In the fourth quarter in the women’s basketball game against Colorado School of Mines, the UCCS bench was singing, “Amyah has 40.”
Redshirt junior guard Amyah Moore Allen is normally among the game leaders in scoring, but during the game against Colorado School of Mines on Feb. 27, she was on another level. With 2:22 to go in the fourth, Moore Allen sunk one from inside the 3-point line to set the single-game scoring record in program history with 40 points. The previous record of 39 was held by Abby Kirchoff, whose jersey was retired in February.
This season, Moore Allen has averaged 19.1 points per game and has scored over 20 points in 11 games. Moore Allen broke the record by shooting 76% from the field with 8 free throws. On Feb. 20 against Adams State, Moore Allen entered the 1,000 points club — 516 of which were scored just this season. Moore Allen’s 1,083 career points puts her in eighth for all-time points scored at UCCS.
“We knew it was coming,” Head Coach Misty Wilson said after Moore Allen broke the record. “She’s probably the most coachable kid that we’ve got, and that’s what separates her from a lot of people that have the athleticism that she has.”
UCCS trailed by 2 at the end of the first quarter, 21-19, after Moore Allen scored 6 points. She picked up the pace in the second, scoring 14 points to help the Mountain Lions gain the lead going into the half, 38-34. Moore Allen scored 7 in the third as UCCS briefly gave up the lead before regaining control going into the fourth, 54-48. She scored 13 points in the fourth to help UCCS win the game, 75-59.
“I think I played amazing,” Moore Allen said. “I was just getting the easy buckets that I could get, getting my teammates the easy buckets I know they can get.”
With their win over the Orediggers, the Mountain Lions earned their second straight appearance in the RMAC Championship Tournament. After losing to Regis in the final game of the regular season on March 1, they were awarded the No. 6 seed.
“I feel like it was very well deserved,” Moore Allen said. “We fought this whole season, just to get to where we’re supposed to get.”
The Mountain Lions will play at Adams State on March 4 in the RMAC tournament quarterfinals.
“We’re not playing for the RMAC tournament anymore. We’re playing for the national tournament,” Wilson said. “We’re playing for positioning and seeding and votes now to get into the [national] tournament.”
Last season, the Mountain Lions fell in the RMAC Championship Tournament final to Regis and were not selected for the NCAA Division II Tournament. As of the latest poll on Feb. 26, the Mountain Lions are filling the final spot in the 10-team South Central Regional rankings for the NCAA Division II Tournament.
The selected teams will be announced live on the NCAA website at 8:30 p.m. on March 9. The winner of the RMAC Championship Tournament will automatically receive an invitation to the NCAA Division II Tournament.