SPEARFISH, S.D. – In light of the tragic events that happened on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs campus Friday morning, the women's basketball team pulled together and battled through emotions and played a hard-fought game against Black Hills State University. The Mountain Lions made clutch free throws down the stretch and played staunch defense to earn a 69-62 win in Spearfish, S.D.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score: UCCS 69, Black Hills State 62
- Records: UCCS (17-7, 14-4 RMAC) | BHSU (14-7, 11-6 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Donald E. Young Center | Spearfish, S.D.
- All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions are 13-11 all-time against the Yellow Jackets, and 6-6 on BHSU's home court.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Briana Knabe connected with Maison White on UCCS' first possession to give the Mountain Lions a 2-0 lead. After missing their first three shots of the game, Kalla Bertram gave the home team a 3-2 lead after hitting one from long range. Knabe responded with a layup on the Mountain Lions next possession that sparked an 8-0 run as four different Mountain Lions netted a basket to give UCCS a 10-3 lead. The green and yellow answered UCCS' run after making two free throws and another trey from Bertram for five straight points, but Rylie Ottmann's second bucket of the game put UCCS at a 12-8 advantage as they took a 12-11 lead after one quarter of action.
- Bertam led Black Hills State on an 8-2 run to open the second quarter, scoring five of the eight points to put BHSU in a 19-14 lead. Ottmann quickly answered BHSU's three-pointer with her first trey of the game as UCCS pulled within two points, 19-17. After an Ellie Moore layup gave the Yellow Jackets a 23-18 lead, Krystina Hagood drained a jumper from the free throw line, followed by long ball from Amyah Moore Allen to knot the game at 23-23. Hagood snagged a steal and took it in for a layup for a 25-23 UCCS lead heading into the second quarter media timeout. The Mountain Lions were able to hedge off BHSU, edging them 8-6 in the final four minutes to take a 33-31 lead at the half.
- The second half opened with a Bertram jumper to knot the game, 33-33, but it was the Maison White show as she scored seven straight points for UCCS, including an and-one play that gave the visiting team a 40-38 lead halfway through the third quarter. Moore Allen supported White's run with a layup after White's old-fashioned three-point play. Emily Vidal's first points of the game came from downtown to cap a 12-6 UCCS run, but the Yellow Jackets came back with five straight points to grab a 48-47 lead. Moore Allen hit the final bucket of the quarter for UCCS, but BHSU kept the pressure on and finished with their own and-one play to tie the game at 51-51 heading into the fourth quarter.
- After a scoreless minute to start the fourth quarter, White hit two free throws for the first points of the period before BHSU tied the game on a layup at 53-53. Both teams went without a point for three minutes, but Hagood broke the scoring drought with bucket from behind the arc. Again, BHSU answered with a Kaycee Groves three-pointer to even the score at 56-56, but three straight points from Moore Allen broke the tie to give UCCS a 59-56 lead they would not relinquish with 3:56 remaining. The Mountain Lions' final 10 points of the contest came from the charity stripe where they made 10-of-14 from the line. UCCS finished the quarter netting 13-of-17 free throws and holding BHSU to just 4-of-19 field goals.
GAME STATISTICS
- Moore Allen came off the bench to score a game high 18 points after netting 7-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-5 from the line. She also added a game high four steals.
- White chipped in 14 points on 5-of-8 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws and added five rebounds and two steals.
- Six of Hagood's 12 points came from downtown after she finished the game making 5-of-9 field goals.
- Knabe tallied nine points, a game high four assists and added a block and a steal.
- UCCS hit 24-of-54 from the floor (44.4 percent), 5-of-18 three-pointers (27.8 percent) and 16-of-23 free throws (69.6 percent).
- The Mountain Lions constrained BHSU to just 11 points in the first and final quarters. The Yellow Jackets committed 24 turnovers which led to 22 points for UCCS.
- Bertram paced BHSU with 15 points, nine of which came from long range.
- The Mountain Lions netted 36 points in the paint to BHSU's 24, and outscored BHSU on the fast break, 12-4.
- The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Mountain Lions, 44-28, and scored 23 second half points, but shot just 33.3 percent from the floor (21-of-63).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Knabe recorded her first career block tonight.
- Moore Allen's 16 field goal attempts ties the season high for the third time. She owns all three 16 field goal attempts in a game.
- Tonight marked the third time UCCS did not have a shot blocked, and the second time this season BHSU has not blocked a UCCS shot.
- White now has 211 rebounds this season, the third most by any junior at UCCS.
UP NEXT
- UCCS will head to Rapid City, S.D. to take on South Dakota Mines tomorrow at 4 p.m.
SOCIAL
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@GoMountainLions
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@gomountainlions
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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.
