DURANGO, Colo. – A combined strong shooting night and a stifling defense produced a 65-56 win by the University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team Friday night at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. The win is the Mountain Lions second straight victory and third in the last four games as they improve to 5-9 overall and 4-4 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final: UCCS 65, Fort Lewis 56
- Records: UCCS (5-9, 4-4 RMAC) | FLC (6-6, 3-4 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Whalen Gymnasium | Durango, Colo.
- All-Time Series: Fort Lewis leads the all-time series, 30-26, with the Mountain Lions winning the last four meetings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Maison White's defense quickly turned into offense to start the contest against the Skyhawks. White blocked a Skyhawks shot, grabbed the rebound and made a driving layup at the other end of the court to put UCCS up 2-0. FLC's Ember Cervantes drained a trey for the first of 10 lead changes before White sank her second free throw attempt for a 3-3 tie, followed by a steal and layup from Gracie Haneborg to put UCCS back on top, 5-3.
- Both teams traded baskets for most of the first stanza highlighted by White scoring six straight points for the Mountain Lions before Haneborg netted four consecutive points of her own. Rylie Ottmann completed a three-point point play with 1:27 left in the opening quarter, but Lanae Billy ended the stanza with a three-pointer, cutting into UCCS' lead, 18-17.
- The Mountain Lions hit 8-of-14 field goals in the first quarter (57.1 percent) and outrebounded the Skyhawks, 11-5.
- The second quarter started with both teams possessing the ball a total of 10 times before Sydney Nilles broke nearly a three-minute scoring drought at 7:17. The Skyhawks went on a 10-2 run that spanned more than two minutes as FLC went 3-for-3 from the floor, including 2-for-2 from downtown as Billy netted nine of FLC's 10 points during the run. UCCS responded with a 7-0 run of their own. Jessica Nation was successful on two layups combined with a free throw from Agar Farres and a jumper by Alexa Dominguez. Nation added two made free throws with four ticks left in the half, giving UCCS a slight 37-35 lead at halftime.
- After a scoreless first quarter, Nation scored nine points in the second quarter behind four field goals and a free throw. The second quarter featured 17 combined free throw attempts and 12 fouls. FLC's Billy netted 13 of the Skyhawks 18 points in the second quarter with four field goals, three of which from long range.
- Both squads came out of the locker room ice cold from the floor, shooting a combined 5-of-26 (19.2 percent). FLC started the half tying the game at 37-all with two free throws. The next trip down the court, Nilles found White for a deuce before Nilles made two free throws, followed by a floating jumper from Nation to cap off a 7-0 run and a 43-37 advantage. FLC would once again knot the game, 45-45, as Kelly Sorenson registered the final five points of the quarter for the home team.
- The Mountain Lions put the Skyhawks away in the fourth quarter, outscoring FLC by nine, 20-11, and forcing the Skyhawks to commit five turnovers. For the second straight quarter, FLC netted the first two points of the quarter on free throws for a 47-45 lead, but it would be the last time the Skyhawks held a lead. Emily Doolittle ignited an 8-0 run for the visiting team when she assisted Nation on a bucket. Nation added two more points as White and Doolittle each chipped in a pair of points as part of the 8-0 run. The Mountain Lions stifling defense held FLC without a field goal in the final 2:20 of action.
GAME STATISTICS
- Nation netted a career 18 points after coming off the bench to make 8-of-15 from the floor and 2-of-4 free throws.
- White chipped in 15 points and 11 rebounds to go with two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. She sank 7-of-13 from the floor with eight of her caroms coming on the defensive glass.
- Haneborg sank 50 percent of her field goals (5-of-10) and pulled down four rebounds.
- Nilled dished out a game high three dimes and added four steals while netting seven points.
- The Mountain Lions started the contest shooting a hot 57.1 percent from the floor (8-of-14) and finished the game making 40 percent (26-of-65) and 61.9 percent from the charity stripe (13-of-21).
- The Skyhawks were led by Billy's 26 points. Five of Billy's eight field goals came from behind the arc while adding five points from the charity stripe.
- UCCS outscored the Skyhawks off turnovers (19-14), in the paint (44-18), fast break points (17-4) and bench points (30-6).
- UCCS scored at least 18 points in three of the four quarters.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Nation matched her career high in points (18) with both milestones coming against the Skyhawks, and she added a career-high eight made field goals.
- Nilles and Rylie Ottmann posted defensive career highs with four and three steals, respectively.
- White's 15 points and 11 rebounds marked her seventh double-double of the season, and her fifth in the last six games.
- All three of Breelyn Robinson's points tonight came from the free throw line where she went 3-for-3 for career highs in made and attempted free throws.
- Nilles' four steals are the second most by a Mountain Lion this season as UCCS stole the ball a season high 18 times.
- The 56 points allowed tonight are the third fewest this season, while the 16 made field goals and 47 field goals attempted are the fewest by an opponent.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will travel to Alamosa, Colo. Saturday night to take on Adams State Grizzlies at 5:30 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.
