PUEBLO, Colo. – The Regis University women's basketball team took the momentum attained in Friday's win at New Mexico Highlands and succeeded in defeating CSU-Pueblo, 74-65, at Massari Arena on Saturday.
 
How It Happened: Nearly midway through the fourth quarter, the Rangers accumulated a 10-0 run that was sparked by senior forward Jaz'Myne Snipes' layup at the 6:34 mark, bringing Regis a 58-51 advantage, and ended on junior forward Whitney Jacob's trey with 4:49 to go in the contest, giving RU a 15-point cushion, 66-51. Jacob's run-capping 3-pointer proved to be the game-winning score.  
 
From that point on, the Rangers kept the ThunderWolves' scoring runs small and maintained a comfortable lead that did not fall lower than eight.
 
Freshman guard Kali Murrell scored the contest's final points with two free throws, which moved the game to its final score with 34 seconds before the final buzzer.
 
Regis trailed early in the game and answered the contest's opening basket when Snipes tied the score on a jumper, 2-2, with 9:23 left in the first quarter.
 
Despite never leading in the opening 10 minutes, RU kept within striking distance since the defense did its part by holding CSU-Pueblo scoreless during the final 2:49 of the opening frame. The Rangers went into the second quarter with a 21-16 deficit. 
 
In addition, Murrell scored Regis' final six points of the quarter with the last of them coming on free throws with 5 seconds left in the first, which were the final ones of the frame.
 
The momentum started going in RU's favor in the second quarter with the Rangers going on a 12-0 run. The run began on Jacob's layup with 8:20 left in the second quarter, trimming the deficit to 24-18, and ended at the 3:21 mark with Jacob's layup bookending the effort to make the score, 28-24.
 
Jacob also contributed the go-ahead score in the run with a layup, putting Regis on top, 26-24, with 4:53 left in the second. 
 
RU led by as many as five twice in the opening half. Those advantages were reached both times on account of Jacob, who hit a trey, 31-26, with 2:42 remaining in the second, and she later made a layup to put the Rangers up, 33-28, with 46 seconds to go before halftime. The latter basket was the last of the opening 20 minutes and commenced a 6-0 run for Regis.
 
Junior guard Tashika Burrell contributed the last four points of the 6-0 run, concluding it with a layup that brought RU to a 37-28 lead with 8:24 left in the third.
 
After the Rangers led by as many as 10, 40-30, on junior forward Grace O'Neill's 3-pointer at the 7:12 mark of the third, CSUP went on a 6-0 run that started and ended on layups from sophomore guard Janaiya Davis and senior guard/forward Khiya Adams with 5:57 and 4:44 remaining in the third, respectively. Adams' layup trimmed the Regis lead to four, 40-36.
 
Following a handful of alternating scores, Davis made a layup with just 2 seconds to go in the third and again shrunk the RU lead to four, 48-44.
 
Game Notes: Jacob had a team-high 19 points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds to clinch a double-double for both games over the weekend. She also had two assists, one block and one steal. Snipes finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. O'Neill recorded a game-high three blocks in addition to 13 points, three rebounds and one steal. Burrell ended with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a team-high two steals. Murrell registered a team-high five assists and additionally had 13 points, three rebounds, and one steal. Snipes and Burrell did not commit a single turnover.
 
The Rangers sank 28 of 55 (50.9 percent) from the paint, 5 of 16 (31.3 percent) from 3-point range, and 13 of 21 (61.9 percent) at the free-throw line for the game. In comparison, the ThunderWolves had a 24-for-59 (40.7 percent) night in the paint, a 2-for-11 (18.2 percent) showing from the arc, and a 15-for-22 (68.2 percent) performance from the charity stripe.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: Regis rises to a 5-8 record overall and a 3-4 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. RU returns to Regis Field House to host South Dakota Mines (4-7, 2-5 RMAC) on Friday at 5 p.m.