UCCS women’s basketball headed down to Las Vegas, New Mexico to take on the N.M. Cowgirls in a matchup that UCCS took 66-48.
Both teams entered the game fast, exchanging baskets with UCCS being led early by graduate student guard Bo Shaffer who gave UCCS their first lead of the game 7-5 early in the action.
Using momentum from Shaffer’s basket, UCCS went on an 11-0 run with six points being scored in the paint and four from turnovers. Redshirt sophomore guard Sophie Abela finished the run with a layup to give the Mountain Lions a 16-5 lead.
New Mexico Highlands entered the second half with a 26-24 lead, but this did not last long as UCCS scored the first 16 points of the half. These points were led by redshirt sophomore Ellie Moore who quickly tied the game at 26.
The Mountain Lions held the lead for the remainder of the game and won, advancing to 7-11 on the season.
UCCS were not able to celebrate the victory for long as they had to make a quick turnaround to South Dakota to take on the Hardrockers. Though the team fought hard they ended up falling to the Hardrockers in a close matchup, 73-71.
Right out of the gate, Abela knocked down a three pointer to put UCCS up 3-0. The Hardrockers rumbled their way back, taking a 13-point lead in the first quarter.
UCCS battled their way back into the action, going on a 10-0 run lead by Moore. Even with this 10-0 run, UCCS went into the half down 27-23.
Coming out of the half the Mountain Lions got right back on track, putting up six straight points and again giving their best attempt to get back into the game. The Hardrockers continued to put the ball through the basket, slowly cutting short UCCS’ efforts.
Nearing the final seconds UCCS was down 72-69. Coming out of a timeout, White drained a jumper to cut the score to 72-71 and give UCCS a spark of hope. In the end though, South Dakota Mines knocked down a free throw with one second left to take a 73-71 lead and get the win.
The Mountain Lions continued their road trip by heading to Western Colorado University and Fort Lewis College.
