For the first official games of the season, things couldn’t have gone any better for the Montana State Billings men’s and women’s basketball programs.

The Yellowjacket women won three games in the span of seven days, all by double digits.

The MSUB men opened with a pair of close wins, both times needing 72 points.

The Yellowjacket men showed more depth than last season and head coach George Pfeifer isn’t afraid to go to his bench to find the right combination.

And when the game was on the line, Pfeifer put the ball in the hands of point guard DaVell Jackson.

Jackson hit the game-winner against Chadron State, scoring on a reverse layup with four seconds left to play. Three nights later, Jackson was in the same situation, dribbling the ball at the top of the key with MSUB nursing a one-point lead and the clock ticking away.

While the play didn’t go as planned, Derrick Wright missed a short shot, Brad Hodge crashed through traffic for the put-back to clinch the win.

“I think we’re salty,’’ said Pfeifer of this year’s team. “This is a group that will compete and get after people.’’

Jackson scored a team-high 17 points in the opener against Chadron State, along with three assists, two steals and four rebounds. He followed it with 10 points, eight assists, seven steals and four rebounds against Mary.

“He can fill a stat sheet,’’ Pfeifer said.

And with nine new players on the roster, the upside remains high for the Yellowjackets.

“This group can get better,’’ added Pfeifer. “This group hasn’t found anywhere near its ceiling. But now, we all have to buy into that.’’

• • •

Nate Kaeding, they hardly knew ya.

Kaeding was an assistant coach for the MSUB men during the months of July, August, September and early October.

But when the opportunity came up for him to return to Southwest Minnesota State — with a big bump in pay and a better title — Kaeding left the Yellowjackets right before official practices began Oct. 15.

Pfeifer and assistant Justin Wetzel are the program’s only two coaches this season.

Pfeifer thought about hiring another assistant coach but opted to increase Wetzel’s pay with the money left over from Kaeding’s departure.

“We looked at the time and score,’’ said Pfeifer of the immediacy of the season. “We couldn’t find anybody better than Justin Wetzel to go full-time. Nobody works harder and longer than Justin and I think I put in long hours. It was a good decision.’’

• •  •

The first opponent learned the hard way.

Don’t play zone defense against the MSUB women.

Colorado-Colorado Springs sat in a zone and the Yellowjackets dropped 16 3-pointers in the 24-point victory. Sophomore shooting guard Kalli Stanhope made a school-record eight in the game.

That was on a Sunday. By Saturday and out of necessity, Stanhope was the point guard for MSUB.

Stanhope had to change positions because of a knee injury to Shantell Marquis. Marquis suffered a torn ACL during a collision in the mid-week game against the University of Mary.

The result didn’t change as MSUB posted another win.

“I like our versatility,’’ said Yellowjacket head coach Kevin Woodin. “We have a lot of players who can play multiple positions.’’

With Kayla Ryan the only starter 6-foot or taller, this year’s emphasis is on speed and the ability to shoot the basketball.

“This team is very unselfish,’’ Woodin said. “They are willing to make the extra pass to a teammate and are good at finding the hot hand.’’

Ten different Yellowjackets have registered assists this season and six have made at least one 3-pointer.

However, the lack of size could be a concern against the taller teams from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

“We can’t worry about matchups against other teams. We have to make them worry about matching up with us,’’ said Woodin. “We’ve played up-tempo and it’s easier to play that way when you’re at home. The challenge will be when we’re on the road.’’