DILLON, MONT.- St. Thomas (0-3) closed out its season-opening road trip with a loss to Montana-Western (4-1) late Thursday night by a final score of 75-87.
 
The Bobcats looked to close out the final day of the Montana road trip with a win as UMW stood in its path. A matchup that had STU down early, the competitive nature in Samara Auguste and Katie Rienas, as well as newcomer Ebony Griffin came out as the trio all scored 15 or more points in the game.
 
The first quarter brought a game-high four ties as both teams brought the intensity to the match. In this first quarter alone, Auguste went on a run of her own as she scored three of her four three pointers to keep St. Thomas in the game.
 
In the second quarter, the Bobcats were down by nine points on two occasions and were able to bring it down to just two points. Late in the quarter came a quick run for STU. With the clock at 1:02, the Bobcats were down 44-35. A key three pointer from Kristina Bugarski brought the deficit to just six points. Two remarkable steals from Reinas and Keiana Brooks, transitioned to two easy buckets on the fast break to bring St. Thomas within two with just 13 seconds left.
 
The Bobcats exploded for 6-0 run in a record 50 seconds to close out the first half.
 
The third quarter would have STU up early, and at one point, up by a match-high five points as it was clear the Bobcats pushed and brought a continuation of the closing seconds of the first half to the opening minutes of the second.
 
UMW would come back and bring the match to a deadlock at the end of the third, 64-64, which forced the fourth quarter to be the decider.
 
The fourth quarter had Montana-Western score its second highest points in any quarter on the night with 23 points against STU's 11, which ultimately left the home team on top and propelled them to a win by a final score of 87-75.
 
Notable numbers on the night came from the Auguste, who closed out her night with a team-high 18 points, 4-for-6 from beyond the arc and two assists, while Reinas earned four rebounds, 17 points and two assists to go with her two seals.
 
Newcomer Ebony Griffin registered eight boards, 15 points and one assist while her teammate Brooks recorded a game-high four steals.
 
Next up for the Bobcats is a home opener against conference cross town rivals Florida Memorial on Saturday, November 18 at 6 p.m. at the Fernandez Family Center.
 
Come out and support!