BUTTE — Jeff Graham's tenure as the Montana Tech head women's basketball coach started with a bang on Friday against Dickinson State.
Aubrie Rademacher scored a team-high 14 points and hit a go-ahead layup with two seconds remaining in overtime as the Orediggers outlasted the Blue Hawks 61-59 to give the former Belt coach a victory in his first game with Tech.
DSU (3-1 overall) was dealt its first loss of the season.
The Orediggers led by as many as 13 points in the first half before DSU outscored Tech 12-2 in the third quarter to make it a one possession game. Dickinson State's McKenzie Johnson then hit a tying jump shot with 16 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
Rademacher had six rebounds to go with her 14 points. Dani Urick, who played for Graham at Belt, added 12 points and Macy Mayer came up just short of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Tavia Rooney had nine points and seven rebounds.
The Blue Hawks were led by a double-double from Samantha Oase who poured in a game-high 23 points and racked up 15 rebounds. McKenzie Johnson added 13 points for DSU.
The win over DSU was Tech's first and only home game in November. The Orediggers travel to MSU-Billings on Monday, then play six more away games before opening Frontier Conference play at home against Rocky Mountain College on December 1.
