CHADRON, Neb. – The Regis University women's basketball team needed to avoid a three-game skid in its contest at Chadron State and successfully answered the call in the form of a confident 71-62 victory at Chicoine Center on Monday.

"The effort and focus tonight was completely player-led," said Regis University Head Women's Basketball Coach Molly Marrin. "We started the game hungry and unselfish and did not lose that edge throughout. Our young posts really shined and have grown tremendously.
How It Happened: Maintaining a comfortable 62-53 lead over the Eagles with 3:36 to go in regulation, senior forward Whitney Jacob drilled a 3-pointer to extend the Rangers' advantage to 65-53, a deficit that was insurmountable for Chadron State.
 
After senior forward Grace O'Neill made a free throw with only 13 seconds left in the game, 71-59, senior guard Taryn Foxen drilled a trey to bring CSC's deficit under double digits, 71-62, which was the eventual final score with just 2 seconds remaining in the contest.
 
Both teams illuminated the scoreboard early in an offensive see-saw battle. O'Neill put Regis on the board on the opening possession, 2-0, with a layup just 23 seconds into the game.
 
RU tacked on a 6-0 run moments later, spearheaded by senior guard Tashika Burrell's tie-breaking jumper, 6-4, and capped by sophomore forward Morgan L. Smith's layup with 8:29 and 7:34 on the clock in the first, respectively. Smith's basket gave the Rangers a 10-4 advantage.
 
Burrell lit the spark of an even lengthier 8-0 run for Regis on a pair of free throws with 4:41 to go in the first for a 21-17 lead. Sophomore forward Sydney Speights extended the run to end the opening quarter by scoring three consecutive layups at the 3:38, 1:50, and 1:16 marks of the first, with the latter basket giving RU a comfortable 27-17 lead.
 
Amid holding the Eagles scoreless for more than 4 minutes in the second quarter, O'Neill put together a 6-0 run of her own. This started on a jumper with 8:32 left in the second and ended with a free throw at the 5:06 mark to extend the Rangers' lead to 33-20.
 
Regis kept Chadron State's runs relatively small during the first half. CSC's longest run of five started when Foxen sank a trey with 2:20 reading on the clock and concluded on junior forward Hazel Fui's layup at the 1:40 mark of the second to cut into RU's 39-30 lead.
 
After Rangers sophomore guard Sydney Daniels hit a free throw with 1:15 remaining in the first half, a jumper from Fui occurred just 11 seconds before the halftime buzzer. Fui's points made the score, 40-32, where it stayed going into the intermission.
 
Regis returned its lead to double digits within a couple minutes into the second half to end a 5-0 run. Burrell started the run on a jumper only 43 seconds into the third, while Jacob capped the run at the third quarter's 8:23 mark on a pair of free throws, giving RU a 45-34 lead.
 
Burrell and O'Neill then combined for a 6-0 run, all on free throws. Burrell made the first two with 3:37 remaining in the third, and O'Neill hit the last four in pairs at the 3:03 and 2:44 marks of the third with the latter pairing bringing the Rangers to a 59-42 advantage.
 
The Eagles, however, closed out the third with five straight points and carried that run into the fourth quarter. Redshirt junior guard Bailey Brooks hit a free throw with 2:33 left in the third, and Fui made back-to-back layups with the second one shrinking Regis's lead to 59-47 to end the third quarter.
 
Chadron State's run ended at 7-0 when sophomore guard Meaghan Ross opened the final frame with a jumper just 16 seconds into the fourth, bringing CSC within 10 of RU, 59-49.
 
Neither team assembled a large run during the final quarter. In fact, back-to-back free throws from Foxen at the fourth quarter's 5:27 mark and a jumper from junior guard Jori Peters made up the final quarter's longest run. Peters' jumper came with 4:45 to go in the game, trimming the Rangers' lead to 61-53.
 
Game Notes: O'Neill paced all scorers with 19 points, tacked on five rebounds, and had one assist. Smith earned a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds to go along with two assists, one block, and one steal. Her 13 points and 12 rebounds are both career-highs. Burrell scored 12 points as well as had two rebounds and one assist. Jacob matched Smith's double-double status with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in addition to finishing with one assist and one steal. Freshman guard Erin Fry recorded six points, four rebounds, a team-high three assists, and a share of the game-high two steals. Speights accumulated nine points, four rebounds, a game-high two blocks, and one steal.
 
Regis never trailed in the game in spite of a pair of first-quarter ties. RU won this game in part at the free-throw line, dominating the Eagles in that category, 24-8.
 
The Rangers had a 22-for-55 (40 percent) showing from the paint, a 3-for-15 (20 percent) result from the arc, and a 24-for-30 (80 percent) performance from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Chadron State shot better from the field and from 3-point range, turning in a 23-for-53 (43.4 percent) margin from the paint and an 8-for-16 (50 percent) mark from the arc. In addition, CSC ended with an 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) showing from the free-throw line.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: Regis improves to a 2-3 record overall and a 2-2 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. RU returns to Colorado and travels to UC-Colorado Springs (1-1, 1-1 RMAC) to play the Mountain Lions at Gallogly Events Center on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.