Mountain Lions defeat Colorado College

COLORADO SPRINGS -- Behind a 13-point, 13 rebound effort by Tonya Tripp, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs won for the fourth time in its past five games with a 66-52 decision over the Colorado College Tigers Monday at Reid Gymnasium.

The Mountain Lions have now beaten Division III Colorado College nine consecutive times and 26 of the past 27 meetings dating back to 1992.

Emily Jenkins added 11 points and six rebounds for UCCS (8-8), while Candace Thornton had 10 points and seven rebounds. Kirsten Buttars had nine points and Nancy Hoist came off the bench to score eight.

The biggest surprise for UCCS came from Whitney Knobbe, who parlayed a 3-pointer seconds after she entered the game into a career-high 10 points.

"After my first shot I usually settle in and get comfortable," said Knobbe. "That's when I start playing better."

The Mountain Lions shot 39.3 percent from the field and are now 7-1 on the season when shooting 37 percent or better.

Melanie Auguste led Colorado College (5-6) with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Paige Whitney added 12 points. The rest of the Tigers scored a combined 18 points on 8-of-30 shooting.

Five different players scored, led by four points by Jenkins, as the Mountain Lions opened a 13-4 lead over the first 6:29 of the game. Colorado College answered as Auguste scored eight and Whitney had four to lead the Tigers on a 12-5 run.

Behind four points by Hoist, UCCS closed 11-6 to go to the intermission ahead 29-22.

Knobbe entered the game early in the second half and provided a big spark for UCCS. Not only did she drain a pair of 3-pointers, the junior from Lamar also was able to contain the difficult-to-cover Auguste. That combination helped the Mountain Lions open the second half with a 19-8 run.

"(Auguste) was our focus defensively," said Knobbe. "I wanted to make sure I played tight; make sure she didn't get any easy shots."

Their joy was short-lived. Colorado College score the next 10 points to reduce the deficit to 48-40. Two free throws by Kirstin Buttars finally stopped the bleeding. The score was 54-47 with about four minutes remaining but UCCS was able to pull away, outscoring the Tigers 12-4 down the stretch before Auguste hit a free throw after time expired.