BILLINGS, Mont. – The Rocky Mountain College women's basketball team will open the 2017-18 season on Saturday with a home game against Salish Kootenai College. The game will tip at 5:30 p.m. in the Fortin Center.
 
The game will be broadcast live on the Rocky You Tube page which is available at YouTube.com/battlinbears. Live stats will be available at sidearmstats.com/rocky/wbball. Links for all live features will be available on the day of the game by following @battlinbears on Twitter.
 
Rocky starts a new season with seven players back from a team that finished 13-19 overall and placed sixth in the Frontier Conference at 5-13. They fell to Montana Western in the quarterfinals of the Frontier Conference Tournament and then were knocked out in the first round of the NAIA National Championships by Freed-Hardeman.
 
Last season's team averaged 62.4 points per game while shooting 38.4 percent from the field. The Battlin' Bears made 5.50 threes per game and ranked 28th in the NAIA by making 31.7 percent from beyond the arc. They averaged 10.2 assists per game and finished 45th in the country with a 0.79 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Rocky held opponents to 61.8 points per game to finish 23rd in the nation in scoring defense. The opposition shot 39.1 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from three. Rocky grabbed 33.9 rebounds per game and averaged 7.8 steals and 1.8 blocks per game.
 
Hailee Farstveet returns for her senior season and was a Preseason All-Frontier Conference selection. She averaged 10.8 points per game last season and scored in double figures 20 times. Farstveet has scored 20-plus points in a game three times in her career and led the team in assists during 27 games. She averages 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in her Rocky career.
 
Mikayla Jones is also back for her senior season after missing the second half of last season with an injury. Jones was the team's leading scorer at 13.5 points per game before the injury. In the 17 games played, Jones scored in double figures 12 times with two 20-point outings. She shot 34.3 percent from the floor while averaging 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
 
Alecia Chamberlain appeared in 31 games for the Battlin' Bears last season and averaged 6.8 points per game on 48.2 percent shooting. She scored in double figures eight times, including five times in the final 10 games of the year. Chamberlain averaged 4.0 rebounds per game and had at least five boards in a game 17 times.
 
Justyn Juhl played in all 32 games last season and scored 5.1 rebounds per game. She shot 39.4 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from three. Juhl grabbed 5-plus rebounds in a game 17 times and finished the season at 3.4 rebounds per game.
 
Rocky will also return Markaele Francis after she scored 6.1 points per game last season. Eboney Jackson is back after scoring 3.9 per game a year ago. Taylor Deaton returns from an injury after getting hurt in the first game of the season.
 
The Battlin' Bears also welcome in six newcomers, including juniors Brooke Jones and Alexi Smith. The group also features sophomore Olivia James and freshmen Kiana Corpus, Jessica Ellsworth, Riana Rogers and Alexi Smith.
 
Rocky will spend the season rallying around Marissa Van Atta after the expected teammate was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Van Atta underwent chemotherapy treatments earlier this month and is back in Billings and around the team. Rocky players and staff are wearing green and gold wristbands with 'Battlin' for Van Atta' inscribed on them. You can find updates on her progress by using the hashtag #VanAttaStrong on social media.
 
The Frontier Conference coaches chose Rocky to finish fifth this season according to a poll released by the conference earlier this month. The Battlin' Bears received 21 points in the poll. Lewis-Clark State was picked to win the league.
 
Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between Rocky and Salish Kootenai. They will meet again on November 4 in Pablo, Montana.