RAPID CITY, S.D. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball falls short in their conference opener to South Dakota School of Mines & Technology on Friday night as the Mountain Lions worked out of a slow first-half start to outscore the Hardrockers in the second half before falling 80-72.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 72, SDSMT 80
Records: UCCS (1-6, 0-1 RMAC), SDSMT (1-6, 1-0 RMAC)
Location: SDSMT King Center| Rapid City, S. D.
Series: The Mountain Lions trail in the all-time series against South Dakota Mines at a record of 8-7.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Mountain Lions started the first stanza off in good standing as UCCS claimed the opening tip-off with
Maison White receiving a pass from the arc and working the right side of the hoop for a driving layup to claim the early 2-0 lead. UCCS' defense also showed life early on by forcing two turnovers in the Hardrockers opening two possessions with
Sydney Nilles and
Alexa Dominguez each registering a steal to maintain the lead a few minutes in.
• But after SDSMT found their first basket at the 8:40 mark, the Hardrockers embarked on a 16-2 run that included 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from long range that quickly put UCCS down 16-4 with 6:17 left to play. As the Hardrockers continued to work out front, the Mountain Lions began to generate some offense of their own before the end of first quarter as
Amyah Moore Allen drained a three-pointer for eight first quarter points at the 2:25 mark. SDSMT then turned the heat up from beyond the arc with a made three just before the buzzer to push their lead to 28-15 off 10-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range.
• In the second quarter, UCCS and SDSMT traded baskets with
Sophie Abela and
Talia DePetrillo responsible for the Mountain Lions first made field goals but the Hardrockers regained control and recorded their largest lead of the game after knocking down two free throws to hold a 38-20 lead halfway through the quarter.
• The Mountain Lions were able to slow the Hardrockers down from long range as UCCS forced six turnovers in the quarter, but SDSMT worked their way to the charity line to make 5-of-7 with the Hardrockers recording nine points off five UCCS turnovers to carry the 45-27 advantage into halftime.
• Out of the intermission, the Mountain Lions got right to work as
Gracie Haneborg took Nilles dime to the hoop for a made layup in the opening 30 seconds. UCCS continued to chip away with Moore Allen working herself into double-digits to help fuel a 4-of-5 start from the field for the Mountain Lions with two driving layups to help cut the SDSMT lead down to 36-53 with just over five minutes left in the quarter.
• The third quarter then quickly turned into the
Maison White show as the 6-foot forward worked the paint to help start an 8-3 Mountain Lion run where White was responsible for six points to help bring life back into the Mountain Lions, 57-44. SDMST then found two jumpers to try and slow down UCCS, but White came back for another layup for 10 third-quarter points as she then swiped a steal that resulted in a
Jessica Nation three-pointer with a minute left. But it was yet another momentum halting three-pointer from SDMST with 12 seconds left as the Mountain Lions brought the game within 13 points with one quarter remaining, 64-51.
• In the fourth quarter, the second half comeback ensued for the Mountain Lions as Nation sparked an 11-5 run to open the quarter with a made layup and Haneborg closing the four-and-a-half-minute run with a driving layup to slash the Hardrocker lead down to seven at the 5:21 media timeout, 69-62.
• With the game winding down and UCCS falling back to an 11-point deficit, Haneborg came aliveonce again to drain a pull-up jumper from Abela's fourth assist as Allen Moore creeped in to force a steal out of the 30-second UCCS timeout with Haneborg coming out on the other end for the layup and and-one play to make it 76-68 with 1:26 left. But the comeback would fall short there for the Mountain Lions as the Hardrockers held on to win, 80-72.
STATS FROM THE DAY:
• UCCS came to outscore SDSMT 45-35 in the second half with the Mountain Lions outshooting the Hardrockers in the second half 50 percent (17of-34) to 39 percent (13-of-33) from the field. Overall, UCCS held the advantage in field goal percentage at 46.7 percent (28-60) for the game with SDSMT taking the advantage in three-point percentage at 42.3 percent (11-of-26).
• Amyah Moore Allen paced the Mountain Lions with 19 points on 6-of-12 from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe as
Maison White posted a double-double with 15 points on 50 percent shooting from the field (5-of-10) while also garnering 10 boards along with one assist and two steals.
• Gracie Haneborg represented the third Mountain Lion with double-digit points after posting 16 points on a team-leading 70 percent from the field (7-of-10) as she added seven rebounds while tying White and
Sophie Abela for a team-high two steals. Abela went on to also add a team-high four assists and added eight points to the stat sheet.
• Both teams shot 13-of-21 from the free throw line with the Mountain Lions forcing 18 Hardrocker turnovers while outscoring SDSMT in the paint, 44-26.
BEYOND THE BOX:
• Maison White notches her second double-double performance of the season, and of her career.
• Gracie Haneborg records a season-high 16 points points off a career-best seven made field goals as she also grabs a career-high seven rebounds.
• As a team, the Mountain Lions registered their highest field goal percentage of the season at 46.7 percent.
UP NEXT:
UCCS Women's Basketball is back in action tomorrow afternoon as the Mountain Lions travel to Spearfish, S.D. to take on Black Hills State University at 4 p.m.
SOCIAL:
Twitter - @GoMountainLions
Instagram - @gomountainlions
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
