DENVER, Colo. – Freshman Whitney Jacob scored a career-high 22-points to help the Regis University women's basketball team (8-8, 7-4 RMAC) to a 74-70 upset over Fort Lewis College (15-4, 9-4 RMAC) on Friday night.
 
How it Happened: Regis wasted no time to jump on the Skyhawks as junior Majestie Robinson made a layup on the opening possession. Regis stretched their lead to as many as seven (11-7) in the first quarter by holding Fort Lewis to just 3-for-12 shooting from the field.
 
The Rangers obtained the momentum early and closed out the first quarter with a 15-10 advantage. Robinson made another layup under the bucket to give RU their largest lead of the game, 23-11, with 5:13 left to play in the first half. The Skyhawks made just six baskets in the first half, shooting 19.4 percent from the field, but hung around and found themselves down by just four (23-19) at the break.
 
Fort Lewis came out of the locker room and quickly took control of the game. They went on a 9-0 run and held Regis scoreless for four-straight minutes. Jacob broke the Skyhawk's spurt with a layup that chopped the Rangers deficit to three (28-25). A three-pointer by freshman Emma Sterkel sparked a 6-0 run to help RU regain the lead, 37-31, with 1:23 left in the third quarter.
 
Regis found themselves down by five, 56-51, with 1:48 remaining in the game. Again, it was Jacob with a left-handed layup to get the Rangers offense back on their feet. She followed her layup with back-to-back clutch three-pointers to even the game at 59. With less than 10 seconds to play, each team went 2-for-2 from the foul-line to send the game to overtime with the score knotted at 61.
 
Senior Mary Sigler made a long-range shot to give RU a 66-63 lead in overtime. The Skyhawks answered with a jumper of their own but Regis was quick to respond. Layups by junior Shelby Espinosa and senior Chante Church gave the Rangers a comfortable 71-65 lead. Sigler sealed the game with back-to-back free-throws with six-seconds left in the game.
 
Game Notes: Jacob was RU's leading scorer with a career-high 22-points. She shot 9-for-16 from the field, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe. Sigler and Robinson also scored double-digits with 12 and 11 respectively.
 
Bench-points proved to be a difference maker in Friday's matchup. The Rangers bench scored 17 compared to the Skyhawk's 2. RU shot 39.7 percent from the field and held the Skyhawks to just 34.3 percent.
 
Jacob and Espinosa each grabbed 12 rebounds. Jacob four offensive and eight defensive while Espinosa added five offensive and seven defensive. Fort Lewis outrebounded RU 55-53.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The women's basketball team will remain at home to close out the weekend by hosting Adams State University on January 20 at 5:00 p.m.