CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Rogers State women's basketball team cruised to a 71-37 win over Dallas Christian on Thursday (Dec. 1) at the Claremore Expo Center.
 
The Hillcats used a strong second half en route to the dominating victory.
 
In the early going with RSU up 10-8, Courtney Smith hit back-to-back triple to pull out to a 16-8 advantage with 2 minutes remaining in the first period. The Hillcats led by nine, 18-9, with a Darian Jackson layup to end the first stanza.
 
The Cats pushed out to up 15 on a 3-pointer from Kolby McIntosh for a 29-14 score with 3:41 left before halftime. At the break, RSU held a 34-20 lead.
 
It was all Hillcats in the second half as the navy and red outscored the Crusaders, 37-17 to cruise to the 71-37 win.
 
Holding a 37-24 advantage, RSU went on a 16-2 run to open up the margin to 53-26 with just under three minutes left in the third period. The run included 3s from Lindsey Byfield, Kamry Chamberlain and Smith. Natasha Kindred poured in the final four points of the spurt with two straight layups.
 
The Hillcats doubled up DCC in the final period, 16-8. A 3 from McIntosh gave RSU its largest lead by the final score of 71-37.
 
Smith scored a game-high 12 points, tallying all her scoring on four 3-pointers. She finished 4-of-7 shooting from deep. Kindred hit double figures with 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting performance. A total of 13 Hillcats scored in the easy win.
 
RSU finished at 44.6 percent (25-56) from the field, going 12-of-28 (42.9 percent) from 3-point range. The Cats shot 40 percent or better in each of the four periods. RSU totaled 20 assists on its 25 made field goals.
 
The defense of the Hillcats held DCC to 28.3 percent (13-46) shooting in the game, including only 23.8 percent (5-21) in the second half, while forcing 22 turnovers.
 
DCC's Breana Stoner finished with 10 points and eight rebounds for the Crusaders. She went 2-of-15 shooting from the field.
 
The navy and red travel to Southwest Baptist on Saturday (Dec. 3) for a nonconference contest in Bolivar, Missouri. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. with Josh Haley on the call on 91.3 FM and the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.