FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu February 16, 2016 Women’s basketball prepares to end regular season with 4 straight road games MSUB Women’s Basketball on Facebook MSUB Women’s Basketball on ISSUU Preview Interviews with sophomore Rylee Kane and Vanessa Stavish and head coach Kevin Woodin GNAC Standings
The MSUB women’s basketball team will end their regular season with four straight road games.
After two exciting games at home last week, the MSUB women’s basketball team is preparing to end their regular season with four conference games on the road. BILLINGS, Mont. – The MSUB women’s basketball team will need to play some of their best games of the year to come out on top as the last four contests of the regular season will be played on the road.
With a 13-3 record in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Yellowjackets have clinched a spot at the conference tournament, but where MSUB will be seeded has yet to be determined. With No. 1 Alaska Anchorage at 15-1, Western Washington at 14-2 and MSU Billings at 13-3 with four games left, those spots could shift in the next two weeks. Saturday’s game becomes even more important in the standings as the Yellowjackets travel to Bellingham to face the Vikings, but first MSUB (17-7, 13-3 GNAC) has a game at Burnaby, B.C., against a hot-shooting Simon Fraser team that at 10-6 has also clinched a spot in the post season and is looking to improve their seeding as well. Defense will be a key in both games this week. Simon Fraser is third in the conference in points per game at 69.6 and Western Washington is just behind at 67.6. SHOWING UP FOR ROOT SPORTS AND THINK PINK: For the first time in the program’s history, ROOT SPORTS was at Alterowitz to film and broadcast a MSUB basketball game. In front of an electric crowd bedecked in pink for MSUB’s 10th annual Think Pink game, the Yellowjackets captured a season sweep over Western Oregon with a 65-48 win. Two days later on Senior Night, MSUB finished another season sweep, this time with a 65-45 win over Concordia (Ore.). SENIOR LEADERSHIP: On Senior Night against the Cavaliers, Monica Grimsrud poured in a career-high 20 points. The forward from Montana City, Mont., had three 3-pointers in the game, was 7-7 from the free-throw line with four rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal. Grimsrud is averaging 10.2 points per game and is leading the team in 3-pointers per game with 1.8. FIFTH YEAR SENIORS: Along with Grimsrud, senior Janiel Olson was honored after last Saturday’s game. Olson is averaging 8.5 rebounds per game this season for secondbest in the conference. She has also stepped-up her offensive presence with games of 12 and 10 points last week. The graduate of Billings West High School has amassed 933 career rebounds and is now 26 shy of equaling the all-time rebounding record at MSUB and 19 behind equaling the No. 4 all-time in the GNAC. CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY: Junior Alisha Breen is tied for first in the conference with an average 17.0 points per game. The forward had games of 18 and 12 points last week and seven and six rebounds. Breen is shooting a team-leading 42.5 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from the 3-point arc. KEEPING IT KLEAN: Point guard Rylee Kane did her best Marissa Van Atta scored 13 points in MSUB’s Think Pink game. work this season in assist/turnover ratio last week with 12 assists and two turnovers. The native of Red Lodge, Mont., also equaled her best week in steals with four. She kicked in 11 points and seven rebounds in the two games and is averaging 7.5 points per game. Last week Kane moved her career total above 200 in assists and this week is fourth in the GNAC with an average 4.6 assists per game. The team is also protecting the ball well – MSUB is second in the conference in turnover margin.
