Ssuu FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu December 31, 2016 Yellowjackets overwhelmed by No. 8 Alaska Anchorage MSUB Women’s Basketball on Facebook | MSUB Women’s Basketball on ISSUU | Box Score
MSUB was overwhelmed by a tough Alaska Anchorage defense in a game on New Year’s Eve.
MSU Billings was overwhelmed by a tough Alaska Anchorage team during a conference game on New Year’s Eve at Alterowitz. BILLINGS, Mont. – A tough Alaska Anchorage defense anchored the No. 8 Seawolves to an 87-44 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win over Montana State Billings on Saturday at Alterowitz. Montana State University Billings (4-8, 1-3 GNAC) earned an 8-3 opening start in the first three minutes. Tiana Hanson led the charge with a jump shot followed by free-throws and a driving layup from Rylee Kane. Marissa Van Atta capped the run with a layup after a steal from Taylor Edwards to drive the ‘Jackets up by five. “I thought we started well tonight,” MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin said. “I thought we were competing hard on the defensive end early in the game and it was nice to have an 8-3 lead early. However, we didn’t finish the second half the first quarter well. I felt we have them a few easy baskets, but then we missed some easy opportunities ourselves.”
The No. 8 Seawolves stormed back in the final five minutes of the first quarter with a 17-1 run to take a 20-9 lead in the opening 10 minutes. The Seawolves stretched their advantage on a 9-0 run at the start of the second quarter. MSUB’s Taylor Cunningham found an open Van Atta for a 3-pointer to drop the deficit down to 10 in the middle of the second period. Using their defense, Alaska Anchorage pushed the MSUB offense thin, building more distance on the scoreboard with points in transition. The Seawolves also won the battle on the boards, creating opportunities on second chances. In the back half of the game, UAA continued to drive the pace of the game, finding open shots on fluid ball movement. Alaska Anchorage (11-1, 4-0 GNAC) got 22 points, seven assists, and four steals from senior Kiki Robertson. Tara Thompson shot 5 for 11 from outside, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds. Yazmeen Goo collected seven rebounds, with six assists and four steals. UAA shot 48.4 percent from the field and was 13 for 28 (46.4 percent) from the 3-point arc. The Seawolves outrebounded MSUB 31-22, including a heavy 14-2 differential on the offensive glass. Alaska Anchorage forced 35 turnovers on MSUB, scoring 36 points on those chances. MSU Billings improved its shooting percentage in the second half, finishing at 47.5 percent. The Yellowjackets were 3 for 12 from the 3-point arc. Hanson was 5 for 7 from the floor with 10 points and four rebounds. Van Atta finished 5 for 6 with a team-high 12 points. Kane produced six assists. Cunningham was 4 for 5 with eight points. Jeanann Lemelin led the team in steals with five, adding in five points and two assists. “I thought Marissa and Tiana shot the ball well,” Woodin commented. “I also thought Jeanann gave us a nice effort off the bench.” “January is going to be a very tough month for us,” Woodin continued. “Our performances this week were not good and I am hopeful we can use it to motivate us to play better next week. Two areas of concern were our lack of offensive rebounding and our turnovers. We will need to improve in both of those areas to be more competitive in our league.” UP NEXT: MSUB takes to the road for a pair of GNAC contests beginning on Thursday, Jan. 5 at Seattle Pacific followed by a game at Saint Martin’s on Saturday, Jan. 7. Both games have an early tip-off at 5:15 p.m. Pacific time. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--