The first half of the first game of the season looked like many jitters for the MCC Pioneer women's basketball team as they just couldn't seem to get any flow to their offense. The Pioneers shot only 33% in the first half but used some solid half court defense mixed in with some full court pressure to hold the Rocky JV to only 26% in the first half and a 32-22 halftime lead for MCC. 

Freshman India Blyth (Melbourne, Australia) had the hot hand for the Pioneers and her 3-point shooting helped the Pioneers pull away late in the first half and into the 2nd. Blyth scored 25 points on 8-15 shooting (6-11 3's, 3-4 FT) to lead a trio of double figures scorers. Newcomer Gabby Flute Player (Flandreau, SD) had a double-double with 10 points (3-7 FG, 1-2 3's, 3-4 FT) and 15 rebounds. Fellow newcomer and frontline player Catalina de Giorgi (Buenos Aires, Argentina) came off the bench to score 10 points (4-8 FG, 2-6 FT) and grab 8 rebounds. The Pioneers connected on 9-28 from the 3-point line and only 13-26 (50%) from the free throw line for the game. 

The Pioneer defense forced 23 Bears turnovers and limited Rocky JV to 24% FG (15-62 FG, 3-23 3's) for the game. 

The Pioneers will start MonDak Conference play on Friday morning against the United Tribes Thunderbirds at 7:30 AM MST in the MonDak Tipoff Tournament at 4 Bears Casino in New Town, ND.