Big run lifts #17 RMC over BU

BILLINGS, Mont. -- A 19-0 scoring run that spanned the second and third quarters was too much for the Bellevue University women's basketball team to overcome as the Bruins fell 72-58 to Rocky Mountain College on Friday evening in a Frontier Conference game at the Fortin Education Center.

With the loss, the Bruins drop to 6-7 overall and 2-6 in Frontier Conference play. Rocky Mountain ups their overall mark to 9-5, improving to 6-2 in league action.

How It Happened:

Bellevue turned Rocky over five times in the first quarter to stay close despite hitting on just 4-16 shot attempts and RMC knocking down 4-13 attempts. The Battlin' Bears led 12-11 after 10 minutes of play with Paige Wasson scoring eight points in the opening period.

Jhanel Coleman scored a layup to open the second quarter to give the Bruins a lead and Wasson answered with a three-pointer before an 8-0 BU run capped by an off-balanced heave at the shot clock buzzer that Drasoni Kyles knocked down and also featured threes from Kyles and Dru Zoucha as the Bruins took a 21-15 lead.

Rocky responded with a 16-0 scoring run to close the half. That run included eight points and two more triples from Wasson as the Battlin' Bears took a 31-21 lead into the locker room. Wasson led all players with 19 points in the half. Kyles led BU with five while Coleman and Zakiyyah Muhammad chipped in four each.

The Bruin offense found some rhythm in the third quarter, accounting for 15 points and shooting 38% from the floor in the period. Despite the Bruins' best offensive quarter to that point, Rocky extended their lead to 15 points on a layup from Taylan Black with 33 seconds to play as the Battlin' Bears lead 51-36 headed into the fourth quarter.

Bellevue and Rocky traded jabs in the opening couple minutes of the fourth quarter before RMC put the game away with an 10-0 run to stretch their advantage to 23 points, 70-47 with 3:42 to go before hanging on for a 14-point victory.

Top Performers:

Bellevue University

Dru Zoucha – 14 points (5-7 FG), 4-6 3-FG, 2 assists
Drasoni Kyles – 12 points (5-13 FG), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals
Zakiyyah Muhammad – 9 points (3-6 FG), 4 rebounds
Emma Russell – 9 points, 3-5 3-FG

Rocky Mountain College

Isabelle Heggem – 26 points (8-16 FG), 4-7 3-FG, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks
Paige Wasson – 24 points (8-15 FG), 5-9 3-FG, 12 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks
Lexy Burnham – 10 points (4-9 FG), 5 rebounds, 2 assists

Inside the Numbers:

Rocky out-shot Bellevue 39-34% and made 13-17 free throws. Bellevue was 7-12 at the charity stripe.

Both teams drilled 11 three-pointers with Rocky hitting at a 44% rate and BU converting at a 38% clip.

RMC out-rebounded Bellevue 44-27, including a 16-4 advantage on the offensive glass that led to a 25-7 edge in second chance points.

Lexy Burnham's 10 points were a season high. She came into the night averaging 0.9 per game on the season.

Up Next:

Bellevue plays their fourth-straight road game tomorrow when they travel to Helena, Mont. for a 6 p.m. tip at #24-ranked Carroll College.