DENVER, Colo. – For the second year in a row, the Regis University women's basketball team has won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament title in a gritty game against the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. 

The Rangers (26-5 overall) weathered an aggressive Mountain Lion squad and took advantage of its numerous trips to the free throw line to come away with the 76-64 win.

Fifth-year Josey Ryan led the Rangers to their second consecutive conference tournament title with a career-high 31 points while senior guard Erin Fry joined her in double-figures with 17 points.

"It's still surreal, honestly. I was sitting here a year ago having gone from tenth to first and then having the pressure of being on top and getting picked first which I wasn't sure even if we would get picked first," Marrin said. "It feels amazing especially with those two and how much work they've put in. I think you can talk about the results and the championship but the amount of extra work they put in, the one-on-ones every single day. Full game workouts every single gameday. 8 AM, if shootaround's at nine, they're there. I've coached in Division I for 12 years and I've never seen a team put in the work they do off the court. I'm extremely proud of them."

HOW IT HAPPENED

Quick to the basket was the Regis offense as they opened up the game with a 8-0 run that opened with a three-pointer from junior guard Athena Saragoza and was capped off with a layup from Thornton-native Sam Deem.

The Mountain Lions kept up with the Rangers as their defense held Regis to only 25% (3-for-12) shooting from the field and seemingly began to swing the game's momentum back in their favor.

But freshman forward Fiona Snashall had other ideas, making a wide-open three and subsequently getting fouled on her follow through to produce a crucial four-point play for the Rangers.

"She had the left-handed layup and I mean, she makes those in practice every day. I mean, going back to the beginning of the season she was like 90% from the field. That's her. That's literally her," Marrin said. "She's still asking questions and wants to learn and embraces her role as a freshman with no ego, just wants to get better. Then when she goes in she's like Okay, I'm in! You're giving me a shot!' and it just gets the crowd hyped."

The Rangers dominated in the third frame, shooting 50% from the floor and a perfect 2-for-2 from downtown as the Mountain Lions struggled to hit their shots. By the final buzzer, the Rangers had outscored the Mountain Lions by 10 in the second half.

Throughout the night, Regis' trips to the free throw line proved to be the difference maker as 29 of their points came from those trips. Ryan led all Rangers in free throws with 14 makes in 20 attempts.

Ryan's 31 points was a team-high on the night, and a career-high for the La Vista-native.

"I had no idea I had 31 if I'm going to be completely honest. Most times when I play, I really am not thinking much, I get into like a flow state," said Ryan. "But my teammates were getting me the ball, there were open lanes, and I was looking to attack and get contact and attempt to make free throws. I think I just wanted to leave it all out there. It was my last opportunity to play here and to play with some really awesome people. I just have so much gratitude for the people around me and I just wanted to leave it all out on the court today."

Ryan was named the RMAC Tournament MVP while Fry, Deem, and Morgan L. Smith were named to the All-Tournament team.

GAME NOTES

• Graduate student forward Sam Deem led in rebounds with seven
• Senior guard Erin Fry led the Rangers in assists with five
• Saturday's win marks the second straight year the Rangers have swept both the regular season and tournament title

UP NEXT

With the win, the Rangers secure the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The tournament bracket will be announced on Sunday at 8:30 PM MST. In the most recent regional rankings, the Rangers were sitting third in the South Central region.

"It feels different for us this year. We had gone from tenth to first and we had to start at the bottom of the rankings, we couldn't get regionally ranked. We had to claw our way up and we had to really win everything out. We won 21 of our last 22 games last year so we had to show up," said Marrin. "This year, we've had more respect on the front end and we had a tough preseason schedule, a complete regional schedule and that's helped us. It does feel different because our team has set these goals that we've got and we've got a road to the natty. So it's just checking those off and staying present, but as soon as the first thing is over, our girls are ready for the next thing. They just do an incredible job of staying in the present but keeping the big picture goals in mind. We lost in the first round last year, we have that chip on our shoulder, we're hungry. We don't want to lose in the first, we want to get to the second. We feel a lot more prepared."