BILLINGS, Mont. – No. T-18 Argo women's basketball couldn't rally in the second half to overcome six-point first-half deficit as they fell on Friday to the Rocky Mountain Battlin' Bears, 67-60.
 
Jenna Randich led all scorers as she tallied 21 points, while also collecting five boards, two assists and a block. Emilee Maldonado and Tristan Murphy also tallied double-digit point totals with 12 apiece. Murphy narrowly missed a double-double as she grabbed nine boards. Parker Esary also almost earned a double-double as well, knocking down nine points and grabbing eight rebounds.
 
The first period was equally matched as they Argos got on the board first, before the Battlin' Bears tied things up at 2. The Argos would lead early, but Rocky was able to even things once more at 10 apiece with less than three minutes remaining in the period. Maldonado knocked down a two to close out the first half with a 12-10 Argo lead. The Argos controlled the advantage for half of the second period until a two from Rocky's Marissa Vanatta put the Battlin' Bears up by one, 21-20. Rocky would maintain the lead as they outscored the Argos 9-4 to head into the locker room with a six-point advantage.
 
The Argos came out of the break to retake the lead 33-32 at the 4:52 mark as Maldonado scored seven points in a row to bring the Argos within one, followed by a jumper from Molly Schmitz to give the Argos the advantage. Rocky would close the gap to take a one-point lead at 36-35, before the teams would trade field goals, but the Battlin' Bears closed the match on an 8-2 run to take a seven-point lead headed into the final 10 minutes.
 
The Battlin' Bears pushed the lead to double-digits to open the final period, but the Argos wouldn't get closer than six as Rocky would eventually take the 67-60 victory.
 
Up Next
The Argos return to Great Falls as they host the University of Alberta Augustana on December 7 at 5:30 p.m.