DENVER, Colo. – The Regis University women's basketball team played a pivotal game with RMAC playoff implications against Black Hills State University on Saturday night, defeating the Yellow Jackets, 67-53.
The win against the Yellow Jackets (17-6 overall, 12-5 RMAC) puts the Rangers (18-6 overall, 15-3 RMAC) in first place in the conference standings with four regular season games remaining, with the Rangers owning the tiebreaker against Colorado School of Mines (19-4 overall, 15-3 RMAC) courtesy of a win over the Orediggers on Jan. 13, 2023.
"Toughness was our message today and we exemplified it very well both mentally and physically," said Regis women's head basketball coach,
Molly Marrin. "We knew how hard we would have to play tonight and our players gave everything they had as a group. Any coach would be lucky to coach this amazing group and I'm thankful."
How It Happened: BHSU got off to a hot start in the first quarter, but the Rangers weathered the storm against the Yellow Jackets and were relentless over the remaining 30 minutes.
Down 22-14 at the end of the first, and trailing by as many as 10 early in the second quarter, the Rangers exploded to an 8-0 run, triggered by a three-point shot from sophomore
Athena Saragoza.
With the Rangers within three at 27-24, BHSU and Regis continued to go up and down the court until senior guard
Josey Ryan nailed a crucial three pointer at the 2:29 mark to give the Rangers the lead back at 31-29.
Ryan finished the half shooting 50 percent (3-6) from the three-point line while guiding the Rangers to a 21-6 run that ended the half at 35-30.
"Josey played her best weekend as a Ranger and she does a little bit of everything for us. She is tough as nails and a true competitor," said Marrin.
Regis would hold a 35-30 lead at the half and maintained that five-point advantage at the end of the third, 49-44, before putting the game away with a dominating 18-9 scoring edge in the fourth.
"Our goal coming out of halftime was to hold BHSU to under 24 points in the second and we held them to 23," said Marrin. "That's team defensive toughness and focus and I couldn't be more proud of them."
That same Regis team defense showed out as Black Hills State started the night shooting 59 percent (10-17) in the first quarter, but were limited to a dismal 24 percent (4-17) in the fourth quarter.
Collectively, Regis nabbed 43 rebounds and turned a handful of those boards into second chance points. Graduate student
Erin Stroberg secured 12 of those rebounds, 11 of which were defensive boards. Ryan followed up with six while
Morgan L. Smith was right behind her with five.
Regis' defense once again stepped up in the fourth quarter opening the final 10 minutes with four back-to-back stops to keep the score at 53-46. One last free throw from Ryan at the :28 mark was all that was left as the Rangers secured the win, 67-53.
Freshman
Kyla Frenchers had herself a fourth quarter with seven points, three rebounds, and two assists within her 13 minutes off the bench.
Game Notes:
- Josey Ryan led all Rangers with 19 points, Sam Deem followed with 15
- In addition to her 12 rebounds, Erin Stroberg also recorded two steals
- The Rangers shot .353 (6-1) from behind the arc
Up Next: The Rangers have a quick turnaround next week as they head down I-25 South to take on the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs at 5 p.m. Tuesday inside the Gallogly Events Center.
"UCCS is a tough and athletic team that presses full court and plays very well together. We will need to be ready for their pressure and traps and will also need to have a strong game defensively," said Marrin.
