SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Rogers State women's basketball team suffered a 78-69 loss at St. Mary's inside the Bill Greehey Arena Saturday afternoon.
RSU kicked off the second frame with consecutive buckets, thanks to a layup by Katy Harsen and a trey by Mikaila Newton, to knot the score at 32-32. The Rattlers used an 11-3 run to take a nine point lead with 12:30 to play in the game. With less than six minutes to play, RSU clawed within two points with a pair of made free throws by Breanna Burford. However, StMU followed with an 11-2 run to push the lead to 11 points, the largest lead of the game, with 2:39 to play. The double digit lead gave the Rattlers enough cushion to cling to the lead for the duration on the game and claim the win.
In the first frame, the score was tied on four occasions with RSU taking their first lead at the 7:27 mark with a pair of made free throws by Clarissa Cannon. RSU pushed the lead to five points with a 3-pointer by Burford. StMU finished the half on a 10-4 run to take a five point lead into the locker room at intermission.
Harsen led RSU in scoring with 18 points on the afternoon. Four other Hillcats finished in double digit scoring with Cannon tallying 12 points, Newton and DaNara Day registering 11 points apiece while Burford rounded out the group with 10 points. RSU shot 32 percent from the field on the day, with 10 treys on the afternoon. The team shot 86 percent from the charity stripe.
Jackie Woods scored a game-high 23 points, followed by Morgan Pullins with 20 points. The Rattlers shot 46 percent from the field, 33 percent from 3-point range and 66 percent from the free throw line. RSU edged the battle on the boards 38-36.
Rogers State (3-9) will return to action on December 31 for a New Year's Eve matinée against Mid-America Christian at 3 p.m. inside the Claremore Expo. RSU Radio 91.3FM will provide live broadcast of the action. The Hillcat Network (www.rsuhillcats.com/live) will provide a live audio simulcast of the action along with audio streaming provided at www.rsuradio.com.
