Women’s basketball drop three games; one away, two at home

The women’s basketball team lost a non-conference game at home against South Dakota Mines, 78-65, Tuesday.

The Hardrockers took the lead at the 18-minute mark, and then they went back down. At halftime they led 37-25. They led by 17 points after five minutes in the second half.

The Eagles cut the lead down to six points with 4:36 to go in the game.

Seniors Kattie Ranta of Rapid City, S.D., and Kayli Rageth of Kimball, led the Eagles scoring 17 points each. Ranta also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Another senior, Greer Babbe, of Papillion, added 14 points. Guard Dallas Shaw, junior of Buffalo, Wyo., scored nine points to go along with 10 rebounds.

“Our team is definitely progressing from game to game,” Babbe said. “It is a simple fix that I believe we will master very soon; and fixing this problem will lead to wins for us.”

Despite a late push in the second half, the Eagles fell to Montana State-Billing, 59-55, Saturday, on the road.

The Eagles’ 14-6 run in the last seven minutes of the game wasn’t enough to beat the Yellowjackets, who had a comfortable 12 points lead. The Yellowjackets led the entire game, and they were able to hold on and secure the victory when shaken by the Eagles’ late run.

A three-pointer by Shaw with 6:55 minutes left in the game helped key the Eagles’ late surge. Ranta scored six points at the end of the game, including four in the last 10 seconds.

Ranta led CSC with 19 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Rageth scored 16 points for the third straight game, and Shaw added 12 points. No other Eagle scored more than five in this game.

The Eagles made only 42.6 percent of their shots from the field, and they were also only 25 percent from the three-point line.

Shaw sank four three-pointers for the Eagles in this contest.

Another key factor was that the Eagles only went to the line three times the entire game compared to Billings’ 17 free throws.

“We played good, and just had little let down in the first half. We need to get more physical and get to the foul line more,” Shaw said.

“I thought both games were a great step forward for us. We are starting to get familiar with each other’s game and our offensive system,” Kate Simonton, junior guard of Bakersfield, Calif., said. “We all have the understanding of how to work hard, we just need to figure out how to play smart, and I think our chances of having a great season are very likely.”

The Yellowjackets scored 13 points from CSC’s 13 turnovers.

The Eagles also lost their season home opener, 78-59, Thursday, against Wayne State.

CSC took a quick three points lead but Wayne went on a 17-5 scoring run, giving them a 45-28 lead at half time.

Wayne State picked up right where they left off, and they increased the lead to 26 points in the first five minutes of the second half.

The Eagles did not shoot the ball particularly well from the field, making 22 of 56 shots, 39.3 percent, from the floor. They also made all eight of their free throws and seven of 20 from downtown.

Rageth led the Eagles with 16 points making three three-pointers out of four in the game.

Ranta had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Shaw, finished with 15 points.

Babbe and Leana Tajkov, senior of Belgrade, Serbia, had six points and two blocks each.

Hattie Guzman, junior guard of Scottsbluff, led the team with five assists and Shaw had two steals.

The Eagles will travel on Dec. 6 to Colorado Mesa, Grand Junction. The game will tip off at 5:30 p.m. The Mavericks of Colorado Mesa are 2-0 this season. They’ve won against Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Southwestern Oklahoma State University.