UM Western women lose in NAIA national semifinals

Brianna King scored 22 points, but Montana Western’s fine run in the NAIA I women’s basketball tournament in Billings ended Monday night with a 61-50 loss to Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) in the national semifinals.

Cierra Lamey scored 10 points and Britt Cooper had 12 rebounds for Frontier Conference member UM Western, which finished 27-9 this season. The Bulldogs of coach Lindsay Woolley were the last of four Frontier teams to be eliminated from the tournament. Carroll College and coach Bill Himmelberg’s University of Providence Lady Argos both won first-round games before falling in the second round.

Tournament host Rocky Mountain dropped a first-round game.

NAIA women's tourney kicks off in Billings

Western made history at the NAIA national event at the Billings Metra, advancing farther than any previous Bulldog women’s team. King scored a school-record 40 points and went 18-for-18 at the foul line on Saturday as Western defeated Menlo (Calif.) 74-61 in the tournament quarterfinals.

On Monday, Freed-Hardeman defense made the difference. Western scored just six points each in the first and third quarters.

Sandrea Sylman scored 24 points for Freed-Hardeman. Tiffany Pate had six points and 15 rebounds, and Kim Mallory scored 12. Freed-Hardeman will play for the national championship Tuesday night at 7 against the winner of the Wayland Baptist (Texas)-Westmont (Calif.) semifinal as the tournament concludes at the Metra.