BILLINGS, Mont. – The #22 University of Providence women's basketball team got their second straight win over a ranked opponent, defeating #15 Rocky Mountain College 57-55 Saturday afternoon in Billings. The win moves the Argos (18-3, 5-1) into a tie with the Battlin' Bears (15-2, 5-1) for first place in the Frontier Conference standings.

The Argos had a nine-point lead heading into the final quarter, but the Battlin' Bears came storming back cutting the lead to two off a McKenzie Dethman layup with 43 seconds remaining. Both sides committed three straight turnovers, giving the Bears the ball with 20 seconds on the clock. N'Dea Flye missed a jumper with five seconds left and a Parker Esary rebound sealed the Argos victory.

"Our five-year seniors made the difference," assistant coach JC Isakson said. "Emilee leads the country in minutes. She's played a lot of basketball. Parker's played a lot of basketball. They don't panic. It's a testament to Coach Himmelberg and having them ready throughout all these years. They're well-trained basketball players. Their leadership carried us down the stretch. We're facing some adversity in our program right now and they stepped up and handled their business."

Four Argos scored in double-figures in the win, with Emilee Maldonado leading the way with 16 points and five rebounds. Maddy Dixon added 12 points and seven rebounds for the squad, and knocked down all three of her three-point attempts. Brooklyn Harn added 11 points for the Argos, while Parker Esary finished with 10 points and eight boards.

"Maddy was the key tonight," Isakson said. "She hasn't been shooting the ball very well and we told her that we had to make other teams pay for that. She made them pay and also got some rebounds. Brooklyn did her thing off the bench. We know what we're going to get from Parker and Emilee, it's just different girls stepping up every night. That's how we're going to win."

Defense was also a big part of the team's success. The Bears shot just 35% from the field, including 15% from beyond the arc. They also held NAIA National Player of the Week N'Dea Flye to 14 points on 6/23 shooting. Kloie Thatcher and Dethman added 10 points for the Bears.

"Flye is an unbelievable athlete," Isakson said. "We knew that she's going to get hers and we just wanted to make her work for it. She got in foul trouble early so that helped us. In the second half we knew she was going to try to take over the game. Reed is an exceptional athlete as well and she did an unbelievable job on her making it difficult."

The win over the Battlin' Bears marks the ninth straight win for the squad. The winning streak now includes four wins over ranked opponents, including over #6 Carroll on Thursday.

"It was a huge week, but they're all huge weeks," Isakson said. "It's a short walk from the penthouse to the outhouse. We're in the penthouse so we're going to enjoy that tonight, but next week we have to be focused because every single weekend in the Frontier Conference is a big weekend. If you let your guard down, somebody is going to get you. It was a big weekend for us and we're going to enjoy that right now, but they're all big."

The Argos will go for their tenth straight win on Thursday, Jan. 20 in Havre, Mont. against Montana State-Northern. Tip off will occur at 5:00 p.m.