BUTTE, Mont. – After opening the season with a win last night, the 25^th ranked University of Providence women's basketball team came up just short of a comeback victory, falling to Montana Tech 65-61 Tuesday night.

Down by 15 with 8:51 left in the 4^th quarter, the Argos went on a 16-0 run to briefly take the lead. The Orediggers closed the game on a 7-2 run to secure the victory.

"I'm really proud of our team fighting back," Himmelberg said. "We're experienced and we're not going to give up. We got some stops and made some pretty big baskets. It just goes to show you we're going to be alright."

"We had some bad shot selection there towards the end," he said. "We gave ourselves a chance. They played better than us. That's what it comes down too."

Emilee Maldonado led the way for the Argos, recording 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. Kerstyn Pimperton made five three-pointers on her way to scoring 16 points and Parker Esary achieved another a double-double, grabbing 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Orediggers were led by Mesa Williams, who scored 22 points and brought down six rebounds. Brooke Heggie added ten.

The Argos were plagued by turnovers, committing 16 as a team. They also suffered a few defensive lapses, allowing the Orediggers to shoot 42.1% from the field.

 "I was disappointed in the number of the turnovers we had tonight," Himmelberg said. "We had 16, and 9 in the first half. That's just too many. We got to get that number down if we want a chance."

The Argos will have a three-day break before hitting the court again. They'll have their home-opener against #6 Carroll on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 5 p.m.

The Frontier Conference is still adhering to the no-spectator policy. The University of Providence athletic department will stream the game free of charge at upargos.com.