(RMC Athletics release)
GREAT FALLS – The 12th-ranked Rocky Mountain College women’s basketball team suffered a tough 73-65 loss at Providence on Friday night in Frontier Conference action in the McLaughlin Center.
The loss hurts Rocky’s chances at a Frontier Conference title as they fall to 20-5 overall and 10-5 in conference play. They also drop the season series to Providence (17-9, 8-7 Frontier) with a second loss this season in Great Falls.
The Battlin’ Bears held a 19-16 lead after the first quarter, but the Argos put a 12-3 run together in the second quarter to help them lead 35-30 at halftime. Rocky would get the lead back at 52-50 with 8:49 to play in regulation when Providence ran off seven straight points to take the lead back that they never gave up.
Rocky ended the game shooting 42.6 percent from the floor with 40 points in the paint. They shot just 39.4 percent in the second half and went 2 of 12 from beyond the arc in the game.
Mikayla Jones led Rocky with 23 points on a 10 for 20 shooting night. Alecia Chamberlin added 14 points and Hailee Farstveet scored 10.
Providence shot 44.0 percent and went 18 of 23 from the foul line. They had a 42-27 advantage in rebounds with 14 points on 12 offensive rebounds.
Rocky committed just seven turnovers and they scored 12 points from the 17 Argos turnovers.
Stephanie McDonagh of Providence led all scorers with 25 points and Jenna Randich added 20.
The Battlin’ Bears will now head to Havre for a Saturday night contest against MSU-Northern. Tipoff from the Armory Gymnasium is scheduled for 6 p.m.
