CLAREMORE, Okla. - The Rogers State women's basketball team closed out the 2013 calendar year with a 73-61 New Year's Eve victory over Mid-America Christian inside the Claremore Expo on Tuesday afternoon.

After trailing by single digits for most of the first frame, RSU took a four point lead into the locker room at intermission. The score was knotted four times in the first half and three more times in the second stanza before RSU took control of the game with 15 minutes to play. The Hillcats used a 15-0 run, spanning over seven minutes, to take a 57-43 lead with eight minutes to play. Sharp shooting at the charity stipe proved to be beneficial during the spurt as nine of the 15 points scored came from the free throw line. RSU shot 76.2 percent from the free throw line for the game with Katy Harsen leading the way going 11-of-13 from the line.

The Lady Evangels cut the deficit to nine points on four occasions but the Hillcats had an answer each time. With 1:13 to play MACU cut the lead to nine points with an Alliyah Spatafora layup off a RSU turnover. However,  DaNara Day answered with a trey to seal the win, giving the Cats the 12 point advantage with under a minute and a half to play.  

Clarissa Cannon led the Hillcats in scoring with 25 points and Harsen followed with 19 points. All 10 Hillcats that saw time on the court tallied points in the game.

The Lady Evangels (8-3) were led by Lauren McKinney and Ashlee Ferguson with 14 point apiece. MACU shot 38.9 percent from the field and 57.9 percent from the charity stripe.

Rogers State (4-9) returns to action on Saturday as the Hillcats host Oklahoma Christian at the Claremore Expo. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live and on RSU Radio 91.3 FM.