DENVER – The Regis University women's basketball team had its work cut out on Friday to begin a four-game homestand at Regis Field House but ended up falling to No. 25 Colorado Mesa, 63-57.
 
How It Happened: With the Rangers trailing by a score of 55-49 with 1:12 to play in the fourth quarter, Mavericks junior guard Kylyn Rigsby drilled a 3-pointer, which grew the Colorado Mesa lead to 58-49 and put the game out of reach for Regis while capping a 7-0 run.
 
RU trimmed the deficit back to six twice after that with the latter basket coming on senior forward Jaz'Myne Snipes's jumper with 5 seconds to go in regulation and pushed the contest to its final score.
 
The game looked to be going in the Rangers' favor early as Regis scored the opening four points, including junior forward Whitney Jacob's jumper at the 6:34 mark of the first, which broke the scoreless tie, 2-0.
 
However, the opening 10 minutes ended in a 10-10 tie, which was reached on CMU senior forward Tori Catlett's pair of free throws with 38 seconds left.
 
Midway through the second, RU started a 5-0 run that it rode into halftime. This run began on a free throw from junior forward Grace O'Neill with 1:34 remaining and ended on O'Neill's trey with 46 seconds reading on the clock. O'Neill's 3-pointer brought the game to a 24-20 score going into the intermission.
 
Emerging from halftime, the Rangers later went on a 6-0 run that was started by Jacob's go-ahead layup, 28-27, at the 7:34 mark of the third and capped off on junior guard Tashika Burrell's jumper to bring Regis to a 32-27 advantage with 6:44 to go in the third frame. 
 
Unfortunately, the Mavericks countered with an 8-0 run to overtake RU that was kicked off by junior forward Sierra McNicol's layup at the 6:33 mark and ceased on senior guard Sydni Brandon's jumper with 4:41 left in the third. Brandon's basket gave Colorado Mesa a three-point, 35-32 lead.
 
A jumper by CMU junior guard Daniella Turner put the Mavericks lead back to three, 44-41, with 3 seconds remaining in the third.
 
The Rangers tied the game, 44-44, on junior guard Emma Sterkel's trey just 39 seconds into the fourth. But Colorado Mesa never outright surrendered the lead and reclaimed it on a jumper from sophomore guard Elly Walters, bringing CMU back to a 46-44 lead.
 
The Mavericks increased their lead later in the final 10 minutes with a 7-0 run. This one came to be on Rigsby's jumper at the 3:08 mark and stopped after Rigsby's aforementioned 3-pointer with 1:12 to play in the contest.
 
Game Notes: Jacob paced Regis with her team-high 18 points to go along with a game-high 15 rebounds, one assist, and a share of the team-high one block. Sterkel claimed 13 points, one rebound, one assist, and a share of the team-high one block. Burrell finished with 10 points, one rebound and two assists. Freshman guard Morgan R. Smith posted a team-high three assists, four rebounds, and a team-high two steals.     
 
RU was outscored in bench points, 33-23, for the game. In addition, the Rangers went 23-for-61 (37.7 percent) from the field while Colorado Mesa hit 25 of 56 (44.6 percent) from the paint. Regis was also bested at the line, going 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) there. In comparison, CMU converted 10 of 13 (76.9 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: RU falls to a 7-13 record overall and a 5-9 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. The Rangers continue their homestand when they host Western Colorado (13-5, 11-3 RMAC) at Regis Field House on Saturday at 3 p.m.