DENVER, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team defeated Regis University on the road Thursday night, behind a dominant first half. The Mountain Lions won the opening two quarters 40-21 and held onto win the game 78-73.
 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

• Final: UCCS 78, Regis 73
• Records: UCCS (8-6, 4-3 RMAC) | Regis (6-8, 4-3 RMAC)
• Facility | Location: Regis Fieldhouse | Denver, Colo.
• All-Time Series: Despite the UCCS win, the Rangers possess a 39-22 all-time series advantage.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Thursday night's contest started with the Rangers in full command, opening to a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes. Amyah Moore Allen and Maison White sparked the Mountain Lions in response to the early Regis brigade, going on a 12-0 run, with the duo scoring eight points and four points in that run, respectively. The Rangers closed the quarter with five unanswered points, reclaiming a 15-14 lead after the opening frame.
• UCCS went on an absolute tear in the second quarter, opening the first four and a half minutes on a 16-0 run to take a 30-15-point lead. The Mountain Lion's defense did not concede a point from the Rangers until 4:27. UCCS closed the first half with a 10-6 run, entering halftime with a dominant 40-21 lead. Moore Allen had everything going in the first half, scoring 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 18 minutes. The Mountain Lion's defense held Regis to shoot just 26.5 percent (9-34) in the first half while dominating the glass 28-18.
• Regis was determined in the second half, opening the third quarter with a 16-5 run to cut their deficit to 45-37. A pair of three-pointers from Krystina Hagood and Amaya Snowden helped soften the blow, but the Rangers did their damage, winning the third quarter 23-14 and making the score 54-44 entering the fourth quarter.
• The final frame's first four and a half minutes saw Regis pull itself within four points (62-58), completely flipping the momentum in their favor. Ellie Reynolds hit a deep three to help UCCS compose itself, but the Rangers remained persistent as Regis made it a two-point game (65-63) with 3:33 to go.
• From then on, the Mountain Lions turned up the defensive intensity and nailed two massive three-pointers on back-to-back possessions from Breelyn Robinson and Moore Allen. Moore Allen then stole the ball and scored an easy lay-up on the other end to give UCCS another double-digit lead (74-63) with 2:07 remaining. The Rangers would not go out silently, going on a 7-0 run over the next minute, making the score 74-70, UCCS. Reynolds then made a lay-up with 25 seconds to go, and with 15 seconds left in the game, Moore Allen stole a Regis inbound pass and scored the ball on the other end to take a 78-70 lead. The Mountain Lions then held on to win 78-73.

GAME STATISTICS

• Amyah Moore Allen led the way for the Mountain Lions, dropping 26 points while tallying six steals, five assists, and four rebounds in 34 minutes.
• Maison White recorded a double-double tonight with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting while pulling down 11 rebounds.
• Guards Gia Bradley and Ellie Reynolds reached the double-digit mark in the scoring column, scoring 12 and 10 points, respectively. The duo combined to shoot 4-of-10 from beyond the arc and 8-of-15 overall from the field.
• Tonight's game was a tale of two halves for both teams, with UCCS winning the first half by 19 (40-21) and Regis winning the second half by 14 (52-38).
• UCCS bested Regis in rebounds (46-45), bench points (26-11), fast break points (24-18), steals (12-5), points from turnovers (19-13), and second chance points (14-11).
• The Mountain Lions displayed an impressive defensive game plan, causing the Rangers to turn the ball over 19 times while only coughing the ball up 12 times themselves.
• Despite the loss, the Rangers still outshot the Mountain Lions 40.6 percent to 38.2 percent from the field and 35 percent to 29 percent from three-point range.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Entering the game, UCCS had lost their last five matchups with the Rangers. The Mountain Lions last defeated Regis on January 18, 2022.
• Amyah Moore Allen has been on a scoring tear in the Mountain Lions' last three games. Moore Allen scored 20 or more points in three consecutive contests, averaging 25.3 points per game, shooting 51.8 percent (29-56) from the field, and averaging 4.7 steals in the last three games. She is now averaging 16.9 points per game on the season.
• Moore Allen recorded six steals in tonight's win, marking a new career high. She broke her previous mark of five steals, which she recorded in her last game against Colorado State University Pueblo on January 11.
• Maison White recorded her seventh double-double tonight and the 34th of her career.
• The Mountain Lions outscored the Rangers 26-6 in the second quarter tonight, marking a season-high for points in a quarter and a season-low in points allowed.

UP NEXT

• UCCS will stay in Denver, Colo., next time out as they take on Metropolitan State University of Denver on Saturday, January 18. The game starts at 1 p.m. and will occur at the MSUD Auraria Event Center.

For everything UCCS Athletics, follow the Mountain Lions on social media and stay tuned to gomountainlions.com. 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.