DENVER, Colo. – No. 4 seed University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team fell short Saturday night against No. 2 Regis University in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament championship game in a 76-64 defeat.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP 

• Final: UCCS 64, Regis 76
• Records: (4) UCCS (23-8, 18-4 RMAC) | (2) Regis (26-5, 18-4 RMAC)
• Facility | Location:  Regis Fieldhouse | Denver, Colo.  
• All-Time Series: This was the 60^th matchup between the Mountain Lions and Rangers with RU now holding a 39-21 all-time series advantage.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The Rangers set the pace from the opening tip in Saturday night's RMAC championship game as they started on an 8-0 run. Maison White would get the Mountain Lions on the board after Emily Vidal connected with her for a layup, followed by a spinning, scooping lay-in from Amyah Moore Allen to cut RU's lead in half (8-4). The Rangers then put up five unanswered points to increase their lead (13-4) but Emily Vidal would then bank in her first three of the night on the right wing off of a full court pass from Breeyln Robinson.
• Firing on all cylinders on their home court, Regis would push their lead up to 10 (17-7) at the 3:23 mark in the first quarter. Vidal responded to this run and would hit another trey to spark UCCS on an 8-2 run capped off by an up-and-under lay-in from Mya Wilson to cut their deficit to four (19-15) with a little over two minutes to go. The two teams would trade blows to close the quarter, but Wilson would hit a top of the key mid-range jumper at the buzzer to see the Mountain Lions just down 26-22 going into the second quarter.
• With Regis seemingly in control over the course of the first quarter, UCCS would steal momentum as their defense slowed down the Rangers offense to start the second frame. A Vidal jumper, a White lay-up, a Riley Ottmann three-ball, and a Briana Knabe layup would give the Mountain Lions their first lead (31-30) with 6:04 to go in the first half. Vidal would keep applying the pressure as she cut through the lane for a scooping lay-up followed by a corner three to give UCCS a six-point (36-30) lead.
• Regis would respond to this run by turning up the defensive focus and earning trips to the free throw line. The Rangers went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes and 41 seconds where they sunk five shots from the charity stripe including a made and-one three-pointer from Fiona Snashall. Ottmann would collect two points on a floater from the baseline with four seconds left and Regis would take a two-point lead (40-38) going into the intermission.
• The Rangers continued the momentum they built to end the second quarter as they went on a 9-2 run to open the second half putting themselves up 49-40 at the 5:05 mark. The Mountain Lions found their flow again as Krystina Hagood finished a reverse layup followed by back-to-back buckets from Moore Allen to cut the UCCS deficit to three (49-46) with 2:46 left. The Rangers replied by outscoring the Mountain Lions 7-2 to finish the third frame and would hold a comfortable 56-48 lead going into the last quarter.
• The Rangers opened the fourth with a three-pointer but White would get UCCS going as she scored back-to-back baskets at the rim with assists coming from Moore Allen making the score 59-52 Regis with 7:19 to go. Nearly two minutes later, White would hit a putback lay-in to cut the Regis lead to seven (62-55) with under five minutes left in the game.
• The Rangers would go 1-for-2 from the charity stripe about 40 seconds later and on the next UCCS possession Vidal would nail a deep left-wing trey to cut the Rangers lead to five (63-58). Regis and UCCS traded buckets the next two possessions but at the 2:22 mark, Moore Allen would score on a driving layup to pull the Mountain Lions to just down three (65-62). UCCS would stop Regis on the other end and would get their chance to tie the game but would miss a three-pointer with 1:24 left to go. Regis then hit a jumper to go up five and the Mountain Lions were unable to get anything to fall on the offensive end. UCCS fouled the Rangers repeatedly to extend the game, but the Rangers were able to hit their free looks and secure the tournament championship in a 76-64 victory.

GAME STATISTICS 

• White and Vidal paced the Mountain Lions in points as they each recorded 16. White also grabbed 16 rebounds, dished two assists, and blocked two shots. Vidal made her contributions from beyond the arc as she shot 4-of-7 from downtown.
• Neither team shot efficiently from the field as Regis went 20-of-52 (38.5 percent) from the field while UCCS went 28-of-74 (37.8 percent). The Mountain Lions went 7-for-23 (30.4 percent) from deep while the Rangers shot an impressive 7-for-16 (43.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
• Regis earned many trips to the charity stripe in Saturday night's championship game as they went 29-of-43 from the line compared to UCCS who only had six attempts from the free throw line going 1-of-6.
• Despite the loss, the Mountain Lions had more points from the bench (36-10), points from turnovers (15-8), and points in the paint (34-18).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE 

• Maison White and Amyah Moore Allen were selected to the all-tournament team for their outstanding performances throughout the three-game stretch.
• This was the Mountain Lions first trip to the RMAC championship game since the 2016-17 season.

UP NEXT 

• The NCAA championship bracket will be announced on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. (MT). UCCS was ranked No. 9 in the last regular season rankings.

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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.