Box Score

GOLDEN, Colo. – The Regis University women's basketball team took on St. Mary's University on Saturday, coming away with the gritty 69-62 win.

The Rangers (2-0 overall) only shot 35% from the floor after the first half, but quickly found their stride against the Rattlers (0-2 overall) to end the game shooting almost 48% field goal shooting percentage.

"It was a battle, it  was a very physical game," said Marrin. "They're a great defensive team and I think they threw a lot at us and one of our keys to the game was to value the basketball and we only had 11 turnovers. We didn't do that well yesterday but did that well today. 11 turnovers and 16 assists against a team that plays that aggressively, I thought we played tremendously."

How It Happened: Down 4-0 early in the first quarter, graduate student Sydney Speights took care of business to put the first points on the board for the Rangers.

The remainder of the first half was back and forth as the lead changed six times in the 20 minutes of game play. Going into halftime, Thornton-native Sam Deem led with 11 points, the most of any player that saw minutes in the first half. 

At the beginning of the second half, the Rattlers' six points to the Rangers' four meant that St Mary's held a three-point lead at the 7:41 mark, but a three-pointer from junior guard Athena Saragoza tied it at 34.

The two teams continued to trade blows in the third quarter, but a free throw after a shooting foul from senior guard Erin Fry is when the momentum began to tip in the Rangers' favor.

With the score at 39-40 less than five minutes into the third, the Rangers went on a 12-5 run to inflate the difference to 8 points to close out the quarter, 52-44. 

At the buzzer, the Rangers finished the third with every shooting statistic above 60%. Regis shot 10-for-16 from the field (62.5%), 3-for-5 from beyond the arc (60.0%) and went 2-for-3 at the charity stripe (66.6%).

With the final 10 minutes on the clock, the Rangers did not let up as they scored an additional 17 points and never surrendered the lead through the final buzzer. Deem led all Rangers in scoring in the fourth quarter with 8 points, and finished the game with 21 total points. 

"We were seeing everything we asked her to do. We asked her to play different positions, she played the four and the five, we asked her to shoot the three, and play the high post," said Marrin. "She was excellent. Another part of our keys to the game was being strong and have composure, and she epitomized that. It was one of her best games in her career and she had four assists too. She was tremendous."

While Deem was the standout offensively, senior guard Madison Diercks stepped up defensively and led all Rangers in rebounds with seven while also recording a steal.

"She had eight last night and she had seven tonight so her being able to step into a new position for us is great," Marrin said. "She's playing more of the four, which is maybe something she's not as comfortable with. She also had two assists, but her rebounding, I mean, seven and eight rebounds from a wing is great. She really got those key boards and drew fouls when we needed them."

Deem shot 47.3% from the floor (9-for-19) while also knocking down a three-point shot for the Rangers. After Deem's 21 points was graduate student guard Josey Ryan and senior guard Erin Fry with 12 points each. 

Ryan went 5-for-9 (55.6%) from field goal range and 40% (2-for-5) from the three-point line. Fry finished the game shooting 44% from the floor (4-for-9) and 4-for-6 (66.7%) from the free-throw line.

Game Notes:

• The Rangers outscored the Rattlers off turnovers, 14-8, and fastbreaks, 9-2
• Erin Fry led in assists with 7
• Regis finished with 37 rebounds to St. Mary's 36

Up Next: The Rangers open their home slate with a game against Point Loma on Nov. 18. at the Regis Field House. Tipoff is set for 3:30 PM.

"We're excited. I think they've got some bigs so that'll be a good challenge for us and another regional game the girls are excited for but I know they're excited for their day off and their rest after today," Marrin said.