(RMC release)
DILLON – The 18th-ranked Rocky Mountain College women’s basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Frontier Conference Tournament with a 59-54 win over No. 15 Montana Western on Saturday night at Straugh Gymnasium.
Rocky (23-7) entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed. They trailed No 2-seed Montana Western (24-8) by 12 midway through the third quarter before turning things around. Mikayla Jones hit three 3-pointers to help the Battlin’ Bears on a 22-5 run that put them in front 50-44 with 4:59 to play.
Once Rocky got the lead, they turned to their defense to close out the road win. Western got within 55-51 with 22.7 seconds to play, but Rocky hit 4 of 6 at the foul line and forced three turnovers down the stretch.
Jones finished the night with 19 points behind a 6 of 8 night from beyond the arc. She scored 13 of those points in the second half to help Rocky rally to win.
The Battlin’ Bears shot 46.5 percent from the field and finished 9 of 16 from deep. They added 18 points in the paint and scored 19 points from 15 UMW turnovers. Each team had 26 rebounds.
Hailee Farstveet added 12 points and two assists for Rocky. Justyn Juhl had nine points, including a 3-point-play late in the third quarter to give Rocky the lead.
Brianna King led Western with 32 points.
Rocky will play for the Frontier title on Tuesday in Helena against No. 1-seed Carroll. Two of the three games between the teams this season ended in overtime. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
