Chadron, Nebraska – Closing out back-to-back weekends on the road the Regis University Ranger women's basketball team return to their home court after a disappointing 76-69 loss to the Chadron State Eagles (6-13, 6-9 RMAC).

The Rangers allowed the Eagles to hang around early at the start of the game.  The score tied, 8-8, at the 16:03 mark.  A Regis 9-0 run broadened the lead and RU continued to have the hot hand putting up 44 points after one half of play, 44-32.

The Eagles opened the second half with a 9-3 run to close the gap to six, 47-41, and then continued to work their way to just a two point deficit, 49-47, at the 15:47 mark.  Senior guard Erica Von Stein (Trafalgar, Indiana) responded knocking down her third three of the game to push the lead back to five, 53-48.

The Eagles never stopped battling and soon enough Chadron State tied the score at 59-59 at the 8:07 mark before beginning to run away with the lead.  A two-minute scoring drought was much to blame for the Rangers falling behind.  Too often this season Regis has experienced periods late in the game where shots would not fall. 

The Eagles pushed the score to 68-60 at the 6:07 mark, their largest of the game, and continued to control the lead for the remaining minutes.  RU would not go down without a fight though; junior guard Caresse Williams (Citrus Heights, California) brought the score within one, 70-69, with three to play.  Unfortunately, the Rangers could not get over the scoring hurdle and that would be their last points of the game.  Regis falls to 12-7 overall and 8-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. 

Williams went to the line 14 times and made 11 to lead Regis with 19 points.  She also went 4-8 from the field, tallied three steals, and dished out three assists.  Junior guard Bay'lee Purdy (Agate, Colorado) was the only other Ranger to reach double-digits adding 15 points on 6-14 from the field and 3-6 from distance.  

RU was outrebounded 35-26 suffering 11 Chadron State offensive boards.  The Eagles added 20 points to their score off free points from the line. 

The Rangers are back at home on Friday, February 6 as they host Colorado Christian (10-11, 10-5 RMAC).  Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.