The Women Redhawks come up short against the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears, 83-87. 
 
The Redhawks came out strong against the Battlin' Bears and kept the score close until the 4-minute mark of the first quarter when the Battlin' Bears pulled away by 9. Their 16 missed shots hurt the Redhawks ending the quarter down 16-22. But in the second quarter the Redhawks made sure to change the energy of the game. The women had 4 steals and their strong defense lead to 7 turnovers. This allowed Benedictine Mesa to tie up the game by halftime, 32-32. In the third quarter, the Redhawks made sure to not let the Battlin' Bears lead by more than 7, finishing the third only down by 4, 54-58. The fourth quarter had a shaky start with the Battlin' Bears going on a 11-point run. The Redhawks battled back and cut the deficit to 8-points the 1:14 mark. By the last 21 seconds, the Benedictine women cut the lead to just 3 points after a key 3-pointer by Elise Young and Maria Moore draining 3 free throws. To get the ball back and keep their hopes alive the Redhawks had to foul the Battlin' Bears, unfortunately Rocky Mountain hit all their free throws. Elise kept Benedictine Mesa's hopes alive with a 3-pointer in the last 9 seconds, but the Battlin' Bears once again hit their free throws to take their led to 4. The Redhawks just didn't have enough time left and lost 83-87. 
 
There were 3 players that showed out during this battle: Elise Young, Alize Ruiz, and Maria Moore. Elise Young came in clutch hitting 4 3-pointers in the 4^th quarter to keep her team alive. She ended the game with an impressive 29 points, her season high. Alize Ruiz made sure to put her mark on the game with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block. Finally, Maria Moore made sure to hit her 3 free throws in the last 21 seconds to give the Redhawks their best chance to win the game. Moore finished with 10 points and 3 rebounds. 
 
The lady Redhawks are back in action on the road January 4^th at Westcliff University.