GREAT FALLS, Mont.  – The season stops in the first round of the Frontier Conference Tournament for the Montana Tech women's basketball team. Montana Western surged in the second half to move on to the next round. The Orediggers fall to the Bulldogs 69-47. 

The first bucket didn't come until the 6:08 mark in the first quarter when Aubrie Rademacher hit a layup followed by three straight three-pointers from Ally Cleverly, Rademacher, and Brooklynn Hankwitz. The Oredigger charge put them up 11-3 with less than two minutes coming off the clock. 

Tech finished out the frame with an 18-6 lead. The Orediggers shot 50% from the field and hit 4 for 8 from deep. The Bulldogs went just 1 for 9 from the field in the first quarter. 

The Bulldogs picked up the pace in the second quarter as the Orediggers cooled. But Tech held a 26-21 lead going into halftime. 

The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 15-5 run in the first five minutes. That momentum took them to the end of the game as Western put 48 points on the board in the second half. 

Tech finished shooting 30.4% from the field and went 8 for 23 from beyond the arc. 

Western shot 62.5% from the field in the second half and 48.2% from the field in the game. 

The Orediggers committed 19 turnovers and the Bulldogs were able to convert them into 19 points. The Bulldogs 14 steals. 

Hankwitz led the Orediggers with 14 points while going 3 for 5 from three-point range. She finished with 4 rebounds and a block. 

Cleverly had 11 points coming off the bench. She led the Oredigger bench that produced 20 points. 

Rademacher finished with 8 points and 3 rebounds. 

Liv Wangerin led the Orediggers in rebounds with 7. Wangerin also had 5 points, 4 assists and 2 blocks. 

Jordan Sweeney led the Bulldogs with 20 points and 6 rebounds. 

Joelnelll Momberg had 18 points and 8 rebounds. 

The Orediggers finish with an overall record of 12-17 in head coach Jeff Graham's second season. 


 Matt Ehnes of Jared's Detours