FORT SMITH, Ark. – UA Fort Smith proved to be too much for the Rogers State women Saturday inside the Stubblefield Center as the Hillcats fell, 70-50, in the regular season finale.
 
RSU built a five-point lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter with a 5-0 run capped by a 3-point shot at the top of the key by Madison Dearmin. The Hillcats led 5-2 just 3:13 into the contest, but the Lady Lions went on a 9-2 run, building a four-point advantage with less than three minutes to go.
 
Back-to-back baskets by Darian Jackson pulled the Cats even at 11-11 in the final 30 seconds, but a UAFS layup as time expired in the quarter gave the Lady Lions a 13-11 edge.
 
The second quarter wasn't as favorable for the Hillcats as RSU was held to just six points while UAFS totaled 23 points on 44 percent shooting, including 50 percent from 3-point distance.
 
A 2:11 stretch saw RSU held scoreless while UAFS totaled 11 unanswered points in the same stretch culminated by a Maya Perry behind the arc jumper with 3:45 remaining before half, giving the Lady Lions a 30-15 lead. RSU entered the break trailing 36-17 to the Lady Lions as the Hillcats committed 17 turnovers in the first half.
 
UAFS built a lead as large as 34 points to begin the fourth quarter, but RSU tallied 13 unanswered points to cut the Lady Lion margin down to 61-40 as Heather Roberts totaled five points in the scoreless stretch for UAFS.
 
UAFS went on to a 70-50 victory over the Hillcats to sweep the season series with RSU. The Hillcats will enter the Heartland Conference Basketball Tournament as the seventh seed.
 
Madison Dearmin led the way for RSU with a career-high 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point as the Hillcats shot 35 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind the arc. Dearmin reached double figure points for the first time this season and was the lone Hillcat to do so Saturday afternoon.
 
UA Fort Smith (16-12, 10-6 HC) was led by Zhanesha Dickerson with a game-high 18 points, while Tayla Taylor chipped in 12 and Micayla Haynes finished with 11 points. UAFS tallied 14 steals forcing RSU into its second most turnovers this season with 25.
 
Rogers State (8-19, 3-13 HC) will return to action in the Heartland Conference Tournament at the Union Multipurpose Activities Center in Tulsa, Okla. facing No. 2 seed St. Mary's on Thursday, March 2 at 2:30 p.m. RSU Radio 91.3 FM will provide live play-by-play coverage with an audio simulcast available on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.
 
For complete information on the Heartland Conference Basketball Tournament including live stats, video and ticket sales visit http://www.heartlandsports.org/bbchampionship.