RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team opened up the new year with a devasting loss to the Western Colorado College Mountaineers 56-54 at the King Center on Sunday afternoon.

In the first quarter, Western took an early 9-6 lead halfway through the first quarter. The Hardrockers tied up the game 9-9 on a Bailey Johnson three-pointer. The Rockers held a slim 11-9 lead but the Mountaineers went up 16-15 to end the first quarter.

The Hardrockers came out firing in the 2nd quarter going on a 7-0 run to take a 22-16 lead with 7:30 left in the half. The Mountaineers clawed their way back tying the game at 24 until Madelyn Heiser's three-pointer lifted the Rockers to a 27-24 lead. Both teams traded buckets and the Rockers would go into the locker room at the half up 33-28.

Starting the 2nd half both teams had put 5 points on the board and the Rockers led 38-33 with six minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. The Mountaineers tied the game up 42-42 with two minutes left. Heiser gave the Hardrockers the lead 44-42 with a nice float shot at the free throw line. Western would tie the game up 44-44 heading into the 4th quarter. 

The fourth quarter would start slow for both teams. Neither team could put the ball in the basket until Melissa Johnstone made two free throws to give the Rockers a 46-44 lead with seven minutes remaining. With the game tied at 54-54, Anna Combalia stole the ball from the Mountaineers setting up a potential game-winning play, but the Hardrockers' inbound pass went over the head of Heiser and Western took the ball for an easy layup to win the game 56-54.

The Rockers had four players in double digits for scoring with Heiser leading the way with 14. Johnson and Makenna Bodette each had 13 and Johnstone added 10. Bodette also had 11 rebounds and Combalia had 4 assists. The Mountaineers' Grace Kirscher led all scorers with 20 on the afternoon.

The loss drops the Hardrockers to 0-12 overall and 0-6 in RMAC competition. South Dakota Mines will be back on the court Tuesday night against Ft. Lewis College at 5:30 in the King Center.

About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 11 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.