SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — Rocky Mountain College bowed out of the NAIA women's basketball tournament Friday with an 89-79 loss to St. Francis (Ill.) in a first-round game at DeWitt Gymnasium.
The ninth-seeded Battlin' Bears shot 43.1% and made 12 3-pointers but it wasn't enough to combat the Fighting Saints' hot shooting.
St. Francis' Le'lani Harris poured in 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting to help her team push past Rocky in a high-scoring game.
The Bears put four players in double-figure scoring, led by Paige Wasson's 20 points and six 3s. Sydney Dethman had 19 points and six rebounds while Gracee Lekvold scored 13 points and added five rebounds and eight assists.
Eighth-seeded St. Francis got 13 points, six rebounds and seven assists from Tykara Harrison, while Symone Harrell added 12 points and seven rebounds. St. Francis shot 48.4% and made a team total of 15 3-pointers.
Rocky, which won the Frontier Conference regular-season title, finished its season with a 20-11 record. St. Francis, now 25-7, advances to the second round with a chance to move on to the tournament's final site in Sioux City, Iowa.
