The women’s basketball team’s championship season came to an end on March 16 when they lost, 68-65, to No. 2 seed Lubbock Christian University in the first round of the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament.
No. 7 seed UCCS trailed Lubbock Christian for most of the game but never allowed them to get away to a double-digit lead.
In the fourth quarter, it was a single possession game. UCCS got their first points of the quarter from a pair of free throws by redshirt junior guard Amyah Moore Allen, 55-53. About two minutes later, with 5:37 to go, senior forward Maison White scored a layup to give UCCS their first lead since the first quarter, 58-57. From there the Mountain Lions extended the lead to 61-57, after a layup by Moore Allen and a free throw by Emily Vidal.
With 2:47 left in the game, Lubbock Christian’s Grace Foster tied the game, 61-61. UCCS regained a brief lead, 62-63, after redshirt junior guard Breelyn Robinson sunk one of her two free throws, but just 20 seconds later, Foster took over the lead for her team with a layup.
With 8 seconds left in the game, UCCS was down 6 points. Redshirt junior guard Breelyn Robinson sunk a 3-pointer with 2 seconds to go, yet Lubbock Christian’s lead at the buzzer gave them the win, 68-65.
The Mountain Lions leading scorers were Moore Allen (20), White (11) and Robinson (10). The team shot 39.1% from field goal range and 71.4% from the free throw line. The Mountain Lions made just 5 of 23 3-pointers, 3 of which left Robinson’s hands.
The Mountain Lions conclude their season with a 19-12 overall record, going 12-8 in conference play.
Guard #4 Emily Vidal during a game on Feb. 27. Archive photo by Lillian Davis.