Phoenix, Ariz. – Rocky Mountain College improved its season record to 6-1 with a 112-69 victory over Arizona Christian University (1-5), Saturday, Nov. 19, in Fultz Memorial Gymnasium on the ACU campus in Phoenix. The Battlin' Bears scored 112 against ACU for the second consecutive night.
ACU plays two games on the road during Thanksgiving Weekend, meeting Pomona-Pitzer College, Friday, Nov. 25, and Claremont-Mudd Scripps College, Saturday, Nov. 26, both at 6 p.m. Arizona time.
Rocky Mountain shot .585 (24-41) from the field, made 15 of 22 free throws (.682) and committed just seven turnovers while Arizona Christian shot just .235 (8-34) and committed 18 turnovers in the first half of Saturday's contest. RMC scored the first nine points of the game and led 17-2 after the first 2:30 of action. The Bears' lead reached 30 points with 11:06 left in the first half, 44-14, and 40 points at the 4:49 mark, 54-14. RMC led by as many as 49 in the first half and led 66-19 at halftime. Senior forward Micki Scally, RMC's leading scorer, tallied 20 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals in 14 minutes of action in the first half
Arizona Christian sliced Rocky Mountain's advantage to 27 points, 91-64, with 4:44 left to play, as the Firestorm shooting heated up to .442 in the second half (19-43). RMC helped out by committing 17 second-half turnovers.
Senior guard Anne Munsil (Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale Christian Academy) scored all 19 of her points in the second half, and senior guard Steffani Liscum (Tucson, Ariz./Marana H.S.), the leading scorer in the NAIA Division II going into the weekend, scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half. Freshman forward Sarah Beth Hock (Gilbert, Ariz./Perry H.S.) also scored in double figures in the second half, gaining 12 of her 14 points.
Munsil finished with 19 points, 2 three-pointers, 6 rebounds and 2 steals, before fouling out with 4:40 left to play, and Liscum (Tucson, Ariz./Marana H.S.) added 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocked shots and 3 steals, but missed all seven of her three-point field goal attempts. Hock totaled 14 points, 6 rebounds and a blocked shot. Freshman center Jamie Heath (Phoenix, Ariz./Thunderbird H.S.) scored 7 points with one three-pointer, 2 rebounds and one blocked shot before fouling out late in the game, and freshman forward Stephanie Brimhall (Gilbert, Ariz./Perry H.S.) contributed 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Junior guard Jessica Largo (Gallup, N.M./Rehoboth Christian School) added 5 points and 4 rebounds, but made just 2 of her 10 shots and missed all four of her three-point attempts.
Six Bears scored 10 or more points led by Scally's 30 points. Scally also had 2 three-pointers, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, one blocked shot and 3 steals. Guard Austin Hanser totaled 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, one blocked shot and 3 steals, and reserve guard Brittany Kumm contributed a double-double with 15 points, 2 three-pointers, 10 rebounds and 2 steals. Reserve forward Callie Eike added 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, and starting forward Alli Blake contributed 11 points and 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots and 2 steals. Reserve guard Kelcey Lott tossed in 10 points, and forward Amie Jensen, starting in place of 6-foot-2 center Erin Cooke, who missed the game with an ankle injury, had 7 points, 5 rebounds and a blocked shot.
ACU shot .351 from the field (27-77) for the game, made 4 of 21 three-pointers (.190) and 11 of 19 free throws (.579), committed 30 turnovers and stole the ball just six times from the Battlin' Bears. Rocky Mountain dominated the rebound glass, gathering 62 boards, 19 off the offensive glass, while ACU collected 40. RMC shot .493 from the field (37-75), 6 of 21 three-pointers (286) and 32 of 50 free throws (.640), committed 24 turnovers, blocked 5 shots, and stole the ball 13 times from ACU.