MSUB falls 77-57 in GNAC championship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu March 5, 2016 Second half too much for ‘Jackets in 77-57 loss to Seawolves Women’s Basketball on Facebook | MSUB Women’s Basketball on ISSUU GNAC Tournament | Interactive Box Score Post Game Interview with head coach Kevin Woodin

Marissa Van Atta recorded a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds in the GNAC championship game.

A big second half from the Seawolves propels the defending champions past MSU Billings 77-57 during the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball championship game Saturday at Marcus Pavilion.

LACEY, Wash. - A big second half from Alaska Anchorage proved to be too much for Montana State University Billings as the Yellowjackets fell 77-57 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball championship game Saturday at Marcus Pavilion.

MSU Billings (21-10) was within five at half-time, 35-30, but two big scoring sprees from the No. 6 Seawolves pushed UAA out ahead at the end of the third quarter 61-47, and propelled the defending champions back to the title.

For the Yellowjackets, Alisha Breen had 17 points and Marissa Van Atta finished with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds along with a game-high tying four steals.

In the first half, MSUB was a solid 36.7 percent from the field and Breen was 5-5 from the free-throw line, but a deep bench from the Seawolves kicked in the second half as UAA outscored MSUB 42-27 in the last 20 minutes of the game.

The Yellowjackets had six less turnovers in the opening half and were even on steals at six, but fresh legs and one less game from the Seawolves helped Alaska Anchorage (33-2) storm the back half of championship night.

Monica Grimsrud scored five points and had three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and four blocks in the game.

Vanessa Stavish was 2-2 in the game, both 3-point shots, for six points. Janiel Olson had four points and four rebounds.

Rylee Kane also had four points with three assists, two steals, and a block. Tiana Hanson and Kasie Christensen added two points each to round out the scoring for MSUB. Alaska Anchorage finished with five players in double-digits. GNAC Newcomer of the Year, Kieahnna Engel had 13 points.

Jenna Buchanan and Jessica Madison both had 12 points and GNAC Player of the Year Megan Mullings and Alysha Devine connected for 10 points each. Kiki Robertsen tied the GNAC tournament record of nine assists and was named the GNAC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

The UAA bench supplied 28 points in the game. The Seawolves were stronger in the paint, 40-26, and had double from the 3-point arc 8-4.

For the game, MSU Billings shot 34.4 percent (21-61) with Alaska Anchorage shooting 49.2 percent (30-61). MSUB was stronger at the free-throw line 11-14 to 9-14.

Mullings connected on two to open the game, but Olson responded with a 3-pointer for the first MSUB points of the game. Van Atta made a big steal and on the Yellowjacket possession drew a foul from Mullings, but on the inbounds pass UAA stole the ball and Engel followed through with a layup.

Engel came back again for a rebound, but on the next Alaska Anchorage possession, Kane made a block from behind on Mullings and Grimsrud hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at six.

Under the MSUB basket, Breen made a fast grab down low and was fouled on her layup attempt. She made both freethrows to push the Yellowjackets ahead by two. Devine fought for a layup for the Seawolves, but Van Atta answered right back on a long throw from Breen for a 10-8 lead.

Madison hit a wide open 3-pointer, but two huge plays from Van Atta kept the Yellowjackets ahead. The sophomore hit another short jump shot and then made a steal and the resulting layup for a 14-11 lead with three minutes left in the first quarter.

Six straight points from the Seawolves had UAA up 17-14 at the end of the quarter, but with .4 seconds left on the clock Breen threw a long ball to the hoop and was fouled at half-court. At the free-throw line, the forward made all three shots to tie the game at 17.

In the second quarter Alaska Anchorage poured in a 10-0 run to jump ahead by double-digits, but MSUB responded with a 7-0 run of their own, closing the deficit down to five points at half-time.

At the start of the second quarter, three 3-pointers rattled in and out for MSUB and UAA’s Engel and Madison each hit 3-pointers and Mullings and Devine both jump shots for the 10-0 scoring drive.

Stavish stopped the run with an open 3-pointer and Grimsrud made a short pass to Van Atta who went up for a layup to recoup five points. Grimsrud came back strong with a short jump shot at the top of the key for two more points to cap a 7-0 run from the ‘Jackets.

Buchanan hit a 3-pointer on the far outside to push UAA ahead by six. Breen grabbed the inbounds ball for a steal and the bucket, but UAA made another 3-pointer to keep the Seawolves ahead by seven with a minute left in the first half.

A defensive steal and drive to the rim from Kane were the last points of the half to close the deficit down to five, 35-30, at the break.

MSUB were shooting 11-30 for 36.7 percent in the first half, while Alaska Anchorage was 15-129 for 51.7 percent. MSUB was also 3-11 from the 3-point arc with the Seawolves shooting 5-10 from outside.

The Yellowjackets were getting outrebounded 21-12. Both teams were even in steals with six, but MSUB was able to convert those to nine points while UAA had eight.

The Seawolves made 15 turnovers in the first half with MSUB keeping better possession and committing just nine.

Madison drained a 3-pointer out of the break for the Seawolves. Breen answered back with an open layup off a feed from Van Atta. Buchanan nailed another 3-pointer to drive the lead up by nine for the Seawolves. Van Atta cleared another jump shot for MSUB and Breen grabbed a bad pass, but MSUB fell short at the rim.

With three seconds on the shot clock, Robertson drove in to the basket for a layup and made the free-throw after the foul for another double-digit lead.

Closing back down, Kane made a steal and Breen cut in for a layup. Breen added to her total with another layup. Sierra Afoa hooked a jump shot from the high post for two points, but Kane again from just inside the paint followed through with her own jumper to draw the deficit down to six, 46-40, with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Two turnovers from MSUB were costly. Devine hit a 3-pointer and Mullings a layup for five quick points for the Seawolves and a 51-40 lead with four minutes remaining in the third frame. MSUB called for a timeout to make adjustments.

Van Atta drew a foul with a layup attempt and made both of her free-throws at the line. Engel made two big plays for the Seawolves pushing UAA ahead by 13, 55-42.

Off the full court press, a long pass from Breen found an open Stavish for her second 3-pointer of the game. Off a MSUB miss, the ball bounced long and UAA’s Adriana Dent picked it up and drove to the basket for a layup.

The Yellowjackets made two with free-throws from Van Atta. A leaping steal from Kane gave MSUB the ball at the end of the quarter, but the pass ended a little too long for MSUB to hang on too.

Breen kicked off the fourth quarter with an offensive board and put back. The Yellowjackets made a defensive stop, but the offensive shot went wide. Robertson made two free-throws and a quick four points on two layups from Madison had the Seawolves ahead 67-49 with three minutes into the final quarter.

MSU Billings missed three shots and from the free-throw line Alaska Anchorage added to their lead, driving the score up by 20.

The Yellowjackets continued to fight hard down the stretch, but Alaska Anchorage kept climbing the scoreboard with free-throws.

MSUB ended the game on a 5-1 scoring drive with a layup from Christensen to conclude the scoring.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: The NCAA announcement show is on Sunday, Mar. 6 at 8:00 p.m. Mountain time on ncaa.com.

During the show, the 64-team national playoff field will be unveiled. The tournament runs Mar. 11, 12 & 14, at a site to be determined. Last week, MSU Billings was ranked eighth in the west region poll. The top-8 teams in all eight national regions advance to the tournament. In the west region, all three conference tournaments have an automatic berth for their tournament champion. The additional five spots are awarded as at-large bids. During the selection show, each region's matchups will be announced along with the host site.

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