RAPID CITY, SD- The Cougars hit the road for the first time in RMAC play on Thursday as they headed north to take on South Dakota Mines. In a nailbiter that came down to the final seconds, CCU narrowly fell to the hosts 63-60. 

Elise Grosdidier got the scoring started with a three-point play early, and a Maley Wilhelm layup and Jordon Heckert three kept the offense rolling. Ja'Shelle Johnson put her team ahead 12-11 with a layup, and a three-pointer from Josie Grosdidier had CCU ahead 19-14. Hayley Luther closed with a free throw for a 20-17 lead after one quarter of play. 

A three from Amaya Felix put CCU up 26-20, and a Samantha Wattawa layup had the visitors leading 32-26 with a little over three minutes to play in the half. The Hardrockers closed the gap to 34-31 heading to the break. 

The two teams battled back and forth, with the hosts taking a 44-40 lead with 3:44 left in the third. The two sides continued to battle down the stretch as SDM took a 53-49 lead to the final period. 

The hosts eventually stretched the lead to seven, but the Cougars showed resiliency as they began to chip away at the deficit. Luther drilled a three-pointer to cut the gap to two, and a free throw from Elise eventually put CCU ahead 59-58 with 2:36 remaining. The contest stood level at 60-60 with 50 seconds left, but a Hardrockers layup and turnover was too much for CCU to overcome as they fell 63-60 in the final minute of play. 

Johnson led the offense with 15 points and five assists, while Josie chipped in 10 points and four rebounds. 

The Cougars will look to close their road trip to South Dakota strong when they take on Black Hills State on December 13 at 4 p.m. MST.