Miller's career-high 22 points not enough as UCCS beaten by Regis

DENVER - Something had to give in Thursday evening's women's basketball game at Regis Fieldhouse.

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs came into the game having dropped 10 of its past 11 games, while the host Regis Rangers had lost 13 of their past 14.

It was the Rangers that reduced their misery, getting 20 points from 6-foot-5 center Salina Kuiper and ending their season with a 78-67 victory over the Mountain Lions.

Regis completed its season with a 10-17 record, 3-16 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. Two of the Rangers' three conference wins came against UCCS.

UCCS coach Stephen Kirkham lamented small, key mistakes that became game-changers. UCCS committed 17 turnovers, misses its first 11 3-pointers and was consistently outhustled.

"You just can't do that in college basketball," said Kirkham. "You've got to be almost perfect when you're not very good to win a basketball game. We've had trouble pulling that off."

The result should have come as no surprise, since struggling against Regis has become an unfortunate tradition at UCCS. The Rangers have won 10 of their past 11 meetings against the Mountain Lions overall and 11 of their past 12 against UCCS at home.

Sophomore Ashley Miller had a career-high 22 points to lead UCCS (6-20, 2-16 RMAC). Alyse Bessert added 11 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Lauren Holm had four assists.

"Alyse Bessert, now that we've got her anemia figured out, she's really given us some good minutes the past five games," said Kirkham. "She's really played well so that's important for next year"

Senior Emily Kuipers added 15 points in her final collegiate game for the Rangers. Tae'lor Purdy had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with her nine points.

The Mountain Lions moved the ball well in the opening minutes, building a 10-6 lead mostly on layups. But when a couple of those layups rimmed out, Regis making six straight (five transition layups and a 3-pointer) in a torrid 13-0 run over a 4:18 span that put the Rangers up 19-10 with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.

The Mountain Lions trimmed it to seven five times before being forced to settle for a 43-33 deficit at the intermission.

After Miller scored the first hoop of the second half, Regis distanced itself with a 10-1 run. After another Mountain Lions bucket, a 5-0 Ranger run made it 58-38. Even for a struggling team a 20-point lead is pretty stout and Regis was able to make it stand.