The women’s basketball team was stymied by the Montana State Billings defense, making only one field goal in a ten-minute span as the Yellowjackets took control in the second half and defeated the Redhawks, 75-66, Saturday night in GNAC action at the .
After Chelsie Morrison (, ) hit a three-pointer with 14:37 remaining in the second half to tie the game 46-46, Montana State Billings outscored 23-6 over the next 12 minutes to put the game away. The Yellowjackets forced 14 second half turnovers by SeattleU and hit 22-of-26 from the free throw line after halftime.
Jackie Thomas (, ) led the way for with a career-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 shooting from the free throw line. She also earned three assists and three steals in the game. Quinn Brewe () was the only other SeattleU player to score in double figures, earning 11 points and seven rebounds in the game.
Taryn Kellogg () made a solid contribution off the bench, especially in the first half, when she scored all nine of her points. Laina Sobczak () finished with eight points, five rebounds, and three steals, while Morrison also finished with eight points plus earned two steals during the night.
For Montana State Billings (7-7, 4-1 GNAC), Alira Carpenter led the way with 20 points, while Kayla McPherson scored 16 points and Shantell Marquis contributed 13 points, seven rebounds, and three steals to the winning effort. The Yellowjackets won the rebounding battle, 35-30, committed only eight turnovers after halftime, and sent to the charity stripe only nine times.
(12-2, 3-2 GNAC) heads on the road next weekend, facing Northwest Nazarene next Thursday, Jan. 24, at 5:30 p.m. local time, followed by a contest at nationally ranked Seattle Pacific next Saturday, Jan. 26 at 1:30 p.m. The next home game for is Thursday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. against ’s.