HANSON HOLDS AT SECOND: Junior Tiana Hanson leads the Yellowjackets and is second in the GNAC in free-throw percentage at 88.0 (66-75). Hanson was 2-2 last week with four points and a strong nine rebounds. MSUB is third overall in the conference from the foul-line at 72.1 percent. HALF-DOZEN IN DOUBLE-FIGURES: Sophomore Marissa Van Atta recorded her sixth double-digit game last week with 13 points against Western Oregon. The forward also had a pair of steals and six rebounds and was 3-3 from the free-throw line. Van Atta topped 200 career points and 50 career steals last week for the Yellowjackets. Thursday, February 18 – at Simon Fraser University the Clan – 6:15 MTN 2015-16 Record: 12-9, 10-6 GNAC Head Coach: Bruce Langford, 15th season First Meeting: SFU 62, MSUB 67 (at Alterowitz Gym, Jan. 23, 2016) On Tuesday, Simon Fraser is hosting Western Washington at 7:00 p.m. Pacific time. Thursday’s game against MSU Billings will be played at the early time of 6:15 MTN. Simon Fraser’s five game win-streak was snapped last week with a 61-56 overtime loss at home to Seattle Pacific. The Clan is third in the conference in scoring with an average 69.6 points and is leading the GNAC in 3-point percentage at 38.5 percent. Simon Fraser is averaging 9.6 3-point shots per game and is shooting 69.8 percent from the free-throw line. Sophomore Elisa Homer is in a tie for the lead in the GNAC with 17.0 points per game. Homer is shooting 39.4 percent from the 3-point arc with an average 4.0 3-pointers made per game. She is attempting more than 10 shots per game from 3-point territory and set the GNAC record with 12 made 3-pointers two weeks ago against Northwest Nazarene. Rachel Fradgely, Alisha Roberts, and Ellen Kett are all averaging between 11.5-11.9 points per game. Fradgely recorded double-doubles in both games last week, including a 25-point, 13 rebound performance against Saint Martin’s. Roberts has come on strong at the end of the season pouring in 33 points for the Clan last week with nine 3-pointers. She is shooting 88.9 percent from the free-throw line and had four steals in the game against Seattle Pacific. Kett leads the conference in both assists (7.0 pg) and 3-point field goal percentage (53.7). She is fourth in the conference in 3-point shots made (2.1 pg) and leads the GNAC in minutes played with 37.4 per game. At Alterowitz, MSUB held SFU to eight 3-pointers and outrebounded the Clan 44-32, including a 20-13 margin on the offensive boards where eight players from the Yellowjackets recorded an offensive rebound. The Series: (8-6, Away 2-3) MSU Billings holds an 8-6 overall record, but is 2-3 in Burnaby. The Yellowjackets have split their last five games against the Clan, including a 1-point loss on the road and a 5-point win at home last season. Last Time Out: A huge 25-11 second quarter helped MSUB withstand a strong second half from the Clan, including a 1914 differential in the last 10 minutes. SFU had eight 3-pointers in the game with a career-high 20 points from Roberts. Breen scored a game-high 22 points and Grimsrud contributed 16. Olson had 13 rebounds and four assists. Saturday, February 20 – at Western Washington University Vikings – 6:15 MTN 2015-16 Record: 18-6, 14-2 GNAC
Head Coach: Carmen Dolfo, 25th season First Meeting: WWU 47, MSUB 53 (at Alterowitz Gym, Jan. 21, 2016) Saturday’s game against Western Washington will be played at the early time of 6:15 MTN at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, Wash. Carver Gymnasium is undergoing a complete renovation and this year’s WWU basketball games have all been played off campus. The Vikings are on a six game win-streak, having not dropped a game since their loss in Billings almost a month ago. At Alterowitz, WWU was without point guard and leading-scorer Taylor Peacocke. For the last six games, the Vikings have played without starting forward Tia Briggs. Western Washington is fourth in the nation in field goal percentage at 48.4 percent. They are second in the conference behind SFU in 3-point percentage at 37.0 percent. The Vikings are also second-best in the GNAC in rebounding margin at +5.1. Peacocke leads the team in points with 16.5 per game and is third in the conference in steals with 2.3. Senior Kayla Bernsen is 12th in the GNAC in scoring (12.4 ppg), third in field goal percentage (57.0), fifth in rebounding (7.8 pg), and first in blocked shots (3.0 pg). Kiana Gandy is chipping in 11.0 points per game with Aleisha Hathawy adding in 8.9. The first time out MSUB held Bernsen to 10 points, Gandy to 15, and Hathaway to five. The Vikings had more points in the paint (30-17), but the Yellowjackets made up for it in points off of turnovers (17) and points from outside (21-9). The Series: (13-20, AWAY 3-12) MSUB is a slim 3-12 all-time on the road against the Vikings, but the Yellowjackets have split their last five games with WWU, and won in Bellingham in 2014 (71-63). Last Time Out: MSUB came back from being down in the first quarter, to producing three strong quarters for the win at home, including holding the Vikings to eight points in the final 10 minutes. Breen had a game-high 21 points and Grimsrud added 14 while Olson finished leading all players with nine rebounds. The MSUB defense held WWU to its lowest point total of the season. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--