BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Cassie Chesnut scored 20 points and Rae Smart delivered a double double of 14 points and 13 rebounds as No. 6-seeded Montana State Billings knocked off No. 3 Saint Martin's 69-61 in the quarterfinal round of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament Thursday at Carver Gym.
The Yellowjackets (18-14) advanced to face No. 2 seed Central Washington (23-6) in the semifinals on Friday at 11 a.m. Mountain time. Saint Martin's bowed out of the tournament with an 18-10 record.
"You get to the tournament and it's 0-0 and anything can happen," Grossman said after the game. "I think our team took that and ran."
Chesnut, recently named the GNAC's freshman of the year, made 8 of 14 field goals and grabbed nine rebounds to pace MSUB. Kaitlin Grossman added 17 points and also had nine boards to aid the Jackets' cause. Grossman also had eight assists in an all-around effort.
Chesnut, Grossman and Smart combined for 31 rebounds as MSUB beat Saint Martin's 40-31 on the glass. Tailey Harris had six assists for the Yellowjackets.
Saint Martin's took a 59-58 lead with 4:00 remaining on a 3-pointer by Kiana Rios, but the Yellowjackets' Kyla Momberg scored in the paint and Chesnut hit consecutive shots as MSUB grabbed a 64-59 lead with 1:19 remaining. Chesnut and Grossman then were able to ice the game from the foul line.
Avery Oaster led Saint Martin's with 22 points while Rios, who hit a game-winning shot to beat MSUB in the semifinals of last year's tournament, had 19. The Saints had won both regular season meetings against MSU Billings.
