Sweeney Breaks Single-Game Scoring Record And Surpasses 1,000 Career Points in Win Over Battlin’ Bears

Lindsey Branch, UMW Sports Information photo credit Terri Haverfield

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana Western women's basketball team (16-12, 8-7) closed out the regular season this afternoon with a road win over the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears (15-12, 4-11) by a final score of 86-73.

Jordan Sweeney broke her previous career-high in a game and the Montana Western single-game scoring record after she scored 43 points in the game. The previous record of 40 points was set by Brianna King back in the 2017-18 season against Menlo College. 

"Jordan was an unstoppable force for us today. But it was a full team effort win. Our ladies did a great job moving the ball and found advantages" Head Coach Britt Cooper said.

With her total, she breaks 1,000 career points in the win, a total that she surpasses in just her second year with the Bulldogs. She joins teammate Shainy Mack this season who previously surpassed 1,000 career points earlier this year.

How it Happened

A jumper for Sweeney got the contest started before Rocky would jump out to a 9-6 lead in the first four minutes of the ball game. Maddy Moy found the bucket on three straight attempts and got Western back out in front to push them out to a 17-13 lead heading into the second quarter.

Sweeney continued to lead the Bulldogs, rattling off five three-pointers in the second quarter and putting the Bulldogs out to a 44-32 lead at the half.

It was Sweeney again who kept the Bulldogs out in front, hitting 6-6 from the free throw line and creating enough space to take a 66-54 lead into the fourth.

Payton Hagy's three-pointer stretched the UMW lead out to 13 points with 8:14 remaining in the game. Despite the surge, Rocky found success behind a quick 5-0 run and cut the lead back to eight.

Sweeney hit her sixth three of the contest and Keke Davis followed with a layup, giving Western another 13-point lead into the final four minutes of the ball game.

The Battlin' Bears gave it their best shot, but were unable to grab enough momentum to swing the score in their favor. Western took the win by a final score of 86-73.

Notables

• The Bulldogs finish off the regular conference slate with an overall record of 16-12 and a conference record of 8-7.

• Today's win is the 100th victory over the Battlin' Bears since 1971 and the Bulldogs' seventh straight victory over RMC.

• Sweeney led all scorers, putting up a whopping 43 points on a 14-22 shooting performance and a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe. She also hit seven threes in the game, tying the single game conference three-point record that teammate Joelnell Momberg set previously this year.

• Moy followed up with 11 points and a team high seven rebounds.

• Mack added 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
  

Up Next

Montana Western finishes the regular season with a 16-12 record and enters the Frontier Conference tournament as the number three seed following an 8-7 conference record.

They will now take on Montana Tech on Feb. 29 at 7pm. With a win, the Bulldogs will return to the court on March 1. All tournament games will be held at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, Mont.

Click here to view the full tournament page.