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BILLINGS, Mont.. Dec. 1, 2022- Rocky Men and Women's Basketball begin their Frontier Conference schedule on Thursday as they take on Montana Tech in Butte, then will host University of Providence on Saturday in the Fortin Education Center.
Battlin' Bears Recap: Rocky women's basketball swept Dickinson State last weekend by an average margin of 35 points. In those two games,
Dominique Stephens averaged 15 points and six rebounds, while
Morgan Baird averaged 16 points on 15-19 shooting from the field.
Rocky men split their games in the Sam Milanovic Classic hosted by Dickinson State, defeating Dakota State 81-71 and falling to Dickinson State 65-74.
Jesse Owens averaged 19.5 points on 45% shooting behind the three point line.
Scouting the Orediggers: Montana Tech women have begun their season 2-4. The Oredigger two wins this season came against Dickinson State and Walla Walla University, while their most recent defeat was against College of Idaho in the Best Western Caldwell Inn and Suites Classic hosted by College of Idaho.
Montana Tech women are led by Preseason All-Conference members Dani Urick (
11.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Tavia Rooney (
10.5 ppg, 31% 3pt%). Both Urick and Rooney were members of the All-Frontier Conference Second Team just a season ago. Tech's offense currently averages 60.2 points per game, while allowing 65 points per game.
The Orediggers women are led by first year head coach Jeff Graham.
The Montana Tech men moved up to the No. 12 ranked team in the country in the most recent poll after an 8-1 start to their season. Tech's lone loss is to No. 3 (at the time of the matchup No. 1 ranked) Arizona Christian.
The Montana Tech men are led by Frontier Conference Preseason Player of the Year Caleb Bellach (
14.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Michael Ure (
14.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 44% 3pt%). Bellach was a First Team All-Frontier Conference last season, while Michael Ure has already been named Frontier Conference Player of the Week twice this season. The Tech offense averages 82.4 points per game while only allowing 60.9 points per game to their opponents.
The Orediggers men are led by Adam Hiatt in his seventh season.
Scouting the Argos: The University of Providence women have begun their season 6-1, with their only loss on the season coming to No. 1 ranked Thomas More University.
The Argos are led by Preseason All-Conference guard Brooklyn Harn (
12.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 34% 3pt%) and junior forward Maddy Dixon (
9.8 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 48.1% fg%). Dixon earned Frontier Conference Player of the Week two weeks ago. The Argos are averaging 62.3 points per game, while holding their opponents to 55.3 points per game.
Providence is coached by Bill Himmelberg in his twelfth season.
The University of Providence men have begun their season 5-3, with their most recent matchup being a loss to Eastern Oregon.
The Argos are led by sophomore guard Kenny Curtis (
16.5 ppg, 3.6 apg, 51% 3pt%) and senior forward Eric Milner
(
12.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg). Senior All-Frontier Conference selection Marcus Stephens has yet to play for the Argos this season. The Providence men are averaging 82.9 points per game this season, while holding their opponents to 65.3 points per game.
Providence is coached by Steve Keller in his fifth season.
Social Media: Follow @BattlinBears on twitter for live updates as the game goes on.
