(RMC release)
LEWISTON, Idaho - The Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears were swept in a tough Frontier Conference doubleheader at Lewis-Clark State Saturday afternoon.
Outscored 51-23 in the second half, the No. 20 Rocky women fell to the No. 25 Warriors, 82-54. The game remained close initially and the two teams entered halftime tied at 31-31. However, any momentum Rocky might have had stalled in the second half. The Warriors embarked on a 25-8 run through the third period from which the Battlin' Bears never recovered. Rocky trailed by 14 or more points the rest of the way.
The Warriors shot 51.6 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from beyond the arc. Rocky, on the other hand, shot a 36.1 field goal percentage and landed 8-of-23 from beyond the arc.
The Battlin' Bears' Markaela Francis had a team-high 13 points and a team-high 12 rebounds which counts as her ninth double double this season. Kloie Thatcher and Destinee Pointer each posted 12-point performances.
Leading her team in both categories, Lewis-Clark's Kiara Burlage - a Columbia Falls native - scored 19 points with 14 boards.
Rocky's men meanwhile squandered a nine-point halftime lead in a 78-71 loss to the No. 12 Warriors. The Battlin' Bears jumped out to a 21-8 lead, but shot just 8-of-35 from the field in the second half as L-C State came storming back.
Rocky held a slim 68-67 lead with just under five minutes left in the game, but the Warriors finished the game on a 10-3 run to hand the Battlin' Bears their sixth straight conference loss.
Rocky's Clayton Ladine scored a season-high 24 points with seven rebounds while Grant Wallace posted 15 points with seven boards. Sam Vining had nine points and five assists.
The Warriors' Damek Mitchell flirted with a triple double after scoring a team-high 26 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists. Jake Albright also recorded a double double with 13 points and 14 rebounds while Trystan Bradley posted a 11-point performance.
Rocky will return home to face Carroll College in the Fortin Education Center on Jan. 29.
