LAKEWOOD, Colo. – A nine-point halftime lead by the University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team at Colorado Christian University was swallowed up in the second half, as the Mountain Lions fell to the Cougars Saturday afternoon in Lakewood, Colo., 83-75.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score: UCCS 75, Colorado Christian 83
- Records: UCCS (6-5, 3-2 RMAC) | CCU (8-3, 4-1 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: CCU Event Center | Lakewood, Colo.
- All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions lead the all-time series with Colorado Christian, 33-22.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Mountain Lions started Saturday's contest with intense defensive pressure and an up-tempo offense against the Cougars. Krystina Hagood snagged a steal and found Emily Vidal for a corner three-pointer on the right side for the first points of the game. A bounce pass from Rylie Ottmann to Maison White led to straight possessions with White hitting layups for a quick 7-2 lead. Vidal answered the Cougars three-pointer of her own to give UCCS a two-possession lead, 10-5. Mya Wilson put her name in the scorebook as she worked her way under the basket for jumper. The Mountain Lions defense kept the offense rolling, this time when a steal by Amyah Moore Allen that led to Vidal's third trey of the game as UCCS took a 15-8 lead into the first media timeout. Coming out of the game's first break, Vidal drilled another three-pointer to give UCCS their largest lead of the first quarter, 18-8. Jessica Nation got into the action with back-to-back layups as UCCS held a 22-15 lead after 10 minutes. Vidal made all four three-point attempts as UCCS made 9-of-16 from the floor (56.3 percent).
- The black and gold continued to roll in the second quarter with a 7-3 run, highlighted by 3-of-3 field goals, gave them a 29-20 lead less than three minutes into the quarter. The Cougars battled back and used an 8-2 run of their own to cut the lead down to three points, 31-28, forcing UCCS to call a timeout as they made 1-of-5 field goals during the CCU run. The Mountain Lions regrouped out of the timeout when Breelyn Robinson found Nation for a layup, before Ottmann stole the ball and made two free throws when she was fouled on the fastbreak layup. Robinson sank her first three of the game from the left corner to push UCCS' lead back to double digits, 38-28. Wilson's steal on the defensive end of the court led to Moore Allen's fastbreak layup before Nation drained a turnaround jumper to cap off an 11-2 run and give the visiting time a 42-33 lead at halftime.
- Both teams came out of the locker room at halftime with a sluggish offensive output, combining for just 10 points at the first media timeout. Ottmann netted the first bucket of the third quarter two minutes into the second half before Vidal's jumper gave UCCS a 48-36 lead with 6:24 left in the quarter. The Mountain Lions would not make another field goal for over five minutes when Hagood broke the drought with fake pump and then a pull up jumper with 46 seconds left in the stanza to break a 49-49 tie. The Cougars were able to get a three-point shot off with three seconds left, knotting the game at 53-53. CCU outscored the Mountain Lions 20-11 in the third period and held UCCS to just 5-of-13 field goals and 0-of-4 from behind the arc.
- Tied at 53-all to start the final quarter, CCU opened the action with a three-pointer that sparked a 15-6 run across three and a half minutes as the home team posted a 68-59 lead after making all six field goal attempts, including 3-of-3 from downtown, and forcing the Mountain Lions to call a timeout.
- Wilson snapped a 10-0 CCU run with 4:51 left in regulation and proceeded to add two free throws before Ottmann netted a layup. Nation added another steal to her stat line and fed Hagood for a bucket to cap an 8-0 run as UCCS came within six of CCU, 73-67, but the home team held their lead over the Mountain Lions for the 83-75 home court win.
GAME STATISTICS
- White led UCCS in scoring with 16 points on 8-of-12 field goals and grabbed a team high six rebounds.
- Vidal finished the afternoon with 15 points, 12 of which came in the first quarter. She was solid from the floor, making 5-of-8 and a solid 4-of-5 from behind the arc.
- Ottmann dished out a team high five assists and added 10 points, four rebounds and a steal.
- Wilson came off the bench to contribute 10 points, two assists, and a block, steal and rebound.
- Nation made 4-of-6 from the floor as part of her eight bench points and stole the ball twice.
- UCCS shot 46.4 percent from the floor (32-of-69 field goals). They made 6-of-9 from three-point range in the first half but went 0-for-11 in the second half.
- The Mountain Lions won the turnover battle, forcing 19 CCU turnovers that led to 22 points. UCCS outscored CCU in the paint, 50-36, on second chance points, 18-13, and from the bench, 25-24.
- Regan Loconte of CCU led both teams with 22 points and added six caroms and two dimes.
- CCU finished the game shooting 52.5 percent from the floor, 57.1 percent from long range (12-of-21) and 75 percent from the charity stripe (9-of-12).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Vidal's four three-pointers are the second most in a game this season by a Mountain Lion.
- Not only did Ottmann tie a season high with five assists, but she also marked a new career high in assists, while Robinson also set a new career high with four assists.
- Vidal's 15 points, five field goals and four made three-point field goals are all career highs.
- Wilson's four field goals and 10 points are the most recorded in her young career.
- White has scored in double figures in 10 games this season, including the last nine.
- UCCS allowed a season high 83 points, 31 made field goals and 12 made three-pointers on Saturday.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will play their final game of the calendar year tomorrow afternoon at Chadron State College. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
SOCIAL
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
