COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Regis University women's basketball team built off the momentum from its Saturday triumph by pulling away early on the road to defeat UC-Colorado Springs, 54-47, at Gallogly Events Center on Monday.
   
How It Happened: Holding onto a 46-39 lead with 7:40 to go in the fourth quarter, sophomore guard Morgan R. Smith dashed the Mountain Lions' hopes of a late comeback when she drilled a trey to bring the Rangers to a 49-39 lead, a lead that would eventually prove too much for UC-Colorado Springs to overcome.
 
Morgan R. Smith would hit another 3-pointer, 54-40, at the fourth quarter's 4:35 reading. Although Regis would attain victory upon regulation's end, UCCS spent the contest's final minutes cutting RU's lead in half with a 7-0 run.
 
Senior guard Abby Feickert started the run on a jumper with 4:22 left in the game, and freshman guard/forward Jessica Nation sank a pair of free throws with 17 seconds to go in regulation. It was Nation's points that moved the contest to its final score.
 
Senior forward Grace O'Neill put the Rangers on the board first, 2-0, on a jumper 1:05 into the game.
 
Following a back-and-forth of scores, Regis led by as many as four in the opening quarter after sophomore forward Morgan L. Smith hit a free throw to give RU an 8-4 advantage at the 6:58 mark of the first.
 
O'Neill would add another free throw, bringing the Rangers to a 9-6 lead with 5:26 to go in the first. However, the Mountain Lions ended the quarter with five unanswered points on account of redshirt sophomore guard Kaity Hovasse's jumper and senior guard/forward Tatum Tellin's trey at the 3:58 and 42-second marks, respectively, to take UC-Colorado Springs to an 11-9 lead to close the first quarter.
 
Morgan R. Smith found an offensive groove in the second, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers for Regis in the opening minute with the former being a go-ahead basket 20 seconds into the second while the latter happened 41 seconds into the second to take RU to a 15-11 lead.
 
The Rangers prevented UCCS from scoring on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter and simultaneously grew their lead gradually. Regis reached its largest first-half lead on senior forward Whitney Jacob's trey with only 10 seconds to play before the halftime buzzer. Jacob's score extended RU's lead to a 36-24 one, which the Rangers took into halftime.
 
Regis was not done though. Early in the third, RU went on a 7-0 run that came into being on freshman guard Erin Fry's jumper and free throw at the 7:55 reading and was capped off on Morgan L. Smith's free throw at the 4:58 mark of the third. Morgan L. Smith's free throw gave the Rangers a 43-26 advantage.
 
Senior guard Tashika Burrell contributed a couple free throws with 23 seconds remaining in the third. Burrell's points at the charity stripe allowed Regis to take a 45-30 lead into the final quarter.
 
After O'Neill made a free throw just 43 seconds into the final quarter, 46-32, the Mountain Lions trimmed their deficit in half through a 7-0 run. Feickert's 3-pointer began the run at the 9:06 mark of the fourth, while Hovasse's jumper with 8:22 to go in the final 10 minutes closed the run. Hovasse's jumper cut RU's lead to seven, 46-39.
 
Game Notes: Jacob scored a share of the game-high 13 points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds, one assist, a share of the game-high two blocks, and a share of the team-high one steal. Burrell recorded two points, a game-high five assists, and a share of the team-high one steal. Morgan R. Smith registered 12 points, two offensive rebounds, and two assists. Five Rangers had a share of the team-high one steal for the second game in a row.
 
Regis sank 19 of 61 (31.1 percent) from the paint, eight of 28 (28.6 percent) from the arc, and eight of 15 (53.3 percent) at the charity stripe during the 40-minute contest. UC-Colorado Springs ended the game with a 19-for-60 (31.7 percent) outcome from the field, a 3-for-17 (17.6 percent) result from 3-point range, and a 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) performance at the free-throw line.
 
In the end, quantity was a difference-maker for RU, which outscored UCCS in treys, 24-9.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Rangers improve to a 4-6 record overall and a 4-5 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. Regis commences a three-game homestand on Friday at 5 p.m., when it hosts Colorado Christian (2-9, 2-9 RMAC) at Regis Field House.