GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The No. 6 seed University of Colorado Colorado Springs women's basketball team reigned three-pointers Friday night and played to stingy defense to take down No. 2 seed Western Colorado University in the semifinal round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament. The Mountain Lions will face top seed and host Colorado Mesa University tomorrow night in the championship game at 6 p.m. from Brownson Arena.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final Score: W, 69-55
- Records: UCCS (18-11, 12-8 RMAC) | WCU (21-8, 15-5 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Brownson Arena | Grand Junction, Colo.
- All-Time Series: The Mountain Lions are now 34-19 all-time against Western Colorado after besting WCU in both matchups this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Mountain Lions won the jump ball and Amyah Moore Allen drew a shooting foul five seconds into the game and sank both free throws before hitting a wide-open three-pointer to give UCCS an early 5-0 lead. Moore Allen broke a 7-7 tie with a driving layup to put UCCS back on top, 9-7, before Western's Ivey Schmidt hit a turnaround jumper to knot the game again, 12-12. On UCCS' next possession, Moore Allen hit her second trey of the opening quarter from the left side of the arc, sparking a 9-4 run to end the quarter as Maison White scored all six of her points in the final three minutes of the quarter to give the Mountain Lions a 21-16 lead at the break.
- The black and gold exploded to a 10-point lead in the first minute of the second stanza when Ellie Reynolds took advantage of a WCU turnover for a jumper, followed by a three-pointer from Breelyn Robinson, forcing the Mountaineers to call a timeout at 9:03 and trailing 26-10. UCCS caught fire from downtown, hitting five three-pointers on eight attempts in the second quarter. Jayla Jackson-Allen found the bottom of the net on back-to-back three-pointers to close out the half as UCCS outscored Western Colorado, 8-4, and owned their largest lead of the half, 42-28.
- With a 14-point lead to start the second half, the Mountain Lions struggled to find their rhythm after Western Colorado turned up the heat defensively. The Mountaineers went on an 8-0 run while holding the Mountain Lions scoreless on their first seven possessions before Emily Vidal made her first bucket of the game from downtown to break UCCS' scoring drought five minutes into the third quarter. Both teams cooled off in the third stanza, combining for just 19 points, five of which came in the final 13 seconds from the free throw line. Vidal put UCCS's lead back to double digits when she drained all three of her free throws with 1.1 seconds left in the quarter, pushing the lead back to 11 points, 50-39.
- After a cold third quarter, UCCS came out firing in the fourth quarter. Jackson-Allen and Krystina Hagood started the final stanza, each netting a trey before Vidal registered two straight buckets from behind the arc, giving UCCS a comfortable 64-47 at 6:29 heading into the media timeout. With a 17-point lead, the Mountain Lions controlled the pace of the game and used the clock to their advantage to seal the semifinal win, 69-55.
GAME STATISTICS
- Three Mountain Lions scored in double figures behind Moore Allen's team high 15 points. She also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and dished out four assists.
- Nine of Vidal's 12 points came from three-point range, where she hit on 3-of-5 from downtown, and another three points came from the charity stripe (3-for-3). Vidal matched Moore Allen's four dimes and added four rebounds.
- Jackson-Allen couldn't miss from long range, making all three of her attempts as part of her 10 points.
- UCCS made 22-of-52 field goals (42.3 percent), 12-of-30 from behind the arc (40 percent), and 13-of-19 free throws for 68.4 percent.
- Schmidt led WCU with a game-high 21 points and six assists. Rachel Cockman chipped in 13 points and six rebounds.
- The Mountain Lions scored 19 points off 17 Mountaineer turnovers.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Tonight's game was the first time the two teams met each other in the postseason.
- Tomorrow's game will mark the first time UCCS has played in the RMAC championship game in back-to-back years.
- The Mountain Lions' 12 three-pointers are the second most this season.
- Jackson-Allen netted a career high 10 points and made three three-pointers.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will take on No. 1 seed Colorado Mesa tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the RMAC Championship game.
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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.
