BILLINGS, Mont. – The No. 17 ranked Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears defeated the No. 8 ranked Fighting Saints 59-55 Thursday night.

Shooting six of seven from beyond the arc, Rocky's Kloie Thatcher posted a season-high 26 points, 17 in the first half, to lead the Battlin' Bears to victory. The freshman from Butte, Mont., has now scored in the double digits in Rocky's last three games.

Brooke Jones scored an additional 11 points.

The close scoring, physical game was tied 35-35 after a 10-2 run by the Saints in the third period. A series of free throws and a Thatcher three pointer gave the Battlin' Bears a 6-0 run to end the quarter. Rocky kept a narrow lead the rest of the way.

The Battlin' Bears shot 40.8 percent from the floor while draining 63.6 percent from beyond the arc. Rocky held the Saints to just a 36.5 percent field goal percentage.

Led by Justyn Juhl's 10 rebounds, the Battlin' Bears out-rebounded the Fighting Saints 39-34. Both teams pulled in four steals.

Carroll's Hannah Dean scored 18 points and 11 rebounds. Christine Denny added an additional 17 points and six rebounds.

Rocky will quickly turn around and host Montana Tech Saturday. That game will start at 5:30 p.m.