January 3, 2026

BILLINGS, Mont. – No. 17 ranked Rocky Mountain (Mont.) held off a late No. 4 ranked Dakota State's rally and secured a 55-52 Frontier Conference women's basketball win Saturday evening at the Fortin Education Center.  The contest stayed tight throughout, with the Battlin' Bears using a 6-0 scoring run in over five-and-half minutes of the fourth quarter to pull away. 

Dakota State fell to 12-3 overall record and 7-2 record in the Frontier Conference, while Rocky Mountain improved to 10-5 overall record and 7-2 Frontier Conference record.

How it happened

RMC grabbed the early edge, taking an 18-13 lead after one quarter.  The Trojans outscored Rocky 19-13 in the period to take a 32-31 lead into halftime.

The Battlin' Bears largest lead came early in the second quarter when Isabelle Heggem's layup pushed the margin to 24-15 with 8:45 on the clock. Dakota State responded with a push of its own, highlighted by baskets from Cierra Watkins and Tabor Teel to cut the deficit and set up a strong finish to the half.

Watkins' 3-pointer (assisted by Angelina Chapple) at the 2:14 mark of the second gave DSU its first lead of the night (30-29), and Ella Carstensen added a layup to make it 32-29 before Rocky answered with a late bucket to trim it to one at the break.

Teel opened the third with a layup and Caitlin Dyer followed with a free throw to extend the lead to 35-31—DSU's biggest advantage of the game.

Rocky Mountain answered immediately behind Brenna Linse, who scored repeatedly in the lane as the lead changed hands multiple times in a back-and-forth third quarter. A Gabriella Biittner 3-pointer put the Battlin' Bears in front 43-40 late in the period, but DSU closed strong; Watkins scored inside and Carstensen hit two free throws with 25 seconds left to send the Trojans into the fourth up 44-43.

The decisive stretch came early in the fourth. Biittner knocked down a 3-pointer at 9:12 to put Rocky Mountain back in front 46-44, and Paige Wasson followed with another triple at 5:19 to stretch the lead to 49-44.

Dakota State fought back, with Teel finishing inside and Bria Wasmund drilling a 3 to cut it to 51-49. Carstensen later made a free throw to pull DSU within one at 51-50 with 2:05 remaining, but Wasson's jumper with 29 seconds left pushed the lead to 53-50.

Carstensen answered again with a layup to make it a one-point game (53-52) with 17 seconds remaining. Linse then stepped to the line and hit two free throws with 13 seconds left to make it 55-52, and Dakota State's final possession could not produce the tying shot.

By the numbers
Dakota State had a balanced scoring night with three players tied at 11 points by Wasmund, Teel, and Watkins.  Teel collected seven rebounds and contributed four assists.  Watkins added eight rebounds.  Carstensen added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.

As a team, Dakota State finished 18-of-68 field goals (26.5 percent) and 6-of-34 from the 3-point line.

Rocky Mountain was led by Linse with 18 points and Wasson with 17 points.  Isabelle Heggem added nine points and pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds.  She also had four blocks.

RMC was 22-of-56 from the field (39.3 percent), 5-of-17 from the 3-point line, and 6-of-13 from the free-throw line.

Up next
Dakota State looks to swing back in the winning column as they conclude their Frontier Conference six-game road stretch.  The Trojans visit Bismarck State (N.D.) on Friday evening at 5 p.m. and Dickinson State (N.D.) next Saturday at 6 p.m. (Central Time)/5 p.m. (Mountain Time).