NAMPA, Idaho - Northwest Nazarene women's basketball capped the unique 2020-21 season with a win on Saturday, defeating MSU-Billings 75-72.

The Nighthawks finish the year with a 7-7 record, ending on a high note after winning four of their final six games. 

NNU was able to keep control of the ball and lead for most of the game despite not shooting well from deep, committing just 13 turnovers. 

Nyalam Thabach had her second-straight 20-point outing, putting up 26 points on 12-16 shooting from the field. Erin Jenkins added 13 points and Haley Hanson rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 off the bench. Cami Knishka finished with five assists, while Hanson added four steals.

MSUB got off to a good start with a 19-14 lead after the first quarter, but the Nighthawks outscored the Yellowjackets by 13 in the second quarter to take an eight-point halftime lead. Thabach scored the first seven points of the second period for NNU, evening the score at 21 with at triple at the 8:28 mark. Hanson gave NNU the lead with a jumper less than a minute later, an advantage that would grow to 42-34 at the break.

NNU's lead built up to double digits early in the second half, as a pair of free throws from McKenna Emerson gave the Nighthawks a 12-point lead, 46-34, with 8:47 remaining in the third. The Yellowjackets fought back, though, cutting the NNU lead in half by the end of the quarter, 58-52.

The Nighthawk lead grew back into double digits briefly in the fourth, but MSUB rallied again to cut the deficit down to just two, 71-69, on a three-pointer with 37 seconds to play. After Knishka drained a pair of free throws to build the advantage back up to four, the Yellowjackets buried another triple with six seconds left to make it a one-point game.

Emerson would convert both ensuing free throw attempts, though, and MSUB was unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer as NNU took the 75-72 victory.