MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University women's basketball team used a collective strong defensive game to limit the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets to just over 30 percent from the field and under 14 percent from three as the Wolves claimed the 66-57 victory in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action Friday night inside New PE Gym. WOU is now 6-0 at home this season.
WOU (7-5, 3-2 GNAC) kept the Yellowjackets to a season-low 30.5 percent from the field making just 18-59. The Wolves were even tougher on three-point attempts with the 'Jackets going 3-22 (13.6) from downtown.
"This was a great win for our program. Billings is a tough match-up because they have such a great inside game and they can shoot the three well, you can't take away both. We've battled the last three games and everyone has stepped up to get it done," head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said.
Tresai McCarver led the way with 21 points, along with six rebounds, three steals and an assist in 32 minutes. She went 7-17 from the field and 2-3 from three. McCarver's 21 points is a new season-high. Alexis Wright had a strong game inside with 16 points and six rebounds. Wright also made several plays early in the second half to get MSUB top-scorer Taryn Shelley in foul trouble. Wright's 16 points is a new career-high. Cali McClave reached double-figures with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
"Our focus going in was to be more disciplined on defense and to have better shot selection especially down the stretch when we have the lead. I'm really proud of our effort but also our focus to get this win tonight," Howard-Carpenter said.
It was a struggle for either team to get going in the first quarter. Nearly three minutes went by before Shelley hit two from the line for the 'Jackets (8-8, 2-2 GNAC). MSUB led 4-0 midway through the quarter when WOU got on the board with a jumper from Ana McClave.
The Yellowjackets stretched the lead out to seven a couple of times before Wright closed the scoring over the first 10 minutes with a layup to leave MSUB with a 12-7 lead.
Early on in the second quarter, MSUB pushed the lead back to seven. Still trailing by six late in the quarter, the Wolves began to make their push. McCarver buried a three-pointer and then another triple from Caitlin Wheeler helped tie the game at 25 entering halftime.
The momentum carried into the second half with Wright hitting back-to-back jumpers to move WOU out to their first lead of the game at 29-25.
A layup by McCarver nearly four minutes into the third quarter moved the lead out to six. MSUB came back with the next five points to trim the deficit back to one. Holding a three-point lead late in the quarter, WOU picked up five straight points with Cali McClave tallying a three-point-play and a layup by Wright for an eight-point lead. The 'Jackets closed the scoring in the third with two from the line to leave WOU with a 45-39 lead entering the fourth.
It was a defensive struggle to begin the fourth quarter with neither team scoring over the first three-plus minutes. Cali McClave came through with the first points of the final frame when she hit a three-pointer to move the lead to nine.
MSUB made one final push getting to within five near the midway point of the quarter when McCarver answered back with a big three-pointer to push the lead back to eight. McCarver later connected on a layup to move the lead back to nine with just a couple minutes to play.
The Yellowjackets countered with a three-pointer to get back to within six, but the Wolves went 11-12 down the stretch from the foul line to seal the victory.
For the game, WOU went 22-51 (43.1) from the field, 5-13 (38.5) from three and 17-20 (85) at the foul line. The Wolves held a slight 26-24 edge on points in the paint and were tied with MSUB on points off turnovers (13-13).
Shelley led MSUB with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Cariann Kunkel added 13 points and six rebounds. The 'Jackets also got to the foul line a lot going 18-24 (75) from the charity stripe.
"Lex has been solid in practice and let that carry over to the game tonight. She is so strong and works extremely hard, things are starting to click for her. I thought Cali had a solid game as well and Ana, Kaelin, Caitlin and Tresai hit some big three's when we needed them the most. Amber made some big plays on the defensive end and added several blocks once again," Howard-Carpenter said.
The seven wins this season already surpasses the six-win total during the 2019-20 season. The three GNAC wins equals the 2019-20 conference win total.
WOU will hit the road this coming week as they will play at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday starting at 4:15 p.m. and then close the trip at Central Washington on Saturday beginning at 4 p.m.
