Montana State Billings Claims West Region Crown
By Cole Brower
Montana State University Billings won the NCAA Division II West Region and advances to the Elite Eight, beating Alaska Anchorage 71-70.
Alaska Anchorage came out firing on defense in the first quarter, forcing turnovers and being able to convert those turnovers into points. However, the defensive stands couldn’t contain the Yellowjackets for long, and by the end of the first quarter, Anchorage held just a five point lead.
Billings struggled out of the gate in the second quarter as well, and Anchorage was able to pull away early and stayed ahead through the rest of the half. Rodericka Ware posted eight points in the quarter for the Seawolves and Vanessa Stavish had nine points for Montana State University Billings.
Early in the third quarter, Alaska Anchorage opened their lead up to 10 points, behind buckets from Yazmeen Goo and Hannah Wandersee. That lead was cut down due to the three point shooting from Billings. Rylee Kane, Vanessa Stavish, and Hannah Collins each hit from downtown during an 11-2 run in the middle of the quarter. Anchorage was able to keep their one point lead headed into the final 10 minutes of play.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team really pulling away from the other. With under a minute left to play, Anchorage still held on to their one point lead. After a series of turnovers from each team, Rylee Kane was sent to the line with a chance to tie or win the game. Kane sank both free throws to put the Yellowjackets ahead with four seconds left. With the final seconds ticking away for Anchorage, Hannah Wandersee got the ball and went up for the winning layup, only to meet Alisha Breen, who denied the scoring opportunity with a game-saving block.
Alaska Anchorage was led by Hannah Wandersee, who had 18 points and seven rebounds. She was followed by Rodericka Ware with 12 points and Tara Thompson and Tennae Voliva who each had 11 points on the night.
Vanessa Stavish led Montana State Billings with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Alisha Breen finished with 16 points and six rebounds, and West Region Tournament MVP Rylee Kane finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Montana State University Billings and Alaska Anchorage each had two players selected to the All-Tournament team. For the Yellowjackets, Alisha Breen and Rylee Kane were selected. Hannah Wandersee and Yazmeen Goo were selected from Alaska Anchorage, and Dalayna Sampton was selected from UC San Diego.
The Elite Eight begins on March 19 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
