How It Happened
Points off turnovers and free throws were the difference as the Colorado School of Mines (15-5, 13-3) dropped a tight 65-61 contest at Regis (14-8, 12-4) on Friday, February 5.
The game started out with both teams trading basket for basket with each other as Emily Bailey got off to strong start. Tied at seven, Regis took control of the game and used four made three-pointers to get out a 23-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Mines stormed back to start the second quarter as Anna Kollmorgen nailed a three-pointer just over 30 seconds into the period to close the lead to 23-16. After Bailey's fourth made basket, Regis responded with their fifth three-ball of the half followed by a layup to force CSM into a timeout (6:41) at 30-18.
Now down 32-18, CSM finally found its footing and reeled off six straight points – including a corner three from Laura Tyree – to narrow the Rangers advantage. The offensive momentum continued for the Orediggers over the final five minutes as Elizabeth Tomon and Tyree drilled back-to-back threes in a 30-second span (2:06-to-1:35) before Regis had to settle for only a 39-33 halftime lead.
The second half started with Bailey scoring the first four points of the half which included a steal and a subsequent fastbreak bucket. Its lead down to two, Regis again responded with its sixth three-pointer then another bucket to retake a 44-37 lead. The Rangers pushed its lead out to as much as 11 (50-39) before a Tyree long bomb stopped the bleeding.
Down 52-44 to start the fourth quarter, Mines clawed back and got the lead down to 56-51, but another three-ball from the Rangers got them back out by eight (60-52). CSM got those points back though as Bailey nailed a pair of free throws and Courtney Martin beat Kaylie Rader inside to get within four (60-56) with 2:45 to go.
The Orediggers kept coming and eventually got within one (62-61) after Tyree read a lazy pass, got the steal, and Tomon eventually put back the second attempt. Now down 63-61 with six seconds to go, a tough offensive foul call on Mines sealed the deal and allowed Regis to escape, 65-61.
Notables
- The loss gives Mines it second consecutive loss which is the first time that has happened since the opening weekend of the season.
- While Mines only had one more turnover (16-15) than Regis, the Rangers outscored the Orediggers 20-9 in points off turnovers.
- Both teams shot over 40% for the game with Regis edging CSM out, 40.4%-to-40.2%.
- CSM had a tough night at the free throw line where they made only 46.4% (13-28) of their attempts.
- Laura Tyree led CSM with a game-high 18 points with four made three-pointers to go along with a team-high seven rebounds.
- Emily Bailey scored six of Mines' first nine points en route to a 17-point outing on 7-of-15 shooting. While the stats didn't bear it out she was also very active on defense.
- Courtney Martin also had 11 points and three blocks.
Up Next
Mines will have to shake off the defeat as they head out on the high plains to Chadron State for a 5:30 p.m. contest.
