Friday, March 11, 2016

AZUSA, Calif. - MSU Billings was within three in the final quarter, but a big kick from No. 13 Azusa Pacific down the stretch pushed the Cougars ahead of the Yellowjackets, 83-75, in the first round of the NCAA Division II west region tournament at the Felix Event Center Friday.

MSU Billings entered the West Region tournament as the No. 8 seed, facing host and No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific on the nationally-ranked No. 13 Cougars' home court.

The Yellowjackets were down by as many as 14 points, but battled back hard in the second half, closing to within three points on a Rylee Kane free-throw, 55-52, with 8:42 remaining in the game.

Azusa Pacific fought back with three quick shots to pull the lead back up by eight points. MSUB closed down again to five points in the last 18 seconds of the game, but the lead was too much in the remaining minutes.

Alisha Breen led all players with 31 points, including five 3-pointers. Kane had 14 points and four assists. Seniors Janiel Olson and Monica Grimsrud both finished with double-doubles. Olson had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Grimsrud 11 points and 10 rebounds. Grimsrud also had four assists, one block, and a five steals in her final game as a Yellowjacket.

Coming into tonight, Olson was already the MSUB leading rebounder, but after this season finishes her career with 1,001, becoming the only Yellowjacket in the history of the women's program to achieve quadruple figures in total rebounds.

No. 13 Azusa Pacific (28-3) outrebounded MSUB 43-28, and 15-4 on the offensive glass. The Yellowjackets were 16-21 from the free-throw line, while the Cougars finished 16-22. APU held a 10-point, 34-24, advantage in the paint, but both teams were even in shooting (46-46.3 percent). The difference was in the amount of shots put up. MSUB took 54 during the game while Azusa managed 63. Both teams were even on 3-pointers. MSUB made 9-25 while APU was 9-23.

Balanced scoring efforts from APU had all five of its starters finishing in double-figures. PacWest Player of the Year Kelly Hardeman had 17 points and six rebounds. She also had three 3-pointers. Allison Green matched Hardeman with 17 points.

Montana State University Billings (21-11) started the first quarter ahead of Azusa Pacific. Breen hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the middle of the first frame to put the Yellowjackets up 13-8. Grimsrud stretched the advantage to seven with a layup. The Cougars engaged on an 11-0 run to grab the lead back and were ahead by 4-points, 21-17, at the end of the first quarter.

Azusa Pacific kept the pressure on in the second frame. A 3-pointer from Miriam Zabinsky at the three minute mark gave the Cougars their first double-digit lead.

Breen finished the first half with three points for MSUB on a layup and free-throw to keep the game within 10 points, 39-29, at the break.

Breen lit a fire under the Yellowjackets in the first quarter. She was 5-6 from the field and 3-3 from the 3-point arc in the first 10 minutes. She scored five more points in the second quarter for 18 total by half-time and was the only player on the court in double-figures.

At the half-way point, MSUB was shooting 44.0 percent (11-25), but a big differential in rebounds, 23-10, including an important 9-1 advantage on the offensive glass was giving the Cougars more chances to shoot the ball. APU was 15-23 in the opening half for 46.9 percent and scored 11 points on second chance opportunities while MSUB was held without any.

A 3-pointer from APU's Joelle Tampien gave APU its largest lead of the game, 14 points, with three minute left in the third quarter. An 11-0 run from the Yellowjackets that straddled the third and fourth quarters pulled the 'Jackets back into the game.

Olson kicked off the scoring blitz. After the Tampien trey, Olson caught a pass at the top of the 3-point arc and stopping pulled up for a long shot, sinking the ball through the net. A rebound from Olson on an APU miss went wide to Van Atta who hit a jump shot just inside the key. Two free-throws from Grimsrud, a jumper from Olson, and two free-throws from Kane ended the run, closing the gap to a single possession.

Three pointers from Cydnie Jones, Hardeman, and a jumper from Maggie Dumphy shot the Cougars back ahead by double-figures.

Olson responded with a 3-pointer and Kane came up big for the team. The point guard scored seven straight points on a 3-pointer and two driving layups to close the score to within six, 68-62, with four minutes left.

It looked like the game was done with another six straight points from the Cougars at a 14-point 76-62, lead with a minute left, but MSUB wasn't done.

Grinding down to the very last buzzer, the Yellowjackets played an incredible 40 seconds of basketball. Olson started the last stand with two rebounds and two free-throws.

Kane made a free-throw after she was fouled on a drive to the rim. She missed her second attempt, but Grimsrud was there to grab the offensive board. She missed her shot, but Breen was there for the put-back and was fouled. Her free-throw closed the gap to six points.

At the other end of the court, Grimsrud picked up her fifth steal of the game and Breen followed through with a layup to make it a two possession game, 79-75, with 18 seconds left. That's as far as the 'Jackets would get. Needing to foul, MSUB sent APU back to the foul-line and the Cougars finished with four straight.