The Benedictine University Mesa Redhawks suffered two tough losses at the Cactus Classic hosted by Rocky Mountain and Montana Western. The Redhawks faced off against the tournament hosts on Tuesday, December 20^th and Thursday, December 22^nd. The Redhawks are now 2-9 overall and 1-5 in Cal Pac play.

The Redhawks started out the game playing right with the Bears from the jump but a 9-point run from Rocky Mountain gave them an eight-point lead after the first 10 minutes. BenU Mesa soon found themselves down double digits entering into the half, 36-19.

Benedictine Mesa shot 30% from the field and 14.3% from the 3-point range. The Redhawks were outrebounded by the Bears 38-32, gave up 26 turnovers, and had 4 assists on 15 field goals made.

Elise Young scored 11 points and added seven rebounds. Raenesha Willis chipped in with nine points and a team-high of eight rebounds.

The Redhawks hit 15-of-50 field goals (30%), 2-of-14 three-pointers (14.3%), 7-of-16 free throws (43.8%).  The Redhawks committed 26 turnovers and stole the ball 7 times.  Rocky Mountain made 30-of-60 shots (50%), 10-of-29 three-pointers (34.5%) and 11-of-16 free throws (68.8%) and committed 19 turnovers and stole the ball from the Redhawks nine times.

The Benedictine University Mesa women's basketball team played close against Montana Western but was unable to pull off the comeback and fell, 74-50.

Young led the Redhawks once again with 19 points shooting 52.9% from the field. Nyah Henderson added 8 points while Theresa Gutierrez added 6 points. Raenesha Willis was a dynamic player for the Redhawks with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, and 5 assists.

The Redhawks hit 20-of-53 field goals (37.7%), 2-of-16 three-pointers (12.5%), 8-of-11 free throws (72.7%).  The Redhawks committed 19 turnovers and stole the ball12 times.  Montana Western made 29-of-58 shots (50%), 7-of-26 three-pointers (26.9%) and 9-of-14 free throws (64.3%) and committed 20 turnovers and stole the ball from the Redhawks nine times.