BILLINGS — The Rocky Mountain College men's and women's basketball teams picked up Frontier Conference victories against Providence on Saturday night inside the Fortin Center.
The No. 23-ranked Rocky women built a big first-half lead before holding on late, while the 11th-ranked Rocky men made it a baker's dozen of consecutive victories.
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Rocky women 91, Providence 81
The Rocky Mountain College women raced out to an 18-point halftime lead before holding off a late Providence surge for a 91-81 win.
Rocky jumped on Providence, taking a 29-12 lead after the opening quarter. Midway through the third quarter, though, the Argos began making a run at Rocky's lead, which grew as big as 23 early in the second half.
Providence trimmed it inside single digits several times in the fourth quarter and were within five, 86-81, with 90 seconds to play before the Battlin' Bears were able to finally put the game away on a Brenna Linse layup followed by a Tailyn Black 3-pointer.
Rocky had a trio of players cross the 20-point threshold on Friday night. Paige Wasson led all scorers with 25 points, while Isabelle Heggem added 24 and Linse finished with 21. Heggem also added 13 rebounds and eight assists. Brooke Dial led Providence with 22 points.
The win improves Rocky's record to a perfect 12-0 at home this season. The Bears are now 18-8 overall and 15-5 in the Frontier Conference. Providence is now 15-11 overall and 11-9 in conferene play.
Rocky men 77, Providence 61
The Rocky men never trailed Providence on Friday night, as the 11th-ranked Battlin' Bears picked up their 13th consecutive victory, 77-61.
Rocky, which has been one of the best defensive teams in the Frontier Conference all season long, again flexed its muscle on that side of the ball Friday evening. The Bears held Providence to just 23 first-half points and allowed the Argos to shoot just 36.4% for the game.
Jacob Bilodeau led Rocky with 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting. He also hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
The win moves Rocky's record to 23-3 overall and 18-2 in the Frontier Conference. With Bellevue's loss to Montana Western on Saturday night, Rocky clinched the Frontier's regular season crown for the first time since 2014. Providence is now 5-20 on the season and 5-14 in conference play.
