Jackets Fall Short Against No. 18 Seattle Pacific on Think Pink Night, 62-47

Box Score
Photo Gallery

BILLINGS, Mont. – Sarah McNamee scored 19 points and came down with six boards but it wasn’t enough as the Montana State Billings women’s basketball team fell short in an upset bid of number 18 nationally ranked Seattle Pacific University Wednesday night at Alterowitz Gymnasium, on “Think Pink” night. The Jackets fall to 10-12 on the season and are 3-8 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, while the Falcons improve to 19-3 overall and 10-1 in conference play.

“Seattle Pacific is a quality team but we just couldn’t get over the hump tonight,” said Kevin Woodin, MSUB head coach. “We started slow tonight but I was proud of the way the girls fought back in the first half and were behind by only six points going into the break. Sarah (McNamee) made a lot of big shots to keep us close in the first half. Our defense did a good job in the second half but we just couldn’t close the gap and take the lead.”

McNamee was 8-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-5 from deep to lead the Jackets, while Kayla Ryan was the only other player in double figures with 10 points and six boards. Mandy Jacobs had a big night on the boards, collecting eight in total to go with a pair of steals. Kalli Stanhope knocked down a trio of three’s for her nine points and contributed with three assists.

The Falcons set the tone early, jumping on the Jackets with a 21-4 run to open the game. MSUB began to claw their way back in the fight with a 10-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 21-14 with 8:08 remaining in the first half.

SPU got the lead back to 13, 31-18, when McKayla Gorman hit a pair of free throws after she drove the lane and was fouled by McNamee. Again the Jackets made a charge late in the half when McNamee hit back-to-back treys and Stanhope hit another before the end of the half to trail 33-27 at the break.

MSUB was 9-of-24 from the field in the first half and hit 44.4 percent of their three’s going 5-of-8 from the line. The Jackets and Falcons both grabbed 18 boards as MSUB earned nine points off of seven Falcon turnovers.

The Yellowjackets managed to get the lead back down to two, 37-35, when Ryan hit a layup in the paint from McNamee with 13:21 to go in the game. But, SPU slowly increased the lead back to twelve over the next seven minutes, leading 52-40 with 6:46 left.

MSUB tried to make one last run, but costly turnovers down the stretch allowed the Falcons to go to the line multiple times over the final three minutes where they shot 72.2 percent for the game. SPU ran out the final seconds of the game for the 15 point victory.

The Falcons were led by Nyesha Sims, scoring a game-high 17 points and five boards, while Megan Hoisington and Melissa Reich were the other players in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Hoisington and Reich also combined for 17 of the Falcons’ 46 rebounds.

As a team, MSUB shot 34.0 percent from the field for the game, including 35.3 percent from deep and 50.0 percent from the charity stripe. The Jackets had 35 rebounds but turned the ball over 19 times. Defensively, the Jackets forced 15 Falcon turnovers and held SPU to just 20.8 percent from deep.