GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence women's basketball team opens Frontier Conference play against Rocky Mountain College tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the McLaughlin Center.

The Argos (6-1) got off to a hot start in non-conference play, only dropping a close game to #4 Vanguard. In Wednesday's poll, they received a ranking of #19, down two spots from their preseason ranking of #17.

"I thought we learned a lot in our loss to Vanguard," head coach Bill Himmelberg said. "I think we're getting better and better every day. I like how we're playing with pace and tempo. Defensively, I think we've stepped it up and continued to get better and better. Right now, with where we're at in the season, I'm really pleased with what we have in. It's time for us to have a good conference test and see what we need to improve on in the future."

The Argos will open up Frontier Conference play against Rocky Mountain College (5-1). To prepare for the physicality of the conference, Himmelberg has had some players from the men's basketball team play against his team.

"They are super physical with us and that's extremely beneficial to us," Himmelberg said. "If we can do good against them in practice it can help simulate what the conference is going to be like. For us that's a big piece of getting ready."

The Battlin' Bears suffered their only loss of the season in Great Falls to the University of Calgary in their opening season tournament. The Bears are led by Markaela Francis, who is averaging 17.3 ppg and 11.3 rpg. They'll also have to watch out for Kloie Thatcher, the point guard for the Battlin' Bears who is averaging 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists a game. New to the scouting report is Destinee Pointer, a transfer from Chicago State.

"Markaela is a great player in the post," Himmelberg said. "She is going to be a tough matchup for us. That's going to be a fun head to head, Parker against Markaela. Kloie Thatcher, their point guard is solid. She takes care of the basketball and can shoot it. Destinee is really athletic, gets to the rim and finishes strong."

On Saturday, the Argos will travel to Dillon, Montana to take on the defending National Champions Montana-Western, who is receiving votes in the National Poll.

"Top to bottom they're just solid," Himmelberg said. "They have a little bit of an edge to them. They play hard. All their girls can shoot it, all their girls can drive it well to the rim. They execute their stuff perfectly every time. If you make a mistake they're going to make you pay for it."

Despite the challenge ahead of them this weekend, Himmelberg feels prepared.

"We're healthy and everyone's ready to go," he said. "We've had good practices. Our girls have been shooting the ball really well so hopefully that will translate into this weekend. We're looking forward to it."