Photo credit: Byline-Bill Sabo, CSU-Pueblo Sports Information

PUEBLO, Colo. – For the first time since 2007, the No. 5 Regis University women's basketball squared off against the No. 4 West Texas A&M Lady Buffs (23-8) in the NCAA Division II Tournament First Round game. The Rangers battled throughout the entirety of the game but came up short 75-67 as the 2016-17 season comes to a close.

Majestie Robinson led RU offensively with 16 points, three rebounds and four assists. Kaylie Rader added 12 points of her own and ten boards, eight of which were offensive, to record her third double-double of the season.

How It Happened: The Lady Buffs gave the Rangers a different look coming out in a 2-3 zone. It took Regis a few possessions to find their rhythm trailing 13-6 at the first media timeout of the game. Morgan Ducklow knocked down a three to close in on the Lady Buffs 13-9 with 3:37 to play in the first.

A 7-2 run coupled with big defensive stops brought the Rangers within two, 13-11. West Texas turned an 8-3 run of their own to close out the first quarter with a 21-14 lead. The Lady Buffs extended the lead to 24-16 but Robinson kept it close draining one from distance. At the media timeout break of the second quarter, West Texas held a 27-19 lead.

The Rangers turned up the on-the-ball pressure as Ducklow picked the pocket of the Lady Buffs point guard to keep the home team within striking distance, 33-23. West Texas closed out the half with a pair of back-to-back three's to lead 39-26 over RU.

Regis opened the second half with a 9-4 run capped off by another Robinson three. Rader went 3-for-4 from the line at the midway point of the third quarter to bring the deficit to 49-41.

At the 1:30 mark of the third quarter, the Rangers turned a four-point swing decreasing the deficit to 54-49. Jaz'Myne Snipes knocked down a layup as time expired at the end of the third and Robinson opened the fourth with a 10-foot jumper bringing the score to 58-53, the closest since the second quarter.

RU went on a 9-3 run to force a WT timeout at the 5:39 mark to come within one, 61-60. The Rangers took their first lead of the game at 62-61 on a layup from McKenna Bishop with five minutes remaining.

Regis was forced to foul with under a minute to play with the Lady Buffs holding a slight 69-65 lead. The Rangers squeezed out every ounce of fight they had but ultimately could not hang on finishing the 2016-17 season with an overall mark of 23-8, the most wins since 2007.

Game Notes: RU could not match West Texas offensively in the first half as the Lady Buffs shot 65.2 percent from the field and 62.5 from three. The Rangers chased down ten of their 17 offensive boards in the first half. RU converted for 19 second chance points while holding the Lady Buffs to just five offensive boards. Regis outrebounded WT 35-26 while forcing 17 turnovers and tallying eight steals. The Rangers shot 41.4 (24-58) percent from the field, 26.7 (4-15) percent from distance and 65.2 (15-23) percent from the line. RU battled back from the largest deficit of 16 at the 8:56 mark in the third quarter.