COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs senior forward
Brittany Hernandez recorded her eighth double-double of the season and led the Mountain Lions (21-8) to a 66-62 RMAC Tournament quarterfinal win against MSU Denver (18-12) in the Gallogly Events Center. UCCS will face Colorado Mesa in the semifinal round on Friday at Colorado State-Pueblo.
Hernandez scored 20 points with 12 rebounds and four steals, and led UCCS in all three categories. It was her first 20-point performance since Jan. 21, and her eighth of the season.
Jen Vigil scored 15 points and
Tori Fisher added 13.
UCCS scored the last eight points of the first quarter to take a 15-10 lead against MSU Denver. The Mountain Lions led by as many as eight points in the second quarter at 20-12 before the Roadrunners tied the game and then took the lead at 23-21 with 2:07 left in the period. UCCS held MSU Denver scoreless the rest of the quarter and Hernandez made a three-pointer with 14 seconds left to make it a 26-23 halftime lead for the Mountain Lions.
UCCS scored the first six points of the third quarter for a 32-23 lead, and gradually opened an 11-point lead at 45-34 with 3:07 left in the period. MSU Denver scored eight points in a span of 69 seconds to bring it back to a three-point game at 45-42 and UCCS kept the three-point lead at 49-46 at the end of the quarter.
Vigil and Hernandez put together an eight-point rally for the Mountain Lions in the fourth quarter to turn a 54-53 deficit in a 61-54 lead with 3:51 to play. MSU Denver made it a three-point game again at 63-60, and after grabbing a rebound and drawing a charge, cut it down to a one-point game at 63-62 with 16 seconds to play. The Roadrunners were forced to start fouling to stop the clock, and UCCS went three-for-four at the free throw to secure the 66-62 victory.
Hernandez went eight-for-15 from the field, two-for-five from the three-point line and two-for-three at the free throw line for her 20-point performance. Vigil scored nine of her 15 points from the three-point line and Fisher went six-of-13 from the field and one-for-one at the free throw line for her 13 points. The Mountain Lions shot 52 percent from the field in the second half and 75 percent at the free throw line for the game.
UCCS will play in the RMAC semifinals for the third straight season and will face No. 2 seed Colorado Mesa at 5 p.m., on Friday at CSU-Pueblo. The Mavericks won their quarterfinal game 73-63 against Colorado Christian earlier tonight.
