GUNNISON, Colo. – The Regis University women's basketball team went toe to toe with its opponent for the majority of its game against No. 14 Western Colorado, but the Mountaineers pulled away late and dealt the visiting Rangers a 71-65 defeat at Paul Wright Gym on Friday.

"Our team was focused and ready to play tonight," said Regis University Head Women's Basketball Coach Molly Marrin. "I'm extremely proud of their effort, competitiveness and team play. It was a tough battle versus a very good Western team and was ultimately decided by a couple possessions.

"We are improving and our confidence is growing with each practice and game and that excites me. We learned more about what we are made of tonight and this will help us in the future. This team has guts."
 
How It Happened: With Western Colorado nursing a slim, 65-62 lead with 53 seconds remaining in regulation, sophomore guard Hannah Cooper made the second of her pair of free throws to extend the WCU lead to four, 66-62, which proved to be the difference-making point.
 
A trey by senior guard Tashika Burrell kept Regis close, 67-65, at the 25-second mark of the final quarter. But free throws by Cooper and junior guard Emmery Wagstaff put the game out of reach for RU with 12 and 4 seconds left in the game, respectively. It was Wagstaff's free throws that moved the game to its final result.
 
The Rangers wasted little time getting a quick 1-0 lead by virtue of sophomore forward Morgan L. Smith's free throw just 12 seconds into the contest.
 
Cooper forced the first lead change, 2-1, when she made a layup at the first quarter's 8:42 mark.
 
After a jumper from Cooper gave the Mountaineers a 6-4 lead with 6:43 to go in the first, Regis responded with a trey from freshman guard Erin Fry and a jumper from senior forward Whitney Jacob at the 6:00 and 5:28 clock readings, respectively, with Jacob's jumper bringing RU to a 9-6 lead.
 
Though a pair of free throws from Cooper allowed Western Colorado to inch within a point of the Rangers with 1:27 left in the first quarter, 15-14, Jacob drilled a trey to quadruple the Regis advantage, 18-14, with 1:13 on the clock in the opening frame.

Jacob followed that up with another jumper at the 19-second mark of the first, sending RU to a 20-16 lead at the end of the opening 10 minutes.
 
Early in the second though, WCU accumulated five straight points, all from senior guard Samantha Coleman, who started the run with a jumper 47 seconds into the quarter and ended it with a tie-breaking free throw as part of a three-point play. The free throw yielded the Mountaineers a 21-20 lead with 8:42 reading on the clock in the second.
 
Senior forward Jadyn Kanzler gave Western Colorado its biggest first-half lead, 29-25, on a layup with 2:45 remaining before the halftime buzzer.
 
However, the Rangers approached the intermission with a 7-0 run, kickstarted by Burrell's jumper at the 2:30 mark and capped off by senior forward Grace O'Neill's layup with 1:05 to go in the first half. O'Neill's points brought Regis to a 32-29 advantage.
 
A layup by WCU senior forward Mikaela Parker trimmed the RU lead to one, 32-31, with less than 1 second on the clock, which was where the score rested going into halftime.
 
A second-half seesaw battle ensued in the third quarter that featured three lead changes and three ties. Burrell returned the Rangers' lead to four, 35-31, on a 3-pointer with 9:18 remaining in the third.
 
On the opposite end, a jumper by Cooper gave the Mountaineers a four-point, 46-42 advantage at the 30-second mark of the third. This was WCU's largest lead of that quarter.
 
Not to be outdone though, Fry's successful three-point play on a jumper and free throw brought Regis back to within a point, 46-45, with 23 seconds left in the third. The score remained there at the start of the final 10 minutes of regulation.
 
Fry's three-point play proved to be a significant momentum shift for RU, which blossomed to an eventual 11-0 run. A jumper by Morgan L. Smith returned the lead to the Rangers, 47-46, at the 9:40 mark of the fourth. The run ceased after Burrell's jumper with 7:14 to go in the fourth moved Regis to a 53-46 lead.
 
Eventually, the Mountaineers awoke from their offensive drought, springing off a 7-0 run. Wagstaff's pair of free throws commenced the run at the 7:02 mark, and a Cooper jumper concluded the run with 5:12 remaining before the final buzzer. Cooper's jumper knotted the game up at 53-53.
 
RU's last lead, 57-55, occurred with 3:53 remaining in the fourth when O'Neill hit a jumper.
 
It was a 3-pointer from Coleman at the fourth's 2:55 mark that caused the contest's final lead change, 58-57.

Game Notes: Jacob finished with a team-high 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for her ninth double-double on the year. She also had a game-high three blocks. O'Neill also achieved double-double status with her 12 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two blocks. Burrell scored 16 points and had three rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Fry contributed with 10 points, three rebounds, and a game-high four assists. Morgan L. Smith ended the night with seven points, seven rebounds, and a game-high two steals.  
 
The Rangers were successful on 24 of 65 (36.9 percent) from the paint, five of 20 (25 percent) from the arc, and 12 of 16 (75 percent) from the charity stripe. In contrast, Western Colorado turned in a 25-for-62 (40.3 percent) effort from the field, a 5-for-17 (29.4 percent) performance from 3-point range, and a 16-for-19 (84.2 percent) outcome from the free-throw line.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: Regis falls to a 5-7 record overall and a 5-6 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. RU keeps heading westward and will next take on Fort Lewis (4-8, 4-8 RMAC) at Whalen Gymnasium on Saturday at 4 p.m.