BILLINGS, Mont. - This time, there was no comeback for the Lewis-Clark State College women's basketball team.
After rallying from a double-digit deficit to beat a struggling Frontier Conference team in Montana Western a week ago, the Warriors again found themselves in a big hole against a team that had lost five straight and hadn't won a game in over a month on Thursday night.
Rocky Mountain, however, wasn't about to give up the lead and claimed a 77-66 victory over the fourth-ranked Warriors. The setback knocked LCSC to 2-1 in conference play and 16-2 overall. RMC improves to 1-1 in league and 8-9 overall.
The contest was a lot like LCSC's conference opener at home against Montana Western. LCSC trailed for the most of the game, but rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final five minutes to claim an 83-73 win.
In Thursday night's contest, LCSC trailed by as much as 17 in the first half and 13 in the second half, but rallied to cut the lead to four points in the final three minutes. RMC guard Dani Hosking put a stop to the Warrior comeback by hitting a 3-pointer to make it 71-64 with more than three minutes remaining. LCSC couldn't get closer than five the rest of the way.
Hosking's 3-pointer was only fitting because outside shooting was a big difference in the ballgame. RMC led by 12 at halftime after hitting 5-of-7 3-pointers in the first half while LCSC was 2-of-10. RMC shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, while LCSC was at 30 percent, which enabled the Bears to grab a 36-24 halftime advantage.
For the night, RMC hit 28-of-60 shots for 46.7 percent, and was 7-of-15 at the 3-point line, also for 46.7 percent. LCSC warmed up some in the second half but finished 28-of-70 for 40 percent, but was only 5-of-22 at the 3-point line for 23 percent.
The Warriors shooting woes are evident by the fact they had a 47-36 rebounding advantage, including 17 offensive boards, but were unable to convert.
Two other key areas came at the free-throw line and with turnovers. LCSC was 5-of-8 at the line, while RMC had 18 more attempts and went 14-of-26. LCSC also committed 17 turnovers, while Rocky had 11.
Jasmine Stohr led four Warrior players in double figures with 18 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field. She also had seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. Kenna Reiter and Krisi Voshell added 12 points each. Reiter also had five assists, while Voshell had a game-high nine rebounds. Alyssa Fierro added 11 points and six boards.
Callie Kautzmann led RMC with 22 points, including 15 in the first half. Kautzmann did most of her damage at the 3-point line where she was 4-for-4. Hosking, who finished with three 3-pointers, added 14 points.
The Warriors return to action on Saturday night when they take on Carroll College in Helena, Mont. Tipoff is at 5 p.m., Pacific time.
