Con Marshall
BILLINGS, Mont. – Montana State Billings used a 22-6 margin at the free throw line as the springboard to a 77-60 win over Chadron State in a nonconference women’s basketball game played in Billings on Friday night.
Chadron State senior forward Ashayla Powers led all scorers with 24 points. She made all nine of her field goal shots in the first half, finished 11-of-17 from the field for the game and sank both of her free throws. She also was the Eagles’ top rebounder with six.
Montana State Billings led by just two points, 32-30, at halftime but outscored the Eagles 45-30 in the second half. Kylie Krise added nine points and Camren Morris and McKenzie Petersen six apiece for the Eagles, now 0-2 for the young season. The Yellowjackets, ranked No. 6 nationally in the WBCA Coaches Poll, improved their record to 5-1.
Powers got off to a great start early for the Eagles, scoring 10 points in the opening quarter on 5-for-5 shooting then adding eight points in the second quarter to have 18 at the break. In the first half, Powers was 9-for-9 from the field while the rest of the Eagles were a combined 5-for-14.
A senior named All-RMAC First Team in 2022-23 and Second Team in 2023-24, Powers has now gone over 20 points for the first time this season after doing so twice last year and nine times two years ago. The 11 field goals made in a single game are tied for the second most in Powers’ career.
Montana State was 6-of-12 and the Eagles 1-of-3 at the line in the first half. The hosts were 16-of-22 and Chadron State 5-of-5 at the charity stripe in the second half to account for much of the difference on the scoreboard. Each team finished with 25 field goals, with the hosts making five 3-pointers, one more than the Eagles.
Aspen Giese, a 5-8 senior, led Montana State with 19 points, followed by Dyauni Boyce and Kaitlin Grossman with 13 apiece. Kortney Nelson was 7-of-9 at the free throw line, finishing with nine points and a game-high eight rebounds. The Yellowjackets out-rebounded Chadron State 36-24 and had 14 turnovers, compared to CSC’s 22.
The Eagles will play Simon Fraser of Canada in Billings, starting at noon Saturday. They’ll be home at 6 p.m. Wednesday night to play Southwest Minnesota State in the Chicoine Center.