DENVER – The Regis University women's basketball team needed everyone to step up to close out its homestand on a high note and succeeded in defeating Fort Lewis, 55-52, at Regis Field House on Saturday.
 
How It Happened: Clinging onto a 51-50 lead, junior guard Tashika Burrell hit a jumper with 2:26 to go in regulation. Burrell's jumper gave the Rangers a 53-50 lead and was the difference maker.
 
Junior forward Grace O'Neill cushioned the Regis lead, 55-52, with a jumper at the 1:48 mark and brought the game to its final result.
 
Four lead changes ensued in a highly contested first quarter. The first lead change, 3-2, occurred when freshman guard Morgan R. Smith's go-ahead trey sailed through the net with 7:11 to go in the first.
 
With the Skyhawks trailing, 11-10, senior guard Kayla Herrera-Flores put Fort Lewis ahead of RU, 12-11, with a jumper at the 2:34 clock reading of the opening quarter to start a 6-0 run.
 
Junior forward Jordan Carter capped the run with a pair of free throws with 44 seconds left in the first for a 16-11 advantage.
 
O'Neill then hit a free throw with 29 seconds remaining in the first to trim the Rangers' deficit to 16-12, which was the score after 10 minutes. In fact, this kicked off a 6-0 run that ended on Burrell's 3-pointer just 34 seconds into the second quarter.
 
Though Regis had a four-point, 28-24 lead going into the final minute of the first half, FLC tied the game, 28-28, after free throws from Herrera-Flores with 48 seconds to go and a jumper from junior guard Katrina Chandler with only 1 second left before the buzzer.
 
The Skyhawks concluded a 6-0 run to start the third with a go-ahead jumper from Herrera-Flores just 33 seconds into the second half. The basket from Herrera-Flores gave Fort Lewis a 30-28 lead.
 
Four ties and two lead changes followed in the third. The last of the ties in the third happened when Carter knotted the contest at 37-37 upon making a layup with 46 seconds left in the third. Junior guard Sydney Candelaria's free throw with 13 seconds to play in the third provided FLC with a 38-37 advantage heading into the fourth.
 
RU faced its last deficit, 43-41, after Candelaria's layup with 8:17 remaining in the fourth. Undeterred by being at the losing end of the score, the Rangers' offense sprang to life in the form of a 10-0 run.
 
Junior forward Whitney Jacob's go-ahead trey commenced the 10-0 run at the 7:45 mark of the fourth, and a jumper by freshman forward Sydney Speights with 5:57 to go in the game ended it. The Speights jumper gave Regis a 51-43 lead.
 
The Skyhawks answered with a 7-0 run that began on Candelaria's fast-break jumper at the 4:56 mark and ceased on Candelaria's pair of free throws with 3:18 reading on the clock in the fourth to bring Fort Lewis within one of RU, 51-50. 
 
Game Notes: Smith led all scorers with a game-high 15 points to go along with six rebounds, one block, and a team-high two steals. Jacob earned a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in addition to a game-high three assists, a share of the team-high two blocks, and one steal. O'Neill finished with 11 points, three rebounds, one assist, and a steal. Speights matched Jacob in blocks and also had six points, seven rebounds and two assists.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Rangers climb to a 10-13 record overall and an 8-9 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. Regis hits the road for its next game at Western Colorado (15-6, 13-4 RMAC), which will be during the Cancer Awareness Pink Game, at Paul Wright Gym on Friday at 5:30 p.m.