CHADRON, Neb. – The Regis University women's basketball team extended their win streak to nine on Saturday, defeating the Chadron State College Eagles, 71-58.
With the win, the Rangers improve to 13-5 on the season and 10-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Eagles fall to 3-16 overall and 3-10 in the RMAC.
"I thought we did a great job of staying composed in the fourth quarter when they hit some 3s and cut the lead," said Regis women's basketball head coach, Molly Marrin. "It was one of our lower rebounding games and we talked about having better defensive focus. A credit to Chadron who played really hard and kept coming at us when we got an early lead."
How It Happened: It was the Athena Saragoza show in the first quarter as the sophomore guard knocked down four back-to-back three-pointers in the first six minutes of the quarter to lead the Rangers on a 12-4 run.
Saragoza finished the night with a .714 (5-7) shooting percentage from beyond the arc, a season-high for the Santa Barabara-native. Her five three-pointers and layup combined for 17 points, a team-high on the night.
"Athena came out hot with those four 3-pointers in a row and showed what a danger she can be, especially with her ability to hit shots in bunches," said Marrin. "It was fun to see her smile and her teammates celebrate that stretch."
To back up Saragoza's efforts, Erin Fry, Sam Deem, and Josey Ryan all finished in double-digit points, scoring 13, 12, and 11, respectively.
Up 36-28 at the half, the third quarter was a loud one for the Rangers' defense as they held the Eagles to only seven points and a .200 (2-10) field goal shooting percentage.
"We settled in defensively in the 3rd quarter and did a good job of getting multiple stops in a row which helped us lean into more of our team strengths offensively. For us to consistently have 4-5 in double figures speaks to us having multiple weapons in different positions," said Marrin.
Game Notes:
- The Rangers offense combined for a .520 (26-50) shooting percentage, their second-best of the season
- Athena Saragoza is now ranked sixth in the conference for 3-pointer shooting (.349)
- Sam Deem finished with a career-high three steals on the night
Up Next: The Rangers return home on Jan. 27 to host CSU Pueblo at 5 P.M.
"Pueblo is a highly athletic and talented team that shoots a ton of 3s and is aggressive defensively. We will need to be ready for a battle and high tempo game, so we are excited for Friday," said Marrin. "For tonight, we are going to enjoy the weekend and stop for some ice cream on the way home."
