Jason Walker, University of Providence Sports Information
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - If there were any jitters between the players in the first game of the Frontier Conference Tournament Sunday, it was not evident as the University of Providence and Montana Tech battled in the opening round at Four Seasons Arena. Providence would withstand a late Oredigger rally to post a 68-58 victory.
Both teams traded blows in the first quarter with Dani Urick opening the scoring for the Orediggers, followed by a Brooklyn Harn three-pointer as the back-and-forth play continued with the Argos taking an 18-16 lead after the first 10 minutes.
The second quarter saw Harn make two quick threes to give the Argos a 26-16 lead and Providence increased the lead to as many as 19. The Argos also outrebounded Tech 17-5 in the first half and outscored the Orediggers 24-7 to turn a close game into a rout.
Montana Tech would respond with a 19-10 advantage in the third quarter to trim the lead to 10 after a Liv Wangerin triple to end the period. In the fourth, the Orediggers would close to within seven less than 30 seconds into the quarter thanks to an old-fashioned three-point play. McKenna Reggear made two free throws to make the lead nine again with nine minutes remaining. The lead shrank to six with 8:27 left in the game, before Providence received back-to-back buckets from Maddy Dixon to pick up the 10-point win.
Montana Tech (7-19, 3-12) finished the game shooting 22 of 56 (39.3%) including a 4 of 17 effort from the three-point line and 10-13 at the free throw line. Tavia Rooney led the Orediggers with 16 points and six rebounds. Dani Urick ended the game with 13 points, adding five rebounds.
Providence shot 19 of 61 (31.1%), seven of 19 from deep and made 23 of 29 free throws. Harn had a game-high 17 points with 10 rebounds. Reed Hazard added 14 points and seven assists. Dixon and Kenedy Cartwright each scored 12 in the win. The Argos ended with a 38-20 advantage on the glass including a 15-2 offensive rebound margin.
The Argos advance to Monday's Frontier Conference Semi-Final against No. 11-ranked and top seed Carroll College. The Saints defeated the Argos in three regular-season games. Live stats, live streaming and more will be available at www.upargos.com.
