DILLON, Mont. – The No. 20 University of Providence Argos battled with the Frontier Conference's leading scorer but struggled to overcome a double-digit first-period deficit, falling to the No. 3 Montana Western Bulldogs on Saturday evening, 82-74.
 
Senior Tristan Murphy and sophomores Emilee Maldonado and Parker Esary combined for 46 points. Esary notched a double-double in the contest as she collected a game-high 13 rebounds, while also tallying two assists in the contest.
 
The Argos struggled to stop the Frontier Conference's leading scorer in Briana King as she and Tori Anderson combined for 62 points. King also collected a game-high five steals and two blocks, leading in both categories.
 
The Argos got on the board first, but the Bulldogs went on a 12-3 run to grab a seven-point lead with less than five minutes to go. The Bulldogs would eventually extend their lead to double-digits following a 10-5 run, 22-10. The Argos would cut the deficit down to 11 before closing out the period on a 5-4 run, 26-15.
 
Over six minutes into the second period, the Bulldogs slowly pushed their lead to 18, 38-20, but the Argos rallied to outscore Western 11-3 and cut the deficit down to 10 with a minute and a half remaining, 41-31. The Bulldogs would net one more layup to close the half with a 12-point advantage, 43-31.
 
The Argos were able to cut the Bulldogs lead back to single-digits halfway through the third period following a 12-8 run. The Argos were able to keep the deficit at eight through the next three minutes of clock as Emilee Maldonado connected on a layup to make it 58-50 with two minutes to go in the quarter. Western was able to net five unanswered to close the period and push the lead back to 13, 63-50.
 
Western would lead by as much as 16, 71-55, at the 8:25-minute mark but the Argos would rally over the following five minutes of clock to outscore the Bulldogs 14-3 and bring the game within five, 74-69. Western netted five unanswered to push the game back to 10. Kerstyn Pimperton would nail a three and Maldonado would net a layup, but it wasn't enough as Western would eventually take the 82-74 victory.
 
Up Next
The Argos will return to the McLaughlin Center on Thursday, January 24 as they host the MSU-Northern Skylights at 5:30 p.m.