DENVER – The Regis University women's basketball team had an early lead in its week-opening contest but endured lengthy scoring runs en route to a 69-55 loss to Metropolitan State University of Denver at Regis Field House on Tuesday.
 
"We adjusted a little bit at halftime," said Regis University Head Women's Basketball Coach Molly Marrin. "Again, those runs, those spurts that we showed in the third and fourth quarter. I thought first and second quarter, generally, we've had really strong starts, and we didn't have that. So that was certainly, I think, unique to this game. So, obviously, some focus things that we talked about in the locker room. Being focused, making sure we're ready to go and that. So that, I think, we've started some quarters where we've had 22 points in a first quarter and some of those things, so I think that it was hard for us to get over that hump there.
 
"And I think, obviously, [Allie] Navarette had a great game. She's an excellent player and just kind of took her team on her back as she does and so I think she was tough to guard for that for us as a group. I thought we adjusted better in the second half on her, but I think just we came out pretty flat, which was surprising so we addressed that in the locker room on how to get ourselves to not have that again going into this weekend."
 
How It Happened: Holding onto a 54-51 advantage with 4:50 on the clock in the fourth quarter, sophomore forward Gabi Lucero converted a layup to extend the Roadrunners' lead to 56-51, which proved to be the eventual game-winner. Lucero's basket commenced a 7-0 run that ceased after junior guard Alex Carlton's trey at the 3:02 mark. Carlton's points sent MSU Denver to a 61-51 lead.
 
MSUD took advantage of its free throws in the final minute, putting together a 6-0 run on them alone. Freshman guard Tosjanae Bonds made two to start the run with 55 seconds before the final buzzer and hit another pair to end the run with 24 seconds to go in regulation. Bonds' run-ending free throws took the Roadrunners to a 69-55 lead, which was the final score.
 
The Rangers struck first offensively, 2-0, on senior forward Grace O'Neill's layup just 20 seconds into the game.
 
Senior forward Peyton Taylor of MSU Denver then responded with a jumper to knot the game at 2-2 at the first quarter's 9:09 mark.
 
The game was relatively close in the early minutes of the contest. However, after freshman guard Madison Diercks sank a trey to give Regis a brief 9-6 advantage with 3:23 to go in the first, MSUD went on a 9-0 run that started on junior guard/forward Morgan Lewis's layup at the 3:06 mark and ended on senior forward Allie Navarette's layup with 1:23 left in the first. Navarette's layup brought the Roadrunners to a 15-9 lead.
 
RU stopped the run on Diercks' buzzer-beating jumper. Diercks fielded a timely pass from senior forward Tashika Burrell and cut the Rangers' deficit to four, 15-11, to end the opening quarter.
 
Regis proceeded to split the deficit in half, 15-13, on senior forward Whitney Jacob's layup 35 seconds into the second quarter.
 
Unfortunately, MSU Denver later reached its largest lead yet for the first of four occasions in the second when Navarette converted a layup at the 3:21 mark, sending MSUD to a nine-point, 24-15 advantage.
 
RU finally started chipping away at its deficit in the final minutes before halftime. Sophomore forward Morgan L. Smith's layup started this short run with 1:14 remaining in the first half, and Burrell capped it with a successful three-point play on a layup and free throw at the 53-second mark of the second quarter. Burrell's three-point play made the score, 30-26.
 
Navarette had the final say in the first half in the form of a 3-pointer, which she hit with 30 seconds to go in the second and moved the game to a 33-26 score in favor of the Roadrunners at halftime.
 
Bonds of MSU Denver picked up where MSUD left off with a layup, 35-26, 21 seconds into the second half.
 
But, after Morgan L. Smith's jumper cut the amount the Rangers trailed to seven, 35-28, on a jumper with 7:24 remaining in the third, the Roadrunners embarked on an 8-0 run. This one started on Navarette's jumper at the 7:03 mark of the third and capped off on Carlton's trey, with the latter basket giving MSU Denver a 43-28 lead with 5:04 left in the third.
 
Regis next assembled a 7-0 run, its largest run yet. Diercks sparked it with a 3-pointer at the 4:46 mark, and it ended on Morgan L. Smith's pair of free throws with 3:08 to play in the third, which drew RU to a 43-35 deficit.
 
A layup by Bonds yielded MSUD a 49-40 advantage with 37 seconds to go in the third, which proved to be the quarter's final points.
 
Down but not deterred, the Rangers went on another 7-0 run, bookended by Jacob layups at the 9:51 and 7:52 marks of the fourth, respectively. Jacob's latter layup also included a free throw on a foul and brought Regis within two of the Roadrunners, 49-47.
 
Game Notes: Jacob had a team-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, two assists, and a career-high and game-high five blocks. Burrell closed the contest with eight points, three rebounds, a team-high four assists, and one steal. Morgan L. Smith had eight points, a team-high 10 rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Diercks ended the game with a career-high 10 points, one block, and one steal. The aforementioned one steal was a team-high.
 
The Rangers ended the game with a 21-for-65 (32.3 percent) effort from the paint, a 4-for-27 (14.8 percent) result from the arc, and a 9-for-10 (90 percent) outcome from the charity stripe. In comparison, MSU Denver made 26 of 58 (44.8 percent) in the field, five of 16 (31.3 percent) from 3-point range, and 12 of 16 (75 percent) at the free-throw line.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: Regis drops to a 5-8 record overall and a 5-7 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. RU continues its homestand and will next host Colorado Mesa (12-5, 12-5 RMAC) at Regis Field House on Friday at 5 p.m.