CLAREMORE. Okla. – The Rogers State women's basketball team fell on Saturday to the visiting Pittsburg State Gorillas, 92-81, at the Claremore Expo Center in MIAA play.
 
Three Hillcats (4-10, 4-10 MIAA) finished in double figures, but Rogers State's fourth quarter comeback bid fell short to the Gorillas (10-5, 10-5 MIAA) for their second-straight loss.
 
How It Happened: The Gorillas jumped out to an early 11-2 lead to start the first quarter after shooting 3-for-4 from behind the arc. The Gorillas led the Hillcats by as many as 15 points in the first and ended the quarter with a 21-11 advantage over the Hillcats.
 
The two teams traded baskets throughout the second quarter. Julie Luna brought the Hillcats within eight points of the Gorillas after she hit a two-point jumper with 2:06 left in the second quarter. However, the Gorillas would control the Hillcats for the remainder of the half and the Hillcats trailed the Gorillas 35-47 at halftime.
 
Luna led the Hillcats in scoring in the first half with eight points, shooting 4-for-6 from the field. Senior Lilly Garner was second in scoring for Hillcats in the first half, as she shot 3-for-5 from the field and 3-for-4 from behind the arc.
 
Junior Samariah Thompson scored seconds into the 3rd quarter to cut the Gorilla lead to 10. A two-point jumper made by sophomore Bailey Kliewer from Thompson at the 6:37 mark brought the HIllcats within six points of the Gorillas. However, an 11-2 run towards the end of the third quarter halted the Hillcats momentum and Rogers State headed into the fourth trailing the Gorillas 66-52.
 
In the final quarter, the Hillcats started to rally, cutting into an 18-point lead for the Gorillas. Alyche Brown's two-point jumper at the 1:33 mark cut the deficit to 83-75. However, the Gorillas were able sink nine of 10 free throws down the stretch to defeat the HIllcats by a final score of 92-81.
 
Key Statistic: Pitt State shot 58.2 percent (35-for-55) from the field and 50 percent (8-for-16) from three, while Rogers State shot only 42 percent (29-for-69) from the field and 31.6 percent (6-for-19) from three for the game.
 
Players of Note: Luna finished the game with a career high 18 points. She also recorded four rebounds, an assist, steal, and block in 26 minutes off the bench.
 
Kliewer finished with 17 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. She also recorded five rebounds and two assists.
 
Garner finished the game with 10 points, including a pair of three pointers. She also finished with a team-high three steals.
 
Notables: Rogers State outscored Pitt State 20-to-9 in second chance points. The Hillcats had 16 offensive rebounds to just seven for Pitt State.
 
Pitt State was the first opponent to shoot over 55 percent from the field against the Hillcats this season.
 
Rogers State's bench outscored the Pitt State bench 35-14.
 
Up Next: The Hillcats will hit the road for the first of two games in the state of Kansas. Rogers State will open up the road swing with a trip to No. 13 Washburn on Thursday. The Hillcats will tip off with the Ichabods at 5:30 p.m. in Topeka.