GREAT FALLS — The Frontier Conference basketball tournament semifinals hit the floor at the Four Seasons Arena Monday afternoon, with women's contests featuring the No. 6 seeded MSU-Northern Skylights playing top-seeded Rocky, as well third seed Carroll facing No. 2 Providence.
On the heels of a 76-73 upset over Montana Tech Sunday, MSU-Northern looked to carry over that momentum in to the semifinals and it showed early on as the Skylights would lead by as much 10 in the second quarter.
But the Battlin' Bears battled back, and took command of the second half after trailing by four at the break. Rocky moves on the final by a score of 61-51.
Fresno State transfer and Froid-Lake product Sydney Dethman led the Bears with 25 points and seven rebounds. Fellow Montana native Gracee Lekvold provided 14 points of her own.
In the second semifinal, it was another rematch of a national semifinal from last season between the nationally No. 21 Argos and Fighting Saints. The game would be tight until halftime, until Providence used a 23-point third quarter to go up by as much as 14 early in the fourth.
Carroll wouldn't quit though, cutting the lead to two points with under 20 seconds left. But the Argos were able to hit late free throws to hold on for a 59-55 win.
Providence was led by Keanna Salave'a's 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Carroll's Willa Albrecht kept her team in it with a 26-point performance.
The Bears and Argos will square off in Tuesday's championship at 5 p.m. with an automatic berth in the NAIA national tournament on the line. For highlights, view the above video player.
