By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Playing one of its best games of the season in an energetic environment on Saturday evening at Sam Carver Gym, No. 6 seed Montana State Billings won its second Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championships tournament trophy with a 67-61 upset of top-seeded Western Washington.
 
The Yellowjackets became the first program in the 15-year history of the tournament to win the title as the No. 6 seed, upsetting three consecutive teams on their path to the trophy. The ‘Jackets beat No. 3 seed Saint Martin’s 69-61 in the quarterfinals Thursday before a 79-74 upset of No. 2 seed No. 21 Central Washington on Friday. Forward Cassie Chesnut became the first freshman in the history of the tournament to be named GNAC Championships Most Valuable Player, carrying her team to the crown with three consecutive 20-point performances.
 
Hometown senior Kaitlin Grossman and freshman Rae Smart were each also named to the all-tournament team with outstanding performances throughout the championship. The Yellowjackets improved to 20-14 on the season and 6-7 in road contests, and ensured their season will continue by securing the GNAC’s automatic bid into the 2026 NCAA West Region Championships. The regional field of eight teams will be announced live on www.ncaa.com with the selection show scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (Mountain).
 
2026 GNAC Women’s Basketball Championships All-Tournament Team
Cassie Chesnut – Montana State Billings (Most Valuable Player)
Kaitlin Grossman – Montana State Billings
Rae Smart – Montana State Billings
Olivia Hodges – Western Washington
Libby Stump – Western Washington
Danyell Booker – Western Oregon
 
The Yellowjackets’ other conference tournament crown came in 2018, when current associate head coach Alisha Breen earned GNAC Championships MVP by leading the fourth-seeded ‘Jackets to the trophy. MSUB improved to 12-10 in 12 all-time appearances at the conference tournament and is now 2-3 in the championship game. It was the seventh meeting between MSUB and WWU at the GNAC Championships, with WWU moving to 5-2 head-to-head.
 
Chesnut led all players with 21 points in the championship game, adding six rebounds, four blocks and a steal in 35 minutes on the floor. Grossman chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds, while Smart had 10 points, four boards, two blocks and a steal. The Yellowjackets shot 41.7% overall (25-for-60), 3-for-13 from 3-point range (23.1%) and made 13 of 17 free throws (76.5%).
 
The Vikings moved to 24-7 on the season with the loss, snapping a nine-game winning streak and enduring their first home defeat of the year moving to 12-1 at Carver Gym. All-tournament selection Libby Stump led her team with 17 points while adding four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Olivia Hodges continued to up her school-record double-double total with her 23rd of the season, finishing with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Hodges, the NCAA Division II national leader at 13.2 rebounds per game, now ranks fourth in GNAC single-season history for double-doubles.
 

GNAC Women’s Basketball – Most Single-Season Double-Doubles
Rank	Player	School	Double-Doubles	Season
1	Samantha Bowman	Central Washington	26	2021-22
	Samantha Bowman	Central Washington	26	2022-23
3	Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe	SImon Fraser	24	2011-12
4	Olivia Hodges	Western Washington	23	2025-26
5	Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe	Simon Fraser	22	2012-13
6	Alisha Breen	Montana State Billings	18	2017-18
	Bailey Cartwright	Concordia	18	2017-18
8	Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe	Simon Fraser	17	2010-11
9	Megan Wiedeman	Saint Martin's	16	2015-16
10	Jordan Bell	Alaska Anchorage	15	2001-02
	Rebecca Kielpinski	Alaska Anchorage	15	2006-07
	Brooke Walling	Western Washington	15	2023-24

Energy was high from the opening tip, with the teams trading buckets for the majority of the opening quarter. Chesnut, the GNAC Freshman of the Year, hit her team’s first trey of the game and had three blocked shots in the first six minutes of the contest. Aspen Garrison meanwhile was a force for the Vikings early on, knocking down a pair of shots to produce four points for her team.
 
WWU’s Eden Sanders had a strong offensive board and putback layup with 3:10 to go in the second quarter. She then buried an open look from 3-point range on the next possession, pulling the Vikings within a point down 24-23. A pair of threes ended the half, with WWU’s Stump draining a shot from the wing and MSUB’s Alli Ligocki beating the buzzer to make the score 30-30 after 20 minutes of play. Hodges, the GNAC Newcomer of the Year, picked up her second foul just two minutes into the second quarter, and did not play the remainder of the half.
 
A Chesnut bucket followed by a steal by Brooklynn Brennen and a fastbreak jumper by Tailey Harris gave MSUB its largest lead of the game to that point, up 42-32 midway through the third quarter. The Yellowjackets maintained the spread to the tune of 51-40 by the end of the quarter, moving 10 minutes away from the championship trophy.
 
 
Demi Dykstra brought a crowd of more than 1,000 fans to its feet at the outset of the fourth quarter however, draining a pair of 3-pointers and completing a three-point play to single-handedly bring the Vikings within two points, down 51-49. The game stayed within a single possession into the waning minutes, but the Yellowjackets never relinquished the lead. Another trey by Stump at 4:19 made it 60-59 and a Hodges jumper at 3:38 made it 62-61. But the Yellowjacket defense held the Vikings without scoring the rest of the game to secure the trophy.
 
Dykstra finished with 13 points and a game-high seven assists, and Sander was invaluable to the Vikings’ comeback effort with seven points and six timely rebounds across her 21 minutes off the bench. WWU shot 30.6% (22-for-72) overall, its fourth-lowest shooting performance of the season. After starting just 1-for-8 from 3-point range, WWU rallied to shoot 37.5% (9-for-24) from the arc including making seven of its final 15 threes to fuel the comeback. WWU was hampered by an 8-for-15 performance (53.3%) from the free-throw line. The Vikings out-rebounded the ‘Jackets 46-42.
 
GAME NOTES: Chesnut was just the second underclassman to ever win GNAC Championships MVP honors, joining 2015 winner Kiki Robertson of Alaska Anchorage who was a sophomore…MSUB earned its first win of the season over the Vikings, after falling in each regular-season encounter…WWU made the conference tournament for a record 14th time, moving to 21-10 with Saturday’s defeat…WWU is now 4-7 all-time in the GNAC Championships title contest.
 
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Vikings entered the week ranked second in the NCAA west region, while the Yellowjackets were not regionally ranked. The top-eight teams in the final rankings, which are announced on Sunday, will earn spots in next week’s NCAA West Region Championships hosted by the No. 1 overall seed.