ODESSA, Texas - The Rogers State women's basketball team's comeback bid fell short on Saturday afternoon as Texas-Permian Basin tallied a 78-66 Heartland Conference win at the Falcon Dome.
Katy Harsen tallied her 19th double digit scoring effort of the season with a game-high 25 points but the Hillcats were unable to overcome a 24 point second half deficit as the Falcons led wire-to-wire in the win. RSU chipped away at the deficit over the final nine minutes of the contest and cut the UTPB lead to nine points with less than two minutes to play with a Kami Bunch layup. Hoping to spark momentum in the final minute of the game, Harsen cut the Falcon lead to seven with a trey but RSU ran out of time as UTPB tallied the final five points of the game.
The Falcons started strong with a 10-0 run to open the frame but RSU battled its way back into the game, cutting the deficit to three points with nine minutes to play in the first thanks to a 6-2 run fueled by Harsen who tallied consecutive layups and converted two free throws. The Falcons tallied a 12-0 spurt to push their lead to 15 points and held the double digit advantage throughout the final two minutes of the half. RSU trailed by 16 points at intermission.
Harsen was joined in double figures by DaNara Day with 12 points and Clarissa Cannon with 11 points. The Hillcats struggled on offense, shooting 31.7 percent from the field, 20 percent from long distance and 57.1 percent from the charity stripe. However, RSU nabbed 14 steals on the day, led by Harsen with five, leading to 28 Falcon turnovers.
Valerie Barriga led the Falcons with 17 points and UTPB won the battle on the boards, 42-38.
Rogers State (7-14, 4-11) returns to action on Thursday as the Hillcats host St. Mary's at 5:30 p.m. First 750 fans in attendance receive a free "White Out" shirt. The game will be streamed live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live and on RSU Radio 91.3 FM.
