BUTTE – The Montana Tech women's basketball team held off a late Western charge 62-56 Thursday night.

The Diggers (11-11, 7-8) move into fifth place in the Frontier Conference standings.

Western (14-11, 8-7) still holds the fourth spot and is a likely candidate for hosting a home playoff game.

Both teams struggled shooting early, but Tech would eventually go up and held a 25-20 lead going into halftime.  

Western came out scoring in the second half and putting in the first 10 points. Tech settled in and took the lead back with 9:33 to go in the game. The Dawgs would tie it up once more, but the Diggers held on for the victory.

Kabri Emerson turned in a double-double netting 18 and grabbing 14 rebounds. She also had two assists and a block in 37 minutes on the court.

Mandy Machinal hit 5 of 67 from beyond the arc on her way to 20 points. She also had two assists and a rebound.

Senior Kelsey DeWit had eight points and eight rebounds in a solid effort.

Sammi Bignell led the Dawgs with 17 points and added eight rebounds and a steal to her totals.

Montana Tech concludes the season at home on Saturday against No. 3 Westminster.