UCCS gets first RMAC win of season as five players reach double-figure scoring

GUNNISON, Colo. â€" Lauren Holm scored a career-high 22 points to lead five Mountain Lions in double figures as the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs earned its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win of the season, a 79-64 victory over the Western State Mountaineers Friday evening at Paul Wright Gym.

Holm, a senior from Denver, went 5-for-8 from the field including a 3-pointer and made 11 of her 12 free throw attempts. Fellow senior Janean Jubic had 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting including 4-for-4 on 3-pointers and also led the team with four assists.

Also in double figures in scoring for the Mountain Lions were Lauren Wolfinger with 16 and Mallory Lowe and Kallie Jiblits with 10 each. Jiblits also had a team-high nine rebounds.

UCCS (5-9, 1-5 RMAC) came into the game dead last in the conference with a 25.1 percentage on 3-pointers, made seven of its 14 attempts Friday while holding Western State to 4-for-25 shooting from long range.

UCCS looked to be walking into a buzzsaw Friday. Western State came into the game the winner of four straight RMAC games, having beaten Metro State, Regis, Nebraska-Kearney and Chadron State, the latter two on the road. Worse, the last time these two teams played was a record-setting affair for UCCS. The Mountain Lions overcame a 21-point first-half deficit to beat the Mountaineers 56-52 in a nonconference game on Nov. 24.

Obviously, Western State had no lack of motivation.

A 3-pointer by Brooke Pendergraft and a pair of jumpers by Kristen Forbes gave Western State its largest lead at 24-16 with 8:20 remaining in the first half. Jubicâ€^TMs 3-pointer two minutes later began a 20-6 UCCS run during which Holm had five points. A late hoop by Forbes cut the Mountain Lionsâ€^TM lead to 36-32 at the intermission.

UCCS missed its first seven shots of the second half, allowing Western State to open the period with a 10-0 run. The Mountain Lions answered decisively with a 14-2 run, with six of those scored by Holm, to take a 50-44 lead with 10:23 left.

Two minutes later, a six-point UCCS run increased the gap to 14 before an 8-2 response by the Mountaineers cut the lead to 67-59 with just under three minutes remaining. Wolfinger nailed a 3-pointer, which was followed by a conventional three-point play by Lowe and two free throws by Holm to put the game away.

Forbes led Western State (6-9, 4-3 RMAC) with 19 points while Amber Murray grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Mountain Lions will be looking to make it two straight when they face Mesa State Saturday at Grand Junction.