RAPID CITY, S.D. – The flood gates opened in the second as the University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team surged to their seventh straight win Saturday night at South Dakota Mines. UCCS posted a 66-56 road win while handing the Hardrockers their sixth straight setback.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score: UCCS 66, South Dakota Mines 56
- Records: UCCS (18-7, 15-4 RMAC) | SDM (5-19, 5-13 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: King Center | Rapid City, S.D.
- All-Time Series: UCCS is 10-8 against the Hardrockers all-time, and now improve to 4-5 when facing SDM on their home court.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- South Dakota Mines opened Saturday's game with a three-pointer before Krystina Hagood put UCCS on the scoreboard with a step through layup. Back-to-back three-pointers by Alexis Backhaus put the home team up front, 6-2, but a fadeaway jumper from Maison White and two straight buckets from Amyah Moore Allen brought UCCS within one point, 7-6. Moore Allen added her third straight hoop for the Mountain Lions to tie the game at 10-10, but the Hardrockers bounced back on top before the first quarter came to a close as Morning Grace Spotting Bear netted the final three points of the stanza for a 13-10 SDM lead.
- The second stanza started slow for the Mountain Lions as UCCS was able to only net four points in the first six minutes, but the black and gold rallied for a 10-0 run that featured three-pointers from Mya Wilson and Emily Vidal. Vidal's long ball with 2:05 left in the half would prove to be UCCS' final points of the half as the Mountain Lions trailed 29-24 at the half.
- Down by as many as 12 points in the first half, UCCS raised the tempo of the game to a new level coming out of the locker room at halftime, storming to an 11-0 run while taking a 35-29 lead in the first half of the third quarter. Krystina Hagood made a smooth back door pass to Knabe to open the scoring gates for the Mountain Lions. White forced a turnover on the defensive end of the court that led to a Knabe-Rylie Ottmann fastbreak connection followed by Knabe's driving layup that gave UCCS their first lead of the game, 30-29. Sydney Nilles joined the scoring action with five straight points from a three-pointer on the right baseline before adding a steal that fed Hagood for another fastbreak layup to cap an 11-0 run and give the Mountain Lions a 35-29 lead. The Mountain Lions kept the pressure on SDM, holding them to just eight points in the third stanza as the black and gold finished the quarter outscoring SDM 12-2 in the final minutes.
- Facing their sixth straight loss, the Hardrockers battled back into the game and netted the first seven points of the fourth period, cutting into UCCS' lead, 47-44. Keeping calm and steady, the Mountain Lions quickly responded with a three-pointer from Nilles and two buckets from Moore Allen and White, extending their lead back to 10 points, 54-44. Both teams finished the quarter evening each other's offensive output, 12-12, as UCCS pushed their winning streak to seven games.
GAME STATISTICS
- For the seventh straight game, Moore Allen has led the Mountain Lions in scoring, netting 17 points off the bench after making 8-of-15 field goals and dishing out three dimes.
- Nilles chipped in 14 points after a solid shooting night. She drained 6-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-3 from long range and reigned in five rebounds.
- White chipped in eight points and a team high six rebounds while recording three steals, one block and an assist.
- UCCS shot 47.5 percent from the floor(28-of-59) and 42.9 percent from behind the arc but were only able to convert on 4-of-13 free throws (30.8 percent).
- Spotted Bear tied Moore Allen for game high honors when she netted 17 points for the Hardrockers.
- SDM hit 19-of-50 field goals and 14-of-19 free throws.
- The Mountain Lions outscored SD Mines in the paint (38-20), off turnovers (20-11), from the bench (31-3) and on the fast break (9-5).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- White moves up to fourth all-time in the record book with 598 career rebounds.
- UCCS' 18 wins this season are their most wins since 2016-17 (24-9).
- The seven straight victories are the most by a UCCS team since 2014-15 (eight straight wins).
- With three games left in the regular season, UCCS and Regis are tied for first place with a 15-4 record, leading Colorado Mesa University, Colorado School of Mines and Adams State University by a half game.
UP NEXT
- UCCS will stay on the road next weekend when they take on Western Colorado University at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24.
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.
