CLAREMORE, Okla. – After battling tough for four quarters, the Rogers State women's basketball team came up short in a 61-51 loss to St. Mary's Thursday night at the Claremore Expo Center.
 
After a 5-5 tie early in the first stanza, RSU held the Rattlers scoreless for nearly four minutes and used a 7-0 run to take a 12-5 lead. The Hillcats had a balanced scoring attack in the opening period as six different players scored en route to a 14-8 advantage after one quarter of play.
 
StMU used a pair of three pointers from LaBraile Fields early in the second quarter to move in front with a 15-14 advantage. The Rattlers held RSU to eight points in the frame and limited the Cats to 30 percent shooting in the half to take a 25-22 lead into intermission.
 
Seven-straight points for RSU in the third stanza erased the deficit and briefly put the home side in front 29-27 after Rachel Block capped the run started by Kami Bunch's three pointer. The Rattlers' solid defense helped hold off the Hillcats in the final three minutes of the quarter and took a 37-31 edge. StMU pushed its lead to double figures in the fourth quarter, 47-37, before securing the road win, 61-51.
 
Bunch led RSU in three offensive categories with an eight-point, six-rebound, five-assist performance. Danielle Carr also tallied eight points and five other players scored seven points for the Hillcats.
 
Kiara Etheridge had a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards, while Alysia Porter and Dezirae Elias added 13 and 11 points for the Rattlers.
 
The Hillcats (11-8 Overall, 6-6 HC) return to action Saturday for RSU's annual White Out game against the Dustdevils of Texas A&M International. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. at the Claremore Expo Center. The first 750 fans will receive free white out t-shirts. Watch the game live on the Hillcat Network along with live stats at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.