would make a small run to get close and they came right back again to regain the lead. I give them a lot of credit for being able to do that. In the second half we played well offensively, limiting our turnovers and our shots began to fall, but we need to be a little more consistent defensively.” Tiana Hanson led the Yellowjackets, shooting 8 for 11 from the field for a game-high 19 points. Rylee Kane had 18 points and five assists and Marissa Van Atta finished with 15 points. Hanson also had seven rebounds, including a game-high four offensive boards. Simon Fraser benefited from shooting 18 for 21 from the free-throw line and 8 for 16 outside. Four players from No. 22 SFU finished in double-digits. Meg Wilson (16 points) collected a game-high 11 rebounds and was 4 for 4 from the freethrow line. Rachel Fradgley (15 points) shot 6 for 8 from the field and was 3 for 3 from the foul line. Ellen Kett (13 points) recorded seven assists and was 3 for 4 from outside. Ozi Nwabuko (12 points) went to the line for a team-leading 6 of 8. The Clan shot 54.5 percent (30-55) from the field. SFU capitalized on 15 MSUB turnovers for 22 points. The Clan were also better in the interior, 42-34. The Yellowjackets matched SFU in the fourth quarter with 23 points, but were unable to make up a deficit from the opening half. With the win No. 22 Simon Fraser improves to 17-3 on the year and 8-2 in the GNAC while MSU Billings falls to 6-11 overall and 3-6 in conference play. In the first half MSUB struggled with ball control, but held the early scoring advantage. Van Atta was sent to the freethrow line and a 3-pointer from Lexi Prevost off a feed from Kane led to a 9-8 lead. Two back steals from Kett in the opening quarter started the collection of SFU points off of turnovers. The Yellowjackets used better ball movement to open freshman Taylor Cunningham on the wing for the ‘Jackets second 3-pointer of the game. On an inbounds play, Prevost fed the ball to Grace Weeks for a layup. The Clan rebounded on two big consecutive 3-pointers from freshman Tia Tsang to earn the lead back at the end of the quarter. At the start of the second quarter, it was Hanson’s turn for back-to-back makes to push MSUB ahead 19-17. Simon Fraser recovered on two interior passes to the post followed by a steal and layup from Wilson. Hanson dodged a SFU steal attempt to find an open spot at the 3-point arc. She came back with a layup after a Kane steal in the SFU paint. The Clan pushed ahead on two easy layups. With the shot clock at one second, Hanson got the friendly roll of the rim to drop the deficit down to seven, 32-25. Fradgley looked to give the Clan a double-digit lead on four straight points, but Kane found the net on a long contested 3-pointer at the half-time buzzer to keep the deficit down to nine, 39-30. The Yellowjackets picked-up the pace offensively in the back half of the game and after committing 11 turnovers in the first half, kept it to just four in the last two periods. Hanson opened the second-half scoring and Kane drove to the hoop finishing the drive as the ball hovered on the rim before dropping in for two. A dish from Kane to Weeks at the top of the key cut the SFU lead down to three, 43-40. Hanson grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on her put-back attempt, sinking both shots at the line. From there, the Clan forced their way back ahead on a 19-9 run that utilized 3point baskets from Tsang and Sophie Swant. Cunningham buried a 3-pointer to stop the surge at the end of the third period. Prevost started a run by MSUB with a 3-pointer after getting herself open on the arc. An offensive rebound led to a second chance at the basket when Kane found the net. More good offensive rebounds from the Yellowjackets gave
MSUB multiple looks at the basket. Van Atta cleaned-up after a shot and from the free-throw line earned a pair to drop the deficit down to eight, 73-65, with three minutes remaining. The Clan punched their lead back up on four straight field goals finishing on the 11-2 run. NOTES: This was the third nationally-ranked GNAC opponent MSUB has faced this season‌Cunningham finished with three assists‌Prevost led the team in steals with three. UP NEXT: MSU Billings heads south to face Western Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m. Mountain time. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--