Jackets Begin Conference Play Against Saints

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This week marks the beginning of the conference season for the Montana State Billings women’s basketball team, taking on Saint Martin’s University Thursday night at Alterowitz Gymnasium beginning at 7 p.m. The game can be seen and heard on the Montana State Billings athletics website, as Ken Adelblue has the call for all of the action. The Yellowjackets begin their third season in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, entering this season with a 16-18 record in the first two seasons.

The Yellowjackets (7-4) are looking to continue their recent success on the court (two straight victories) against the Saints. MSUB opened the New Year with a dominating 68-41 victory over Chadron State on Sunday in Chadron, NE.

The Yellowjackets jumped out to a 14-2 lead to start the game and never looked back, never trailing at any point in the game. Kayla Ryan scored 12 of her team-high 22 points in the first half, as the Yellowjackets led by 15 at the break, 39-24.

The second half saw much of the same from MSUB, increasing their lead by as many as 29 at one point. The Yellowjackets comfortably coasted to the victory behind Ryan’s seventh double-double of the season, 22 points and 10 rebounds, and three other players scoring in double-figures.

Callie Kautzmann also collected career-highs of 14 rebounds and nine assists in the ballgame. MSUB shot 44.3 percent, the second highest percentage of the season, and created 18 points off of 18 Eagle turnovers.

St. Martin’s (6-5) is coming off a 70-63 setback against Cal State-Dominguez Hills on Dec. 23 in Carson, CA. The loss was the second in-a-row for the Saints and third in four games after reeling off four straight victories.

The Saints are led by the duo of Dara Zack, averaging 17.2 points and 9.3 boards, and Krissy Bassett, averaging 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds. The Saints enter the game as the second ranked three point FG percentage team in the country, shooting 45.9 percent per game. 

MSUB holds the overall edge in the series history against the Saints, going 13-6 since Feb. 15, 1984. The Yellowjackets are 5-2 at Alterowitz and last dropped a game at home on Feb. 2, 2008. The Jackets and Saints split the season series last year, with both teams winning at home.

After Thursday’s contest, the Yellowjackets embark on their longest road trip of the season, taking on Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks Jan. 14 and Jan. 16, both games at 7 p.m. The following week, MSUB heads to Seattle to take on the Falcons of Seattle Pacific (Jan. 21) and then take on the Crusaders of Northwest Nazarene Jan. 23 in Nampa, ID. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts.

Theme Night
Thursday night’s game theme is Shepherd/Huntley night at Alterowitz Gymnasium. Any resident of the Shepherd or Huntley area get FREE admission to the game with a proof of residencey. The game sponsor for the night is the Best Western Clock Tower Inn. All theme nights can be viewed by clicking on the theme night tab located on the left hand side of the athletics webpage. 

Ryan Earns GNAC Weekly Honor
Kayla Ryan earned GNAC Player of the Week honors after scoring 36 points and grabbing 18 rebounds as the Yellowjackets posted a pair of double-digit victories over Rocky and Chadron State this past week. The Big Timber, MT native shot 72.2 percent from the floor, making 13-of-18, and also made 9-of-10 from the charity stripe in the two victories. She had 22 points and 10 rebounds against Chadron State on Sunday, recording her league-best seventh double-double of the season. Ryan is averaging 16.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this season.

Magic Numbers...
MSUB has scored 70 or more points in six of their seven victories this season. The Yellowjackets are 5-0 when scoring in the 70’s and 1-0 when scoring 80+ points in a game. The Jackets are 1-4 in games in which they score under 70 points.

Stinging Defense
The Yellowjackets are outscoring their opponents by 7.1 points per game this season. Sunday’s win over Chadron was the first game that an opponent was held under 50 points. The Jackets are 4-1 when holding teams under 70 points. Opponents are averaging just 62.0 points per game against the Jackets.

Window Washers
The Yellowjackets have been a tough team on the boards this season, averaging 40.7 rebounds per game. They have outrebounded their opponents in seven of their eleven games, going 6-1 in those contests. MSUB holds a +1.1 margin over their opponents in the rebounding category.

Milestone Watch
With the victory over Chadron St. on Sunday afternoon, MSUB head coach, Kevin Woodin, recorded his 95th career victory. With five more wins, coach Woodin will become the third coach in MSUB women’s basketball history to record 100 wins at the school. With seven more victories, Woodin would tie Ted Anderson (1982-87) for second on the school’s all-time wins list with 102.