Terri Haverfield

Men's Basketball 2/17/2023 4:30:00 PM Brandon Stinson | Sports Information & Media Coordinator

Rocky Basketball Concludes Regular Season in Dillon Against Montana Western Saturday

DILLON, Mont.- Rocky Men's and Women's Basketball will wrap up the regular season with a matchup against Montana Western in Dillon on Saturday.

Battlin' Bears Recap: Rocky women's basketball (18-8, 10-4 conf.) split their matchups last weekend, defeating MSU-Northern 64-54 on Senior Night Thursday, then falling 56-52 in a back and forth matchup against #11 ranked Carroll College Saturday. Ky Buell has been shooting the ball well down the stretch, as she is averaging 13.0 points per game over the last three games, including 52% (11-21) from three point range in that stretch. The Battlin' Bears women are locked into the third seed regardless of Saturday's outcome and will play the sixth-seeded MSU-Northern Skylights in the first round of the Frontier Conference Tournament.

The Rocky men (13-13, 5-9 conf.) split their matchups last weekend as well, defeating MSU-Northern 71-58, then fell to Carroll College 89-67. Stopping Maxim Stephens has been a tall task for Frontier Opponents, as Stephens has scored 20 or more points in six conference games this season and has scored at least double figures in seven of his last eight games. The Battlin' Bears men sit a game behind the Bulldogs headed into this weekend and will have the chance to take the season series over Montana Western with a win.

Saturday, February 18th vs Montana Western
WBB @ 2:00pm
MBB @ 4:00pm

Scouting the Bulldogs: The #15-ranked Montana Western women (23-4, 11-3 conf.) have defeated the Battlin' Bears in both matchups this season and are locked into the second seed for the upcoming Frontier Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs won both their matchups last weekend, defeating University of Providence 78-60 and MSU-Northern 73-47. Senior guard Brynley Fitzgerald was named the Frontier Conference Player of the Week for the third time this season after averaging 26.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and two steals last weekend. Fitzgerald scored 31 points against the Argos and surpassed 1600 career points, as she leads the Frontier Conference in scoring at 18.4 points per game. Montana Western is the highest scoring offense in the Frontier, averaging 73.0 points per game, led by three of the top five three point shooters in the conference in Payton Hagy (38.7%), Joelnell Momberg (37.9%), and Brynley Fitzgerald (36.3%).

The Bulldogs are coached by Lindsay Woolley in his 11th season.

The Montana Western men (11-16, 6-8 conf.) are heating up at the right time, as they are winners of their last three straight games coming into Saturday's matchup. The Bulldogs are getting it done on the defensive end, as they only allowed 59.3 points per game during their winning streak. Montana Western is the best three point shooting team by percentage in the conference (35.1%), led by the conference's top three pointer shooter in redshirt sophomore Michael Haverfield (49.4%). The Bulldogs have won seven straight matchups at home against the Battlin' Bears.

The Bulldogs are coached by Mike Larsen in his fifth season.

Social Media: Follow @BattlinBears on Twitter for live updates as the game goes on.

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