GOLDEN, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team never trailed and kept the chances of a home conference quarterfinal game in reach after a 74-63 victory against Colorado School of Mines tonight at Lockridge Arena. Tori Fisher led the Mountain Lions (19-8, 16-5 RMAC) with a career-high 29 points and Jen Vigil made a career-high nine assists.

UCCS opened the game on an 8-2 run but Colorado Mines put together its own 8-2 run to tie the game at 12-12 with 28 seconds left in the first quarter. Brittany Hernandez provided the Mountain Lions with the lead on a three-pointer with eight seconds to play and accounted for 11 of the team's 15 points at the end of the first quarter.

After the Orediggers opened the second quarter on a jumper, the Mountain Lions went on a 15-3 run for a 30-17 advantage with 5:42 to play. Fisher scored 10 of the points in the run, with the other five from Hernandez. The duo were the only two Mountain Lions with points until late in the second quarter, and Hernandez led both teams with 19 points in the 40-32 halftime lead for UCCS.

The Mountain Lions led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter at the end of an 11-2 run for a 51-36 lead with 4:48 to play in the period. The Orediggers gradually chipped into the UCCS lead and made it a one possession game at 62-59 on a 9-2 run with 6:27 left in the fourth quarter. The UCCS defense held Colorado Mines to no field goals for the rest of the game and finished on a 12-4 run for the 74-63 victory.

Fisher finished with her third 20-point game of the season and first since a 23-point performance against Fort Lewis in her previous career high. She added 16 rebounds for her third double-double of the season and tied her career-high with three blocked shots.

Vigil's nine assists tied for the sixth-best performance in UCCS history and she made a team-high three steals on defense. Hernandez scored all of her points in the first half and made three blocked shots. Madi Gaibler scored 10 points in her best scoring performance since 12 against Westminster on Jan. 27.

The win kept the Mountain Lions in a tie for second in the RMAC standings after Colorado Mesa's 87-39 win against New Mexico Highlands. UCCS and Mesa are a half-game ahead of Fort Lewis, who finished the regular season tonight in a 65-61 win at Westminster. Regis is a full game  behind UCCS and Mesa after its 75-69 win against South Dakota Mines.

UCCS will finish the regular season tomorrow in a 5 p.m., game at Colorado Christian. The Cougars fell 72-70 tonight to MSU Denver and are in a three-way tie for eighth in the RMAC standings. A win for the Mountain Lions will secure a home game in the RMAC quarterfinals on Tuesday night.