Dominant first half lifts Lopers to win over Mountain Lions

KEARNEY, Neb. â€" Jade Meads and Debi Johnson each scored 14 of their 18 points in the first half as the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers pulled away quickly to run away with an 85-70 win over the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Saturday evening at the Health & Sports Center.

Payden Ackerman set a new UCCS freshman record for 3-pointers made in a season. Her four treys on Saturday gave her 44 for the season, breaking the old school mark of 41 set by Jennine Sauter in 2003-04.

Saturdayâ€^TMs game was a blowout from the start. Nebraska-Kearney scored the first 10 points and then, leading by nine with 11:45 left in the first half, the Lopers scored seven straight. They closed the half with a 22-3 run over the final 6:42 to go into the intermission with a 51-20 lead.

The Mountain Lions outscored Nebraska-Kearney 50-34 in the second half to more than halve the deficit but never seriously threatened to overcome the huge first-half hole the had dug.

Kaitlin Petri added 15 points for Nebraska-Kearney (15-8, 10-5 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) and Jonni Mildenberger had 12. Kassi Schuppe had 10 assists.

Ackerman led UCCS (7-15, 5-9 RMAC) with 16 points, while Nancy Hoist added 12 and Janean Jubic had 10 points and seven assists. Ashley Miller came off the bench to grab a game-high seven rebounds.

The Mountain Lions shot 46.2 percent from the field including a 6-for-14 mark from 3-point range. The Lopers, meanwhile, shot 60.7 percent â€" the highest allowed by UCCS this season â€" and outrebounded the Mountain Lions 36-19.