SALT LAKE CITY, Utah –The Regis University women's basketball team (7-8. 6-4 RMAC) was unable to secure a second half comeback against Westminster (7-7, 6-4 RMAC) on Friday night. After trailing by seven at the half, Regis gained the led in the third but was outscored 24-16 in the fourth quarter, leading to a 71-63 defeat.

How it Happened: Just four minutes into play, with the score tied at six, Westminster held the Rangers scoreless for the next four minutes of basketball. During this time, the Griffins scored another six points to control a 12-6 lead with three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

RU shot 6-of-14 from the field throughout the first quarter as Westminster jumped out to a 21-12 lead.

Junior Shelby Espinosa knocked-down a jumper to get the second quarter started and junior Morgan Ducklow followed with a long-range three-pointer. The five-point Regis spurt cut the deficit to 21-17.

The Griffins scored just one free-throw in the first five-minutes of the quarter as the Rangers stormed back to take a 23-22 advantage on a made jumper by senior

Chante Church. RU lead for just 26 seconds before giving up another 6-0 run to Westminster who held a 32-25 halftime lead.

Senior Mary Sigler nailed a mid-range jumper to spark a fire under the Regis offense who shot 5-of-7 to go on a 13-0 to open the third-quarter. With 5:15 remaining in the quarter, senior Majestie Robinson assisted freshman Whitney Jacob for a layup that gave the Rangers a 38-34 lead, their largest of the half.

The last five-minutes of the third saw five tied scores and three lead changes. The Griffins scored the last bucket heading into the fourth to even the score-
line at 47 apiece.

RU was outscored 24-16 in the final quarter. Sigler went 1-for-2 from the foul-line to give Regis a 50-49 lead, their last of the game. After Sigler's free-throw, Westminster took control of the game by going on a 9-0 run in a four-minute span. Back-to-back made free-throws by Jacob cut the lead to five (60-55), but the Rangers never got closer. The Griffins ended the game making 11-of-14 foul shots in the final minute to secure a 71-63 win.

Game Notes: Jacob lead RU in scoring with a career-high 18 points. She shot 42.9 percent (6-14) from the field, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the foul-line. Espinosa and Robinson both finished in double-digits with 14 and 11 respectively.

Regis shot 42 percent as a team but couldn't slow down the Griffins who made 57.8 percent of their shot attempts.
Rebounds were hard fought against the Griffins, who out-rebounded the Rangers 29-28. Jacob also lead her team with nine rebounds followed by Espinosa with six.

RU forced Westminster into 15 turnovers, leading to eight second-chance points.

Up Next for the Rangers: The women's basketball team will return home to host Fort Lewis College on January 19 at 5:00 p.m.