GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence women's basketball team fell to Southeastern 91-68 in their season opener on Thursday.

Things were pretty even in the first half, but a late run by the Fire (1-0) gave them a 10 point advantage at halftime. They put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring the Argos (0-1) 27-13, on their way to victory.

"Southeastern looked really good," head coach Bill Himmelberg said. "They were physical. They came out and punched us in the mouth. We didn't match their physicality. They're just a really good team."

Frontier Conference Preseason Player of the Year Emilee Maldonado led the way for the Argos, recording 19 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals. Parker Esary added 18 points and eight rebounds. Maddy Dixon recorded 10 points and seven rebounds while Reed Hazard also scored 10 points and pulled down five boards.

The Fire had five players score in double-figures, led by the two-headed monster of Marta Aranda and Angela Perry, who scored 17 a piece. Reagan Linster and Leilah Vigil added 12, while Haley Howarth added 10. As a team, the Fire shot 15/31 from beyond the arc and outrebounded the Argos 37-29.

The Argos will have to shake this one off quickly, as they'll play four road games next week during fall break. They'll kick off the road trip with a game against Embry-Riddle next Monday at 6:30 p.m. MTN.

"Now we have to go on the road and continue to get better," Himmelberg said. "There is a lot of stuff that we can watch on film and clean up. We have an older team and it's not their first loss ever. They're going to be okay. We're going to jump right back into it and clean some things up."