GREAT FALLS, Mont. – It took a quarter of play for the University of Providence's freshman starters to adjust to the quality and physicality of Frontier Conference play. The Lady Argos adjusted quickly though, to win the team's conference opener 60-52 over Rocky Mountain College.
 
The win already has UP on a better course than the previous year. In 2016-17 the team entered conference play undefeated but then went 1-17 in conference. With the win over Rocky, the 2017-18 squad has already equaled that win total.
 
"It's important for us to get this win. Not only was it important to win, but it was a win over a really good team," Head Coach Bill Himmelberg said. "Rocky has a lot of good pieces. They play hard and they play physical. This win was a big deal."
 
With a true freshman point guard and true freshman post in the starting lineup, a slow start to the first game in one of the toughest conferences in the NAIA was no surprise. UP had 4 turnovers in the first 10 minutes and struggled to score against Rocky's defense.
 
Only 5 of the Lady Argo's shots went down in the period and the team went 0-5 from 3-point range as they ended the first quarter down 17-11.
 
"Rocky played a conference game last night and we haven't played one yet. So, they were ready right away to play physical and play hard and they punched us right in the face," Himmelberg said. "We challenged our girls to match that physical play and that intensity and I think they did that in the next three quarters."
 
The 11 points UP scored in the first quarter would be its lowest point total in any period of the game, and Rocky's 17 first quarter points would be the most points they would score in any period.
 
Freshman  post Parker  Esary made the first 3-point fielder goal of her collegiate career early in the second quarter to pull UP within 1 point but RMC answered back with a run that pushed the lead to 25-16. That was brought back down to a 2 point lead by the time the halftime buzzer hit thanks to 7 points from senior guard Stephanie McDonagh.
 
Rocky held onto a  slip  lead for the first four and half minutes of the second half, but an and-1 finish and free throw from Esary with 5:33 on the third quarter clock gave UP its first lead since the first minute of the game.
 
Things went back-and-forth till the final minute of the quarter when freshman point guard Emilee Maldonado drained a long floater and picked up a foul. That score and free throw put UP ahead 44-43 heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
A pair of free throws to start the fourth quarter briefly gave the Battlin' Bears the lead back but another  finish through  a foul for Esary gave the Lady Argos the lead for good.
 
McDonagh, Esary, and junior  post Tristan  Murphy combined to score all 16 of the team's  fourth quarter  points.
 
Those three were not only big in the final period but all through the second half. In the end, the trio scored 47 of the team's 60 points and 28 of the team's 44 rebounds.
 
McDonagh led all scorers with 22 points, on 10-15 shooting from the field. She added 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists to her totals. Those 3 steals put her 2 steals shy of tying the program record for steals in a career (228).
 
With a  career high  14 rebounds and 12 assists, Esary earned the first double-double of her career. Of those 14 boards, 5 came on the offensive glass, a big reason for the team's 12-3 advantage in second-chance points.
 
Joining Esary in dominating the paint, was Murphy who came off the best to score a  career high  13 points and add 6 rebounds, 1 steals, 1 assists, and 1 block.
 
UP's record improves to 10-1 (1-0) on the year with Carroll College next on the docket. The Lady Argos will host the Saints on Sunday, December 3 at 5:30 p.m. in the McLaughlin Center.