Box Score

BILLINGS, Mont. — A strong start wasn't quite enough for the Crusaders on Saturday afternoon.

The Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team charged out of the gate and grabbed a seven-point lead in the opening quarter only to see host Montana State Billings slowly chip away en route to a 78-68 win in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.

"As usual, MSUB was very efficient in taking advantage of every mistake we made," NNU head women's basketball coach Ryan Bragdon said, adding, "and the bottom line is we executed well down the stretch, but didn't convert on either end of the floor."

Taylor Simmons' layup just 3 ½ minutes into the action spotted the Crusaders to a 12-5 lead, but the Yellowjackets responded with a 9-1 run.

A Lexi Tubbs 3-pointer put NNU on top 22-21 just before the first intermission, but MSU Billings retook the lead with a 13-4 charge and NNU never regained an advantage.

A Tubbs 3 top open the second half trimmed the difference to 43-39, and a pair of Ellie Logan free throws made it 65-58 with 5 minutes to play, but the Crusaders (1-6 overall, 0-2 GNAC) couldn't close any closer.

CoCo Gall led the way with 14 points for the Crusaders, who after playing their first seven contests away from home to open the season play their home debut on Dec. 14, hosting cross-county rival The College of Idaho.

Simmons added 13 points, four assists and three steals for NNU, and Logan scored 11 and grabbed five rebounds for the Crusaders, who also got eight points and five boards from Elayna Rice.