GUNNISON, Colo. – The Regis University women's basketball jumped to an early lead on Friday night and never looked back as they took on Western Colorado in the penultimate weekend of conference play.

The Rangers (21-5 overall, 16-4 RMAC) scored 22 points in the first quarter over the Mountaineers (6-18 overall, 4-15 RMAC) and shot 49.1% (26-for-53) from the floor as they cruised to a 71-56 win.

"Our team knows that every possession matters going into the end of regular season so we focused on team defense, talking and getting stops and we did a great job as unit doing that," said Regis women's basketball head coach, Molly Marrin.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Graduate student Josey Ryan led the way for the Rangers as she opened her game with three back-to-back three point makes in the first quarter. 

With those nine points, Ryan joins elite company as the 22nd Ranger in program history to score 1,000 career points.

"Josey is playing with so much confidence right now and is literally putting herself on the line to help our team win," Marrin said. "To be able to share the experience of her hitting such an incredible milestone of 1000 points in a Ranger uniform in under 3 years is something I will always remember and cherish. She is an excellent ball player and human."

The Rangers continued their offensive crusade as senior guard Madison Diercks scored a three-pointer that triggered a 14-2 run that didn't end until the 4:22 mark in the second quarter.

By the half, the Rangers were up by 18 and had inflated their lead to as many as 25 points at the 5:43 mark in the fourth to put the game squarely out of reach of the Mountaineers.

Joining Ryan in double-digits was junior guard Athena Saragoza with 18, Thornton-native Sam Deem with 13, and Diercks with 10.

In addition to her offensive performance, Deem danced with a double-double as she grabbed a team-high nine rebounds on the night. 

GAME NOTES

• Josey Ryan joins senior guard Erin Fry as the second Ranger to cross the 1,000 career point threshold this season
• Western Colorado and Regis tied in rebounds at 34
• Regis' bench scored a total of 17 points

UP NEXT

The Rangers host their last weekend of the 2023-2024 season starting with a game against New Mexico Highlands University. Tipoff is set for 5 PM.

"I know our team is looking forward to the rest this weekend. They worked hard for it and earned it," said Marrin.