DENVER – The Regis University women's basketball team maintained a lead for the majority of its last contest of 2019. In the end, however, the team suffered a late lead change and ultimately was defeated by Colorado Christian, 70-67, at Regis Field House on Friday.
 
How It Happened: With the Rangers clinging to a slim 67-65 lead, junior guard Olivia Christy drained a trey to give the Cougars a 68-67 lead with just 39 seconds to go in the game, and Regis was unable to answer.
 
Christy sank both of her free throws to triple the Colorado Christian lead just before the final buzzer sounded.
 
The first quarter saw the two teams tie twice and the lead change four times. However, the lead changed one last time in the opening 10 minutes when freshman guard Morgan R. Smith's layup put RU up, 20-18, with 1:39 left in the first. The eventual 5-0 run was capped off by junior forward Grace O'Neill's jumper with 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
 
A second quarter featuring one tie followed, but it was here that the Rangers grew their lead to seven just before halftime. Junior guard Emma Sterkel scored the first half's final four points with a pair of free throws and a layup with 50 seconds and 31 seconds to go, respectively, in the second, bringing Regis to a 41-34 advantage at the intermission.
 
In fact, Sterkel capped off her own 6-0 run with the opening layup of the third quarter, which took place 51 seconds into it.
 
During the third quarter, RU led by as many as 11 on seven instances. The last of these occurred when junior forward Whitney Jacob hit a jumper, 60-49, with 32 seconds left in the third.
 
But after Jacob put the lead back to 11 again, 62-51, on a jumper with 8:19 remaining in the fourth, CCU closed out the game on a 19-5 run. This was highlighted by a 7-0 run commenced by senior guard Marie Tsoungui's jumper at the 6:49 mark of the final quarter to trim the Cougars' deficit, 64-56, and ended on senior guard Brianna Pribble's 3-pointer that brought Colorado Christian within a trey of the Rangers, 64-61, with 4:15 remaining in regulation.
 
A 3-pointer from junior forward Grace O'Neill marked the last time Regis would extend its lead in the game, which made the score, 67-61, with the clock reading 3:56 in the fourth.
 
This preceded a jumper and a layup from junior forward Taylor Ferris from the respective 3:36 and 1:21 marks of the fourth that put CCU within a possession. The latter score in favor of RU, 67-65, was just before Christy's aforementioned go-ahead trey.
 
Game Notes: Sterkel led the Rangers with a team-high 14 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. O'Neill contributed 13 points and an individual team-high seven rebounds. She also had one assist, one block and one steal. Freshman guard Kali Murrell had a share of the game-high four assists and also had five points. Freshman forward Morgan L. Smith's two blocks were a game-high and went along with her six points and three rebounds. Senior forward Jaz'Myne Snipes collected a game-high three steals and had nine points, three rebounds and one assist.
 
For the game, Regis was outshot from the paint and the arc but shot better percentage-wise at the line.
 
RU hit 29 of 66 (43.9 percent) from the field compared to the Cougars' 26-for-46 (56.5 percent) mark from the same area. The Rangers had a 5-for-16 (31.3 percent) showing from 3-point range while Colorado Christian made 7 of 11 (63.6 percent) from the arc. Finally, Regis finished with a 4-for-6 (66.7 percent) performance at the line whereas Colorado Christian drilled 11 of 22 (50 percent) at the charity stripe.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: RU falls to a 3-8 record overall and a 1-4 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. The Rangers begin the 2020 part of their season on the road against New Mexico Highlands (1-9, 0-5 RMAC) at John A. Wilson Complex on Friday, Jan. 3, at 5 p.m.