DENVER, Colo. – The Regis University women's basketball team started the new year with a bang on Tuesday as they pulled out a scrappy, 59-51 win over the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in a non-conference match up. 

An unusually low shooting percentage night meant that the Rangers (10-3 overall, 5-2 RMAC) had to find other ways to come out on top against the Mountain Lions (7-6 overall, 4-3 RMAC), including 27 trips to the free throw line and 23 offensive rebounds.

"It definitely wasn't pretty. We missed a ton of shots and stuff that normally goes in for us,"  said Regis women's basketball head coach, Molly Marrin. "But to see 23 offensive rebounds and putting ourselves in positions to get those extra opportunities when we weren't shooting well I think says everything about who this group is. It's extremely impressive that we stayed with it and gave ourselves those extra opportunities that we needed to win."

How It Happened: The two teams traded offensive blows in the first quarter with back-and-forth scores and the rest of the game never saw a score difference greater than four. 

The Rangers shot an uncharacteristically low 25.8% (16-62) from the field, but went a whopping 19-for-27 (70.4%) from the free throw line thanks to a total of 17 Mountain Lion fouls.

"I think UCCS starting their pressure early made us a little hesitant which does not normally happen for us and so I think once we settled in and started to make the reads better and moved the ball better, we were able to attack more which allowed us to get to the free throw line against their pressure," Marrin said.

Senior guard Erin Fry, La Vista-native Josey Ryan, and graduate student guard Sam Deem tied for the most made free throws with five on the night. 

UCCS was not going away quietly, however, as they forced a lead change four different times, and even went on a 10-0 run to start the fourth that put them up by six at the 6:38 mark, their biggest lead of the night.

In an immediate response to UCCS' run, the Rangers put the pressure on the Mountain Lions and went on a 16-0 run to take back the lead at 57-47 and keep it for the remainder of the game.

Senior guard Erin Fry led the Rangers in their response to UCCS' scoring run as she made a three-point shot from almost four feet behind the arc that was followed by a second three-point heave from La Vista-native Josey Ryan to make it 52-47.

Defensively, the Rangers exploded in the second half, securing 26 rebounds in addition to their 23 from the first half. 

Graduate student Morgan L. Smith finished in double-digit boards with 12, the most on the night from the Rangers. She also grabbed seven total offensive rebounds, those offensive boards being something Marrin credits as the difference maker as Regis grabbed 23 to UCCS' 14.

Regis' defense in transition did its job against UCCS as they forced a 10-second back court violation that put the momentum squarely in the Rangers' favor as Ryan and Fry followed UCCS' turnover with their three-point makes.

"I think that our composure in the fourth quarter was outstanding. I think we put on a lot more pressure in the second half. We were in better spots, we were more active, and we were communicating more" said Marrin. "They went on a 10-0 run and then we went on a 16-0 run and we were able to get that 10-second violation in the back court and get those momentum things that I thought put us in a position to win even though it wasn't the prettiest game for us."

Game Notes:

• Regis finished with its second-most rebounds on the season with 49
• UCCS outscored the Rangers in the paint, 44-16
• The Rangers' 23 offensive rebounds is the most on the season
• Josey Ryan led all Rangers in points with 16

Up Next: The Rangers begin their 2024 portion of conference play at home against the Adams State University Grizzlies on Jan. 12. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 PM.

"Adams is playing great right now. They're extremely aggressive defensively so valuing the basketball will be really important," said Marrin. "They're shooting the ball and scoring the ball and that'll be a tough challenge for us, but we're excited about the match up."