BILLINGS, Mont. – No. 24 ranked Rocky Mountain College was unable to overcome a slow second half in a 62-41 loss to No. 19 ranked Montana Western on Thursday night.

The Battlin' Bears entered halftime down by only six at 28-22, but slowed considerably coming out of the half. Outscoring the Rocky 17-5 in the third, Montana Western held the Battlin' Bears to only a single field goal through the period. Holding a comfortable lead, the Bulldogs extended the margin to 21 points by the buzzer.

Rocky finished the night shooting 33.3 percent from the field while landing 5-of-22 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs shot a 44.9 field goal percentage and were good for 30.4 percent from deep.

The Bulldogs held a 32-27 advantage on the glass and scored 20 points off of 16 Battlin' Bear turnovers. Montana Western's bench posted 23 points while Rocky's bench contributed only one.

The Battlin' Bears were led by a pair of 16-point performances from Markaela Francis and Mackenzie Dethman. Francis also posted a team-high seven rebounds. Grace Parker contributed an additional seven points.

Montana Western's Shannon Worster and Brynley Fitzgerald each scored 12 points with Worster also recording a team-high seven rebounds. Savanna Bignell was the Bulldogs other double digit scorer with 10 points.

The Battlin' Bears will next play MSU-Northern on the road in Havre, Mont., on Feb. 21.