DENVER – The Regis University women's basketball team (1-0) opened their 2021 regular season on Friday evening beating the St. Edward's University Hilltoppers 62-57 in a come from behind effort in the Regis Field House.

How It Happened: Regis and SEU were tied at nine points apiece after the opening quarter, but the second quarter was full of scoring from both sides. In fact, 42 points were scored between the two teams in the second quarter, with the Hilltoppers outscoring the Rangers 25-17 to take a 34-26 lead into halftime. 14 of the 34 points scored by SEU in the first half came off turnovers.

The second half is where the ladies found their groove. The third quarter got it started for RU as they outscored the Hilltoppers 17-9 due in large part to a 9-0 run they had to start the quarter, giving Regis a 35-34 lead after two free throws from graduate student Tashika Burrell.  With 1:40 remaining in the quarter freshman Megan Pohs found fellow freshman Athena Saragoza cutting to the basket for a layup in the paint. That bucket put the Rangers in front 41-38. Junior Sydney Speights came up with a big block on the next defensive possession, and sophomore Erin Fry followed with a pull-up jumper. After the visitors got another bucket with 33 seconds left, the score was tied at 43 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Saragoza scored first in the fourth, and Pohs followed with her first three-pointer in her RU career to put Regis ahead by five, 48-43. That lead reached seven when Saragoza hit on another layup with 1:39 left in the game. Junior Josey Ryan extended the lead to eight with a free-throw down the stretch. The Rangers held on to win 62-57 despite a late comeback attempt from SEU.
 
Game Notes: In the first collegiate game of her career, Saragoza (6-13 FG, 1-4 3-PT) led all scorers with 15 points in 30 minutes on the court. Right behind her was Ryan (4-8 FG, 1-2 3-PT) who added 11 points, six rebounds, one assist and one steal. Burrell chipped in with nine points and seven other RU players scored two or more points in the game. Rebounding was a huge key to the success for Regis in the game. Junior Sam Deem led all players with nine rebounds, but junior Morgan L. Smith and senior Erin Stroberg each tallied eight rebounds each in the effort, helping the team outrebound the visitors 47-31. Deem and Stroberg shared the team lead with three assists in the game.
 
Overall, the ladies shot 40 percent (24-60) from the field and 25 percent (5-20 3-PT) from beyond the arc. The Rangers also felt some pressure at the charity stripe, knocking in only 9-of-16 attempts. The bench for RU outscored the SEU bench 29-23 in a five-point game.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Regis University basketball team will be back on the court in the Regis Field House tomorrow afternoon when they take on the St. Mary's University Rattlers (0-1) in the final game of the Conference Challenge at 4 p.m.