Paul Czarnecki, Lexi Petri, Devon Martinez
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UCCS Women’s Basketball stands with an overall 3-3 record for the season with two contributing wins during the week of Thanksgiving, as well as two losses.
Nov. 19 University of Texas A&M-Kingsville at UCCS
In a tight match on Nov. 19 at home against University of Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas, UCCS lost 57-59.
UCCS opened the game fast, leading 14-12 at the end of the first quarter. Their game plan of attacking the middle and clearing out for graduate student forward Jasmine Jeffcoat worked as Jeffcoat scored six of the first 14 points for UCCS.
Following the first quarter, both sides traded baskets and the Mountain Lions maintained their lead, never losing it once in the first half.
Redshirt sophomore Sophie Abela began to hit midrange jumpers and three-pointers throughout the quarter, extending the UCCS lead to as large as eight with only a few seconds to play until halftime.
The second half began with the Mountain Lions leading by 10, their greatest lead of the night. However, their double-digit advantage did not last long after TA&ML outscored them 13-4.
The game was close as they tied twice throughout. A last-minute layup by TA&ML tied the game, and with .8 seconds left a layup won the game for them, causing UCCS to fall.
Nov. 21 Regis at UCCS
UCCS followed with another loss against the Regis Rangers on Nov. 21, in a game where the Mountain Lions trailed behind in the first and third, despite outscoring the Rangers in the second and fourth quarters.
UCCS ended the first quarter with 13 points. They had six turnovers, one block, four fouls and seven rebounds. Jeffcoat was the first UCCS player to score with a free throw. The team followed the first quarter by outscoring the team by 22-points in the second, bringing the score to 35-46 in Regis’ favor.
Regis continued to maintain the lead 63-40 after the third quarter. Yet, the Mountain Lions turned the game in their favor during the fourth quarter. A steal by redshirt freshman guard Emily Doolittle helped to assist graduate student Shelby Megyeri for a three pointer. But the scoring was not enough as the Rangers kept the lead despite UCCS’ 23 points in the fourth quarter.
Nov. 26-27 Thanksgiving Classic at CSU Pueblo
After the two losses, the Mountain Lions followed with two straight wins for the CSU Pueblo Thanksgiving Classic. First, they won 68-54 against Friends University on Nov. 26, and then again, 89-67, against the University of the Southwest on Nov. 27.
In the win against Friends, redshirt freshman guard/forward Jessica Nation, redshirt sophomore forward Ellie Moore and Jeffcoat all ended with double digit scores. Nation scored the highest with 16 points, and Moore and Jeffcoat tied with 12.
UCCS began the game only hitting 3-18 field goals in the opening quarter. They ended with only 11 points. Megyeri led UCCS in points for the quarter with five.
The game changed in the second quarter as UCCS outscored Friends 21-7. This included a 9-0 run which ended after a three by Nation.
Despite being outscored in the third quarter, UCCS was still not behind. In the fourth quarter, they outscored Friends 21-10, stopping any chance for a comeback and winning 68-54.
Off the momentum of their win the day before, the Mountain Lions came out of the gate against the University of the Southwest with a close 18-17 lead in the first quarter.
The game was close throughout the first half with nine different lead changes and the score being tied seven separate times. Redshirt freshman guard Emily Doolittle scored a three-pointer to increase UCCS’ lead to 31-25, but a 5-0 lead from Southwest gave them a 36-35 lead to leave the half.
Everything changed in the second half when the Mountain Lions outscored Southwest 50-27, in the final 20 minutes. UCCS came out in the half with a 15-1 run in the first five minutes. Nation assisted with the blowout lead with a break layup and two free throws.
There was no coming back for Southwest as UCCS ended the game with a 10-3 run in a game that saw 10 out of the 12 women’s basketball athletes seeing court time. UCCS won the game 89-67.
The team returned to Pueblo for the RMAC season opener on Dec. 3, and Adams State on Dec. 4. Their season record is 3-3.
