Jason Walker, UP Sports Information Director 

Bozeman, Mont. - The University of Providence women put up a fight Monday but fell at the defending Big Sky Conference champion Montana State 78-31 in an exhibition game for the Argos. The game was the field trip game for MSU and more than 5,200 elementary and grade school students were in attendance.

Delaney Pink and Brooklyn Harn each scored nine for Providence which was down 10 after one quarter and trailed 31-10 at halftime. MSU outscored the Argo women 47-21 in the second half to start the year 1-0.  

Harn also had a team high six rebounds for the Argos who grabbed the same number of rebounds as the Bobcats with each getting 36. Providence shot 11-48 from the field including just 2-19 from 3-point range. 28 Argo turnovers led to 31 MSU points. The Bobcats also had a distinctive advantage in the paint, outscoring UP 48-10 down low.  

Grace Beasley (17), Darian White (12), and Dylan Phillip (10) all scored in double figures for Montana State. MSU finished the game shooting 50% from the floor (32-64).  

"I thought our kids played really hard," said Head Coach Bill Himmelberg. "The Bobcats are really good. They're big, they're physical and they are strong. I thought our kids came out and competed. Things got a little away from us with turnovers, especially in the third quarter. We played everybody today. We came out healthy for the most part and pleased with how we got better today." 

Providence, 3-1 on the season, returns home Saturday to face Campbellsville-Harrodsburg. The Pioneers are led by Great Falls native Brian Tribble and play Monday, Tuesday, Thursday in Kentucky this week, before getting on a 6 AM flight to the Electric City Friday morning. The team will then drive to Havre to play MSU-Northern Friday night, then drive back to Great Falls that night to play at the McLaughlin Center Saturday.  

The game will start at 5 PM and can be viewed online at www.upargos.com.