Mountain Lions let one slip away vs. Regis

The University of Colorado at Colorado at Colorado Springs (3-8 2-3 RMAC) lost a heartbreaker to the Regis Rangers (8-5, 4-2 RMAC) 57-56 Saturday evening at the Lionsâ€^TM Den.

CU-Colorado Springs led 53-49 with 2:46 remaining before the Rangers went on an 8-0 run to take a 57-53 lead. B.J. McNeally nailed a 3-pointer with 0:06 left to cut the lead to one, 57-56. After a timeout, McNeally, who was on the floor with four personal fouls, was forced to foul Regisâ€^TM Cappie Smith, giving her five, sending her to the bench for the game's final play.

Smith missed two free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining, the second of which was rebounded by CU-Colorado Springsâ€^TM Christina Merritt. Merritt hurled the ball down the middle of the court in the direction of Jennine Sauter who got tied up with Regisâ€^TM Kelly Oâ€^TMDell and was unable to track the pass down. Oâ€^TMDell grabbed the ball and ran the clock out.

Sauter finished the game with a team-high 19 points, 14 of which came in the second half.

“This was a tough loss tonight,” said Sauter shot 5-for-10 from behind the 3-point line.

CU-Colorado Springs led 22-20 at the break thanks mostly to its defense. The Mountains Lions forced Regis into 12 first-half turnovers and held the best shooting team in the RMAC to just 30 percent.

Regis opened the second half with a 10-3 blitz to take its largest lead of the game 25-20. The Mountain Lions stormed back and took the lead a few minutes later on a Meghan McGee layup. The Mountain Lions ball movement helped them take the lead back.

“We play better when we move the ball fast,” said McNeally who scored 16 points and had five assists. “That gets the defense moving and we can find an open shot.”

CU-Colorado Springs pushed its lead to 44-38 on a Nicole Opferman floater with 9:14 remaining. But the Mountain Lions ball movement, which had been so good earlier in the game, slowed down, resulting in bad looks.