DENVER, Colo. – Fresh off one of their biggest wins of the season so far, the Regis University women's basketball team swept the weekend with a 68-51 win over the Metropolitan State University Denver Roadrunners on Saturday night.

The Rangers (14-3 overall, 9-2 RMAC) got off to a slower-than-usual start, only 14 points in the first quarter, but quickly turned it around with a 12-3 run to start the second and a massive 29-point third to put the game away over the Roadrunners (3-12 overall, 2-8 RMAC).

"We had a slow start, we played a lot of minutes last night and we had a lot of motion in that game. I think we were just a little slow to start because of that, but as we started to pick up our energy and our rebounding, we started to see the changes in the game," said Regis women's basketball head coach, Molly Marrin.

How It Happened: Between junior guard Athena Saragoza's 29-point performance, a bucket's contribution from almost every player on Regis' bench, and 11 rebounds from Madison Diercks, the Rangers flipped the script after the first quarter and managed to put together a complete team performance.

"We were just getting the looks we wanted. We weren't hitting them so we were just cold and a little bit flat and I think we just recognized that on both ends," Marrin said. "We trusted the looks we were getting and started going inside to our posts more. I think Sam scored one and right after that Morgan scored one so those interior touches and scores helped to ground us and get us going."

In the first quarter, the Rangers only shot 25% (4-for-16) from the floor, but a 12-3 run that lasted over six minutes–triggered by a layup from graduate student guard Sam Deem–helped turn the Regis offense around and turn in a 6-for-15 (40%) shooting percentage in the second.

MSU Denver could do nothing to stop the Rangers and only scored a total of five points in the second quarter.

Up 28-18 at the beginning of the second half, Regis scored as many points in the third (29) as they did the entire first half (28).

Leading that scoring onslaught was Saragoza who scored a total of 14 points within the first ten minutes of the half. The Santa Barbara-native went 75% (3-for-4) from behind the arc and 5-for-7 (71%) from the floor. 

The third-year finished at 11-for-20 (55%) inside the arc and 55% (6-for-11) from downtown.

"When she's shot-ready and she's feeling it, she is just in a zone. She was amazing. She trusted her looks, simple as that. I want her to do that and she just has so much fun when she plays and she brings so much hype to our team. It makes her play better and makes us play better. She's a straight up baller," said Marrin. 

Senior guard Madison Diercks continued her reign as Regis' rebound queen on Saturday as she grabbed a total of 11 boards, the most on the team. Six of those boards were offensive rebounds.

"We knew we needed to crash the boards hard and attack the defensive boards and she sparked that for us in the third," said Marrin. "I think we had 29 points in the third and she was getting those extra opportunities for us. She knows that's a skill set of hers and she just went out and pursued it and got her hands on more balls in the second half."

The Roadrunners tried to mount a fourth quarter comeback and forced five Regis turnovers, but fell short at the buzzer.

While Saragoza scored 29 total points and Diercks grabbed 11 rebounds, the Rangers' bench put in work and tacked on an additional 12 points with contributions from almost every player that saw the court. 

Take away those 12 and the Rangers only win by 5, not 17.

"I complimented them in the locker room, I said when people ask me what our team culture is, I say 'watch our bench'," Marrin said. "Those are people that aren't in the game that are giving it all. I always say we have the best bench in the country. When they're out and get the opportunity to come in they've already got that energy. And those who came out of the game, were able to give it right back to those who went in."

Game Notes:

• Senior guard Erin Fry is one point away from reaching 1,000 career points
• The Rangers took advantage of quick transitions and outscored MSU in fastbreak points, 13-4
• The Rangers continued their dominance in second chance points, outscoring the Roadrunners, 23-14

Up Next: The Rangers return to the Regis Field House for a local matchup against the Colorado Christian University Cougars on Friday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM.

"They're going to be a super tough matchup, an even matchup," said Marrin. "We're similar in our styles of play and interior game as well as our guard game. They're a very balanced team so we know that it's going to be two high-scoring offenses against each other so it's going to be about who can keep the other down."