BILLINGS, Mont. – No. 20 ranked Rocky Mountain College held off Montana Tech in a 62-52 win Thursday night. 

Outscoring Montana Tech 17-5 in the first period, Rocky jumped to an early lead. The Orediggers rallied in the second period, even temporarily drawing the margin to 19-17, and the Battlin' Bears entered the half up 28-22.

A pair of free throws from Antuanisha Wright kickstarted a 13-3 run early in the third period to give the Battlin' Bears a comfortable cushion and allowed Rocky to maintain a lead for the entirety of the game.

"I thought it was a great team effort today," said Rocky's women's basketball head coach, Wes Keller. "I think it was one of our best games defensively this season."

The Battlin' Bears held a 48-40 edge in rebounds, including a 34-29 lead in defensive boards, while recording seven steals on the night.

Kloie Thatcher scored a team-high 17 points and eight rebounds for the Battlin' Bears. Wright finished the day with 11 points and six rebounds while the pair of Markaela Francis and Destinee Pointer each posted 10-point performances. Francis nearly recorded a double double with a team-high nine boards.

The Orediggers were led by Dani Urick's 19 points. Mesa Williams had 11 points and seven rebounds while Tavia Rooney scored eight with a team-high 10 boards.

Rocky shot 28.6 percent from the field in the win while landing 4-of-19 from beyond the arc. Montana Tech, in comparison, shot 28.1 percent on the night and 22.2 percent from deep.

The Battlin' Bears will host Lewis-Clark State on Saturday at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark. The game will begin at 2 p.m.