By Ron Smith
November 16, 2018
 
(GREAT FALLS, Mont.) Kaitlin Larson tallied 26 points and pulled down 10 boards, however, #8 Westmont Women's Basketball (3-1) suffered its first loss of the season, falling to Providence of Montana (6-0) by a score of 75-70. Maud Ranger added 14 points and four rebounds while Iyree Jarrett notched 10 points.
 
The score was close throughout the first half, with neither team holding more than a four-point advantage.
 
The third quarter started with Providence extending a 39-36 halftime lead into a seven-point advantage (45-38). A three-pointer by Larson turned the tide for the Warriors.  After a jumper by the Argos' Kennedy Cartwright restored the home team's advantage to six, Lauren Tsuneishi (5 points) drained another from beyond the arc to make it a three-point game (47-44).
 
With 3:22 remaining in the third quarter, Larson hit a put-back jumper to pull the Warriors to within one (47-46). Parker Esary scored on a jumper in the paint to make it 49-46 for the Argos, before Larson struck again from downtown, making the score 49-all with 2:41 showing on the clock.
 
With just over two minutes left, Jarrett pilfered the ball and scored on a jumper to put Westmont on top 51-49. Ten seconds later, Reed Hazard evened up the score for Providence with a jumper. Ranger was then fouled on a three-point attempt and drained all three free throws to give Westmont a 54-51 advantage. Before the horn sounded to end the third period, Sydney Brown (6 points, 5 rebound) added one more free throw to give Westmont its largest lead of the game (55-51).
 
Unfortunately for the Warriors, Providence opened up the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run to make the score 58-55 with 5:50 remaining in regulation. Larson scored again to get the Warriors back to within one (58-57), but the Argos scored the next six to give Providence a seven-point lead (64-57) with 3:28 to go. The Warriors got no closer than four the rest of the way.
 
Tomorrow, Westmont will stay in Great Falls to take on #9 Montana State Northern (3-1). The Skylights lost their first game of the season today to #22 Arizona Christian (5-0) by a score of 75-63. Westmont and Montana State Northern are scheduled to tip-off at 5:30 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. PST.