BUTTE, Mont. – The No. 13 Argos (13-5, 2-4) struggled to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit as they fell to the Montana Tech Orediggers (11-5, 1-4) in a road tilt on Thursday evening, 74-63.
 
Emilee Maldonado was a huge offensive weapon for the Argos as she led all scorers with 22 points, while teammate Tristan Murphy was close to collecting a double-double with 20 points and grabbed a game-high nine boards. Maldonado also collected a game-high five assists, along with one rebound and a steal.
 
Mesa Williams led the Orediggers with a team-high 20 points, adding six boards, two assists, and two steals. Tech was led defensively by Kaylee Zard who pulled down eight rebounds, swatted away two balls, and garnered a steal.
 
The first period opened up as the Argos traded field goals with the Orediggers to a 4-4 tie. The Argos tallied five-straight to grab a 9-4 lead, but the Orediggers responded with five of their own to tie things up once more at nine all. Murphy netted two jumpers, while the Orediggers only tallied a pair of free throws to make it, 13-11, however Tech scored five unanswered to close out the period with a three-point advantage.
 
The second period open with a Murphy field goal to cut the deficit to one, 16-15. However, the Orediggers kept finding an answer to the Argos as they wouldn't relinquish the lead and eventually would take a double-digit lead into the break, 35-25.
 
Montana Tech maintained a double-digit advantage through most of the third period, extending their lead to 18 at the 5-minute mark, 51-33. However, the Argos went on a 13-2 run over the final five minutes of the period to head into the final 10 minutes only down by seven, 53-46.
 
A Maldonado three and a free throw from Molly Schmitz cut the deficit down to three to open the final period, 53-50. The Orediggers responded with a 9-2 run to retake a 10-point lead, 62-52. Providence would bring the game within five with a little less than two minutes to go, 66-61, but the Orediggers would close the game out on an 8-2 run to take the win, 74-63.
 
Up Next
The Argos will remain on the road as they head to the Gem State on Thursday, January 17 to take on the Lewis-Clark Warriors at 6:30 p.m. MST.