Last weekend, UCCS basketball closed out their home season with a pair of wins over Western Colorado University.
The Mountain Lions baseball team hosted Division I University of Northern Colorado and beat them in one game of the three-game series.
Additionally, the softball team won their conference opening series, beating New Mexico Highlands in three of the four games.
Basketball
This weekend, the men’s and women’s teams won their final home game of the 2022-23 season against Western Colorado University (WCU). The women’s team won a close game, pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 60-51 win, while the men’s team broke their nine-game losing streak in dominant fashion, winning 90-66.
While the game was close in the opening minutes, the Mountain Lions pulled out early in the first half on a 17-6 run, giving them a 29-13 advantage, a deficit WCU could not overcome throughout the rest of the game.
Senior Jon’il Fugett, freshman Jayden Washington and sophomore Mac Stodart led the team with 15 points each, with Washington shooting a perfect 5 of 5 from the field with four three-pointers. Fugett, the lone senior on the team, recorded his 100th assist of the season.
The women’s team fought a close battle but held the lead for all but one minute of the game. Madison White led the team with 18 points, making 8-8 from the field with a pair of free throws. Redshirt freshman Breelyn Robinson scored a career-high 15 points from five three-pointers.
Senior Sophie Abela had surgery from an early January injury but returned on Feb. 10 to face Black Hills State, scoring seven points with four assists and three rebounds.
The men’s and women’s teams will finish their regular season away this week against CSU Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands on Feb. 24 and 25, respectively.
Baseball
The UCCS baseball team faced Division I University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in a three-game home series and came away with an extra-innings win in the final game.
The first game started back and forth, with UCCS leading until the fourth inning. While UNC found their first lead in the fifth, the game stayed close until the eighth inning when UNC scored six runs, leaving the final score 12-6.
The Mountain Lions started the second game behind, drawing four runs in the first inning. While the team closed the gap at the end of the fourth inning, UNC pulled ahead with a five-run sixth inning that left the final score 12-4, with UNC leading the series 2-0.
Despite the difficult losses, the Mountain Lions pulled through in the final game. After an early 3-0 deficit, redshirt sophomore Evan Steinberger hit a three-run homer to tie the game in the second inning. Throughout the rest of the game, UNC pulled ahead, and the UCCS offense answered to tie the game back up, going all the way into the final inning.
Tied 6-6 at the top of the ninth, UNC pulled ahead when a pinch runner gave them a 7-6 advantage. Freshman Ronan Hella came through to not only score the run that sent the game into extra innings but also nailed the double that sent the game-winning runner across the plate in the tenth inning.
This week, the Mountain Lions will host Sioux Falls in a four-game home series from Feb. 24-26.
Softball
The Mountain Lions softball team won their RMAC conference opening series against New Mexico Highlands (NMH) in a pair of double-headers. UCCS won three of the four-game series held in Las Vegas, N.M. from Feb. 18-19.
In the first game, NMH had an early 4-0 lead which UCCS answered in a third-inning rush that saw five runs scored off seven hits and a walk. Down 4-5, NMH responded in the next inning with four runs of their own before UCCS came through with another five-run inning to make the game 10-8.
A couple of runs by NMH would tie the game 10-10 and send it into extra innings. However, a run by sophomore Kelsey Bell and shutout pitching by freshman Ella Ebert would seal the Mountain Lion’s first conference win of the season 11-10.
In the second game, UCCS took the lead in the second inning and added to it in the fourth, creating a 4-0 advantage halfway through the game. UCCS held that lead for the rest of the game, and with dominant pitching from senior Lexi Rayburn, the Mountain Lions came away with a 9-2 win in the second game of the double-header.
Game three was rough for the Mountain Lions, with only seven hits and a season-low one run. NMH would gain a 5-0 lead by the fourth inning, and the lone UCCS run would come from junior Mia Perez on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Paige White. NMH earned their first win of the series 5-1.
Coming off of a slow offensive game, UCCS started the series’ last game down 3-0 in the second inning. Following a scoreless few innings, the Mountain Lions finally made it on the scoreboard at the top of the fifth inning with a four-run rampage off a pair of doubles and a two-run homer from sophomore Lexi Wagner.
After NMH tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth, redshirt senior Courtney Heller hit a two-run double to give UCCS a 6-4 lead. Freshman Autumn Kunze held NMH scoreless in the final two innings, sealing the game at 6-4 and giving UCCS the series win.
The softball team will continue their RMAC conference play at home at Mountain Lion Field against Metropolitan State University, Denver, in a four-game series on Feb. 24-25.
Photo Credits: Isaiah J. Downing/gomountainlions.com