LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Highlighted by the team-high 14 points of senior forward Jaz'Myne Snipes, the Regis University women's basketball team saw its 2019-20 regular season draw to a close with a 67-59 loss to Colorado Christian at CCU Events Center on Friday.
 
How It Happened: The Rangers trailed by a score of 57-49 with 5:04 left on the clock in regulation when junior forward Brookelyn Hurlbut sank a trey for the Cougars' 60-49 advantage, a gap that eventually proved to seal the victory for Colorado Christian.
 
CCU maintained a multi-possession lead for the rest of the game. However, freshman guard Sydney Daniels made sure Regis's ending deficit was not double-digits as she drilled a 3-pointer with 9 seconds to go before the final buzzer to bring the game to its final score.
 
After senior guard Marie Tsoungui's fast-break layup in the paint ended the scoreless deadlock, 2-0, just 45 seconds into the contest, junior forward Whitney Jacob tied the game on a layup, 2-2, with 7:28 to go in the opening quarter. This marked the game's only tie after it started.
 
However, Cougars senior guard Brianna Pribble then made a trey to prevent a lead change, 5-2, with 7:11 left in the first. In fact, RU would not possess a lead for the entirety of the contest.
 
Colorado Christian grew its lead to nine to cap a 6-0 run. The run started on Hurlbut's layup at the 4:01 mark and ended on Tsoungui's layup with 2:26 remaining in the first. Tsoungui's layup gave CCU a 13-4 lead.
 
Junior forward Lourdes Gonzalez's free throw with only 2 seconds reading on the clock provided the Cougars an 18-10 lead to end the first.
 
The Rangers would later be at the wrong end of another 6-0 run late in the second. A Gonzalez jumper represented the run's beginning at the 2:42 mark, and Gonzalez's layup with 1:02 to go before halftime capped the run while expanding Colorado Christian's lead over Regis, 37-21.
 
Snipes cut into the deficit with her quarter-ending layup that occurred with only 14 seconds left in the opening half, bringing RU to within 14 of CCU, 37-23.
 
The Rangers started and ended the third frame on positive notes. A free throw from Daniels at the 8:51 mark and a Jacob layup with 7:44 on the clock were the first three points of the second half, with the latter basket bringing Regis to a 37-26 deficit.
 
Even better, RU closed out the third quarter on a 7-0 run. A layup from junior forward Grace O'Neill kickstarted the run with just 1:29 remaining, and O'Neill's successful free-throw line trip with 2 seconds to go bookended the run. O'Neill's free throws reduced the Rangers' deficit to 49-41.
 
This proceeded to get the Cougars' attention, who opened the final quarter with a 6-0 run. Hurlbut's layup with 9:00 remaining in regulation commenced the run, and Tsoungui's layup at the 7:38 mark put the finishing touches on the run. Tsoungui's layup brought Colorado Christian to a 14-point, 55-41 lead.
 
Regis last put a dent in its deficit prior to the eventual game-winning shot from CCU on Daniels's jumper, which made the score, 57-49, with 5:21 reading on the clock in the fourth.
 
Game Notes: Snipes, with her RU swan song, scored a team-high 14 points to go along with five rebounds. Jacob nabbed 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one block, and a team-high two steals. Daniels contributed 12 points, four rebounds, and one assist. Junior guard Tashika Burrell scored five points, grabbed four rebounds, recorded a team-high five assists, and registered a steal. Senior forward McKenna Bishop, in her last game with the Rangers, had six rebounds. O'Neill finished just a point shy of a double-double with her nine points and team-high 10 rebounds in addition to one assist, a game-high two blocks, and a steal. 
 
Despite Regis dominating the Cougars in second-chance points over the 40 minutes, 21-2, Colorado Christian did best RU in points off turnovers, 14-9, and fast-break points, 15-3. Points in the paint additionally plagued the Rangers, who were down by a 46-36 margin. 
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Rangers wrap up their regular season with an 11-17 record overall and a 9-13 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play.