BILLINGS, Mont. – On a night where she went 6-for-7 from the field, Mackenzie Dethman drilled a pair of dagger 3-pointers in the fourth quarter at Alterowitz Gym which proved to be the deciding factor in Rocky Mountain College's 73-65 win over the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team.
 
With the Bears trailing 54-53 early in the fourth, leading scorer N'Dea Flye connected on a jumper in the paint to push the lead back into the visitors' hands. Dethman, who started the game 4-for-4 in the paint but had not scored a field goal since the final minute of the first half, then followed with treys from the top of the key and the corner that stretched the Bears' lead to 60-54. The 'Jackets never got closer than three points the rest of the way as Rocky avenged a 59-50 defeat on Oct. 27 when the teams met in the Fortin Center.
 
Flye made 9 of 18 shots for 20 points, while adding six rebounds, five assists, three steals and a blocked shot in 36 minutes. Dethman finished with 17 points, while Kloie Thatcher added a dozen and Shauna Bribiescas had 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds. The Bears' record remained at 8-1 with Saturday's game being an exhibition for them.
 
Kortney Nelson had the best game of her Yellowjacket career, leading the team with 16 points and nine rebounds in a gritty 33 minutes. Danielle Zahn matched Nelson with 16 points, including a career-high four 3-pointers. Two of Zahn's threes came in the final minute, and cut the spread to four points and three points, respectively. The Bears iced the game by going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line however, and finished the night 16-for-18 from the line (88.9 percent).
 
MSUB narrowly out-rebounded Rocky 31-28, but fell to 6-6 on the season with the defeat.
 
Shannon Reny scored a career-high 12 points, and was the key factor in lifting the Yellowjackets out of an early hole. After a slow start by MSUB, the Bears rallied to a 24-14 advantage early in the second quarter. Nelson broke a four-minute offensive dry spell with a layup, Shayla Montague hit her first three of the night, and Reny scored the next seven points in a momentum-changing 15-2 run by the 'Jackets. MSUB maintained the lead for the remainder of the second, and took a 34-29 advantage into the locker room.
 
Neither team led by more than a single possession during a back-and-forth third quarter, but the Bears out-paced the 'Jackets 21-14 in the period to set up their strong finish.
 
The Yellowjackets made just four trips to the free-throw line, and converted just 4 of 8 foul shots. Overall MSUB shot 41.9 percent (26-for-62), and made 9 of 24 threes (37.5 percent). The 'Jackets committed just eight turnovers, their third-lowest mark of the season. The Bears protected the ball well with 11 giveaways in the game.
 
The Bears limited MSUB leading scorer Taryn Shelley to just seven points on 3-for-7 shooting, and Cariann Kunkel, who had 24 points in the team's 82-81 double-overtime loss at Montana State on Thursday, was limited to two points. Rocky shot an outstanding 55.3 percent (26-for-47), including a mark of 35.7 percent from 3-point range (5-for-14).
 
THE BUZZ: Nelson was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is now 66-15 all-time against Rocky and is 42-6 at Alterowitz Gym…Saturday's loss snapped a 21-game winning streak in the series for the 'Jackets and it was their first home loss to the bears since Jan. 13, 1982.
 
NEXT WEEK: The Yellowjackets have a pair of games at the Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas, taking on West Texas A&M University next Friday and University of Wisconsin Parkside next Saturday. Live coverage for the games, which are both scheduled for 10 a.m. Pacific/11 a.m. Mountain, will be available online here.