LEWISTON, Idaho – Markaela Francis scored a career-high 24 points to lead the No. 18 Rocky Mountain College women’s basketball team to a 66-57 win at No. 23 Lewis-Clark State on Thursday night at the Lewiston Activity Center.
The win marks the first time during the past 14 seasons of available records that Rocky (15-2, 5-2 Frontier) has won in Lewiston. The Battlin’ Bears had dropped 16 straight trips during that time.
Francis led the way on Thursday behind 8 of 16 shooting in 31 minutes off the bench. Her previous high scoring night this season was 14 points. She also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds while making 7 of 8 at the foul line.
Rocky built a 47-42 lead in the final minute of the third quarter, but Lewis-Clark State (12-6, 3-4) went on a 14-5 run to take a 56-52 lead with 6:08 to play. It was all Battlin’ Bears after that as they scored 14 of the game’s final 15 points to earn the win.
The Battlin’ Bears shot 37.3 percent from the field and converted 7 of 24 from beyond the arc. They turned 14 offensive rebounds into 11 points and had 11 assists against 11 turnovers.
Hailee Farstveet added 14 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers during the decisive run at the end. She also led the team with four assists and four steals. Alecis Chamberlin finished with nine points.
Lewis-Clark State shot 39.1 percent overall and made just 4 of 17 from deep. The Warriors committed 17 turnovers that became 15 points for the Battlin’ Bears.
Peyton Souvenir led LCSC with 15 points and four assists.
The win keeps Rocky within one game of the lead in the Frontier Conference. They will now head for Dillon, Mont. where they will face Montana Western on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Rocky’s men opened the road stretch with a 69-55 loss at No. 8 Lewis-Clark State.
Rocky (11-7, 3-4 Frontier) shot 40.7 percent from the floor and struggled behind the arc at 2 of 10. Lewis-Clark State (17-2, 6-1) scored 42 points in the paint to help them shoot 52.9 percent on the night.
The Battlin’ Bears had the game within 26-23 with 7:21 to play before halftime on a 3-pointer from Satchel McDonald. LC State responded to build a 37-29 lead by halftime and then went on a 13-2 run early in the second half to put the lead in double digits for the rest of the game.
Jared Samuelson led Rocky with 14 points on 5 of 13 shooting. He also grabbed a team-best six rebounds and added three assists. This is his 12th straight game scoring in double figures.
Rocky scored 38 points in the paint in defeat and they got eight points from 15 LCSC turnovers. The Battlin’ Bears had 11 assists and committed 13 turnovers.
McDonald added 13 points for Rocky. Latrelle Franklin and Danny Betcher finished with eight points apiece.
The Warriors got a lift of 25 points off the bench and they had a 33-28 edge in rebounds. Race Martin led the home team with 11 points.
Rocky now heads to Dillon, Mont. for a Saturday game at No. 16 Montana Western. Tipoff from Straugh Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
