COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's baskeball team (10-17, 9-12 RMAC) pulled off the upset on Saturday night against the Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets (16-10, 13-8 RMAC) at a final score of 57-56 inside Gallogly Events Center. The Mountain Lions controlled the game up until two minutes and 54 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Morgan Hamm hit a three-pointer to tie the game. Freshman Ellie Moore was able to hit the game winning two with 4.5 seconds left and pull a defensive rebound to seal the win.
UCCS came out with the same force seen in last night's game and sunk 50 percent of their shots in the first quarter (6-12). The Yellow Jackets weren't ready for the Mountain Lions strong defensive game and were held to just four points and only scored their first points with less than a minute left in the first quarter. The defensive game played by UCCS held BHSU to just 14.3 percent shooting as UCCS was able to finish the first quarter with a 18-4 lead.
The second quarter fans saw Black Hills State pick up their game and go on a 5-0 run in the first four minutes and 55 seconds. BHSU was also able to make adjustments defensively to hold UCCS to 13 points for the second quarter while also finding a way to make more of their shots to fall in on the offensive end. Both teams matched each other as the quarter went on with both BHSU and UCCS getting 12 points in the paint, five off of second chance shots, and nearly identical points coming from the bench with 10 and nine, respectively.
Kaity Hovasse showed strong court awareness with her first half performance driving, dishing, and creating shot opportunities for her teammates. UCCS also showed their offensive prowess in the first half with just four turnovers while simultaneously increasing the pressure against the Yellow Jackets to force nine turnovers.
The second half started with a 10 point lead for the Mountain Lions to hold a 31-21 lead. The Mountain Lions had a harder time stopping BHSU defensively as they went on a 10-4 run in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Black Hills State came within four points of the Mountain Lions with five minutes 40 seconds left, bringing the score to 31-35. Morgan Ham for BHSU put the team on her shoulders to cut away at their deficit finishing the second half with 23 points. Ham threatened the Mountain Lions both inside and outside going 10-26 (38 percent) from inside and 2-6 (33.3 percent) behind the arc.
The final ten minutes of the game became physical on both ends. BHSU forced more defensive fouls against UCCS and made 10 of their 19 shots for the fourth quarter. Makenna Baker ended the game with three steals and two assists to go with her six points. Moore dominated both ends of the court shooting 100 percent for the game (4-4 FG, 2-2 FT) finishing with 10 points and all six rebounds coming on the defensive end with a crucial rebound coming at the very end of the game to prevent a second chance shot for BHSU. Moore added a block and three assists to her stats as well. Freshman Kaity Hovasse led the team with 11 points and controlled the defensive boards with all eight of her dimes coming towards the end of the game.
The Mountain Lions have now won six of their last eight games and are currently on a three-game winning streak heading into their final game of the season.
UCCS will play their final conference game next Friday, Feb. 29 against Colorado School of Mines at 5:30 p.m. inside Gallogly Events Center for Senior Night.
