GOLDEN, Colo. – In a matchup between the two top teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the Regis University women's basketball team made a statement Friday night, snapping the #6/7 Colorado School of Mines' 12-game win streak with a 93-74 win.
The Rangers (13-3 RMAC, 8-2 overall) dominated the offensive effort at Lockridge Arena, shooting 53.7% (36-for-67) while also beating the Orediggers (14-2 overall, 9-1 RMAC) at the glass, 39 rebounds to their 28.
"I'm ecstatic for our team, for our players. I know how hard they prepared for this game and how much this game meant to them," said Regis women's basketball head coach, Molly Marrin. "They just competed and knew that they were going to have to play as well as we did to beat them. I couldn't be happier for them."
How It Happened: The Rangers got off to a fast start on Friday, going up 4-0 within the first minute and 30 seconds and never looking back. The Orediggers only led for a total of 17 seconds the entire game.
According to available statistics from the Colorado School of Mines, no one had dropped more than 90 points on the Orediggers since their game against Montana State University-Billings on Nov. 23, 2008 (91).
Friday's 93 points was also the most the Rangers have scored all season.
"I mean, credit to Mines, they're averaging 74 points and forcing 18 or 19 turnovers a game. A credit to them, they're an excellent team and they're very well-coached," said Marrin. "But I think defensively, not only us guarding the ball in the open court and in the half-court, but our post gaps that we stepped over to be able to help as well so Mines didn't get as deep in the lane was the best it's looked all year. That's a credit to our posts being super active."
Leading the offensive charge was senior guard Erin Fry, who finished with a season-high 21 points and 11 assists, her first double-double of the year.
On the opposite end of the court, fifth-year Morgan L. Smith earned her sixth double-double of her career with 18 points and 12 rebounds, seven of which were offensive and contributed to Regis' 14 total second chance points. She also posted two blocks and two steals.
The Orediggers couldn't stop Smith as seven of her buckets came off passes from other teammates that found her wide open in the paint.
"That was some of her best basketball. She's just so aware, she knows how to space, she's so smart. She knows what's asked of her and she just did what she does the best and she had seven offensive rebounds," said Marrin. "She was excellent defensively and finished around the paint which is what they were giving us. Morgan absolutely took advantage of that."
Ahead of Friday's matchup, Regis hadn't shot better than 48.4% (30-for-62) since their game against Chadron State College on Dec. 16, 2023.
The Rangers went 36-for-67 (53.7%) on Friday, and could seemingly shoot from anywhere, as they also shot a staggering 52.2% (12-for-23) from behind the three-point line.
Junior guard Athena Saragoza netted the most, going 4-for-9 (44.4%). Alongside the Santa Barbara-native was senior guard Madison Diercks who made three of her six three-point attempts. Diercks finished the night with a season-high 19 points.
"I think they knew that a meeting between the top two teams in the conference and the Mines rivalry and everything built into it meant that this was a big game," Marrin said. "They just wanted to send a message and they were excited about a statement game and honestly, we like being an underdog. We like that underdog role, we always have and I think we played like that, we fought for it, and we took it. Fry led us tremendously in that, Athena handled the ball so well, and they made great reads while handling double-teams pretty much all night."
Game Notes:
Up Next: The Rangers go across town to take on the Metropolitan State University Denver Roadrunners on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 3:30 PM.
"Metro is going to be different. They're more undersized and they've got a pretty balanced team," Marrin said. "They play really well at home so we're going to have to come ready and bring the defensive effort and rebounding effort that we brought tonight."
