Seventh straight win for ‘Jackets with 67-62 defeat of the Clan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu January 23, 2016 Seventh straight win for ‘Jackets with 67-62 defeat of the Clan Women’s Basketball on Facebook MSUB Women’s Basketball on ISSUU GNAC Standings Post Game Interviews with senior Janiel Olson, junior Alisha Breen, and head coach Kevin Woodin Interactive Box Score

MSUB freshman Cierra Lamey goes up for a shot in the win 67-62 at Alterowitz against Simon Fraser.

The MSUB women's basketball team wins their seventh straight conference game with a 67-62 victory over visiting Simon Fraser.

BILLINGS, Mont. – After leading by double-digits for almost half of the game, it came down to the final two minutes, but MSU Billings held on for a 67-62 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win at home over Simon Fraser Saturday.

The Yellowjackets led by as many as 15, but a 3-pointer by SFU’s Alisha Roberts closed the gap to three points, 65-62, with 19 seconds remaining. Stepping to the foul line, junior Alisha Breen pushed the Yellowjacket lead to two possessions with a pair of free-throws.

A last minute shot by the Clan’s Elisa Homer missed, and the ‘Jackets finished the night winning their seventh straight conference game for a 13-5 overall record and 9-1 in the GNAC to remain atop the standings. With the loss, Simon Fraser falls to 7-8 and an even 5-5 in the conference.

Breen finished 8-8 from the free-throw line, ending the night with her seventh 20-plus game of the season at 22 points.

Senior Janiel Olson collected a game-high 12 rebounds for her fifth double-figure rebounding performance of the season. Senior Monica Grimsrud shot 50.0 percent (6-12), including four 3-pointers, for her ninth double-digit game of the year with 16 points.

From the field, MSUB shot 23-61 (37.7 percent) to 23-57 (40.4 percent) from SFU. The big difference was in 3-pointers as the Yellowjackets held Simon Fraser to under its 9.4 season-average at 8-25. In contrast, MSUB made 9-23 from 3-point territory for 39.1 percent. The Yellowjackets were stronger at the free-throw line (75.0-61.5 percent), and were big off the glass, outrebounding the Clan 44-32, including a 20-13 differential in offensive rebounds.

Sophomore Marissa Van Atta added nine points, Olson scored six, and sophomore Rylee Kane had a team-high six assists to go along with five points for MSUB. Roberts finished with a season-high 20 points for the Clan. Elisa Homer added 18 as both players finished with four 3pointers each. Samantha Beauchamp added 12 points and senior Ellen Kett collected seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists.

Continuing the theme for MSUB the last few weeks, the ‘Jackets opened with a cold offensive start. A jump shot from Rachel Fradgley put the Clan ahead 16-10 in the middle of the first quarter before the Yellowjackets turned it around with an 11-0 run.

Breen kicked off the scoring with six points, Grimsrud added two with a jump shot, followed by a 3-point play from junior Tiana Hanson.

Grimsrud pushed the lead to 12 with an open 3-point shot and Van Atta kept the momentum going with a steal and layup. At the break, MSU Billings had turned the game into a 10-point 37-27 lead.

“Other than the start, I thought we played a solid first half,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said. “Unfortunately, we got down early for the third straight game. Tiana and Cierra sparked us tonight off the bench in the first half and we had a nice first half offensively as I felt we were making the extra pass and we were get a nice combination of scoring from the interior and the perimeter.”

“We shot the ball from the 3-point range better tonight which was a key to our win,” Woodin continued “You have to give Simon Fraser credit though. They made a late run at us. They have so many players who can score so they are difficult to defend.”

Freshman Cierra Lamey scored two points for MSUB and Hanson scored five points and had two rebounds for the Yellowjackets.

Grimsrud fired off her third 3-pointer of the game to open the second half. A contested jump shot from Van Atta gave the Yellowjackets their largest lead of the game at 42-27. Kane continued the drive with an open three on an inbounds pass from Olson.

A 3-pointer from Roberts with four minutes left in the third quarter dropped the deficit down to eight, 45-37, but a pair of free-throws from Breen pushed the ‘Jackets back up by double-figures.

Simon Fraser was able to keep the game in reach, chipping away at the Yellowjacket lead in the fourth quarter. Roberts hit a 3-pointer, but MSUB sophomore Vanessa Stavish made two free-throws and Olson drained a wide-open 3-pointer to kick the MSUB lead back to double-digits.

With under two minutes remaining, Homer pushed the game down to four points. With 30 seconds left, Breen made two free-throws for 65-59. Roberts scored a 3-pointer, but Breen remained calm at the free-line, finishing the game with another pair of free-throws.

“Alisha hit some big free throws down the stretch,” Woodin said. “I felt she and Monica had very good all-around games.

Janiel’s rebounding was important as well. Both games against Western Washington and Simon Fraser were difficult games as both opponents were very good and to win both games is great. I am very proud of our entire team.”

THE BUZZ: Van Atta lead the team in steals with three…three MSUB players recorded a block…Olson finished second on the team in assists with four.

UP NEXT: MSU Billings stays at home next week starting the second half of the conference season by hosting Alaska on Thursday, Jan. 28, followed by a contest against No. 1 Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, Jan. 30. Both games will start at 7:00 p.m. with a live video stream and statistics available on the MSUB Stretch Internet Portal.

“It is nice to stay at home for two more games next week,” Woodin said. “I know both Alaska schools will be ready to play and both games should be exciting.”

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