Dickinson, N.D. – A furious fourth quarter comeback came up just short, as Dickinson State got double-digit scoring efforts from five players to put a scare into #14 Rocky Mountain College but fell 81-74.
Katherine Fox led the Blue Hawks with 13 points and 6 rebounds on 4-10 shooting, while Heather LaBree and Kayden Steele each added 11. Tinley Pierson and Whitney Edwards each chipped in 10 for the final double figure scorers.
Leading 24-19 after one quarter, DSU withstood a Rocky Mountain barrage in the second quarter, led by the game's leading scorer Morgan Baird (28 points), to head into the halftime break tied, 35-35.
In the third quarter, the depth and size of the visiting Battlin' Bears looked to wear down the Blue Hawks, who were playing without Samantha Oase, as they outscored DSU 27-12 in the frame to take a commanding 15-point lead into the final 10 minutes.
The lead stretched to 19 early in the fourth, and the Blue Hawks did not score their first points until just 7:48 remained in the game. A pair of free throws by Pierson, and three pointers by Fox and Teagan Townsend made it 68-55 with 3:37 to go, but the Bears responded with a pair of field goals sandwiched around an Edwards bucket to hold a 15-point edge with just 2:44 to go.
At that point, the Blue Hawks caught fire, going on a lightning quick 9-0 run to make it a six-point game just a minute later. They got within 5, 76-71, on a contested three from Kyrie Alldredge, but would get no closer as several good looks wouldn't drop and RMC sealed the win with free throws down the stretch.
