Friday, March 10, 2023

CARSON, Calif. – Montana State Billings is moving on to the semifinals of the NCAA West Regionals after defeating No. 5 seed Cal State LA to open the tournament.

Senior forward Taryn Shelley led the MSUB offense with 15 points while shooting 50% from the field and 71.4% from the free-throw line in her first start of the year. Shelley also added seven rebounds, a block and a steal through 22 minutes for the Yellowjackets.

The Yellowjackets had to fight to overcome a hot start from the Golden Eagles that saw CSULA open the game with a 9-2 run. Montana State Billings battled back to tie the game up at 15-15 with three minutes to go in the first quarter and continued their strong run of play into the second period.

While Cal State LA had its best offensive showing in the first 10 minutes of the game, Montana State Billings responded to hold the Golden Eagles to just six points on 2 of 16 from the field and 0 of 5 from three-point range in the second quarter. The offense also went to work in that 10 minutes, amassing 17 points while shooting 42.9% from the field to give MSUB a 37-30 lead heading into halftime courtesy of a 10-2 run early in the second quarter.

It was Cal State LA’s turn to come out swinging in the second half, pushing the pace of play and forcing the MSUB defense into committing fouls early on. The Yellowjackets stayed strong, however, and kept pace with the Golden Eagles to continue to lead 53-50 going into the final 10 minutes.

It was a steady diet of offense from up and down the lineup that kept the Yellowjackets ahead of the Golden Eagles down the stretch with both teams knocking down 16 points in the final 10 minutes.

Eight of the nine players to suit up for MSUB scored at least two points with senior forward Cariann Kunkel and junior forward Dyauni Boyce both finishing with 13 points while junior guard Kortney Nelson also cracked into the double digits with 11 points.

Defensively the Yellowjackets were led by sophomore guard Aspen Giese pulled in eight rebounds to go with nine points, an assist and a steal. The defense, particularly long-range defense, proved to be critical for Montana State Billings. The Yellowjackets held the Golden Eagles to just 37.1% from the field and 17.6% from three-point range while forcing seven turnovers.

Montana State Billings moves on to the semifinals of the NCAA West Region Tournament and will face either No. 1 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills or No. 8 seed Cal Poly Pomona tomorrow. The Yellowjackets are the only GNAC team left standing after Central Washington and Western Washington dropped their quarterfinal games earlier in the day.