Box Score The NMHU Women's basketball team won their second conference game of the season by defeating the Orediggers of the Colorado School of Mines 69-56. The Cowgirls played tenaciously on defense for the entire 40 minutes, and showed great teamwork by having four players score in double digits. The Cowgirls took the lead early in the first half and led by as much as nine points, before the Orediggers were able to tie the game up going into halftime. Out of the locker room the Orediggers took the initial lead but the Cowgirls quickly regained control of the game thanks to the athletic play of
Tanee' Denson-Griffin. The Cowgirls enjoyed a 10 point lead halfway through the second half and they just kept up the momentum. The Orediggers tried to mount a comeback but the Cowgirls defense was too much for them and when the final buzzer sounded the Cowgirls had come away with their second RMAC victory of the season by 13 points. With the win the Cowgirls, led by Head Coach Tiffany Darling, improve to a 2-5 record in the RMAC and 6-5 in overall play.
Tanee' Denson-Griffin was the scoring leader for the Cowgirls in the game. Denson-Griffin topped all scorers with 22 points and completed her first double-double for the Cowgirls by adding 10 rebounds. She shot an outstanding 8-10 from the field and 6-10 from the free-throw line. Denson-Griffin played 31 minutes in the game and it was her athletic and energetic play that helped the Cowgirls get the victory.
China Smith was the second highest scoring Cowgirl in the game with 15 points off the bench. Smith made some clutch shots in the game and shot 70% from the free-throw line in her 20 minutes on the court. She added four rebounds and a blocked shot to her night's totals.
Alyssa Lopez and
Whitley Coca rounded out the top scorers for the Cowgirls.
Alyssa Lopez scored 13 points in her 33 minutes of playing time. Lopez would add four rebounds, two steals and an assist to the Cowgirls' efforts.
Whitley Coca scored 10 points for the Cowgirls in her 33 minutes on the court. Coca had the second most rebounds for the Cowgirls with seven and led the Cowgirls' attack with six assists and a team high four steals.
The Cowgirls got off to a quick start in the game, playing with tenacious defense and a quick counter attack to earn a 5-0 lead with 17:41 remaining in the first half. The Orediggers fought back to cut the lead to three points but the Cowgirls were up and running again and enjoyed their biggest lead of the half at nine points with 8:32 left to play in the half. The Orediggers regained their composure and worked the Cowgirls' lead down to two points with 5:22 on the clock, but the Cowgirls were able to extend their lead back to nine points with 3:37 left in the first half. The Orediggers finished the half with a 10-1 run to tie the game up at 26 apiece when the buzzer sounded to end the first half of play.
Both teams struggled to make their shots count out of the half-time break, but the Orediggers were able to strike first with a three-pointer to break the ice. The Cowgirls quickly regained the momentum and the lead when
Tanee' Denson-Griffin sank two shots in succession. The teams battled it out for the first six minutes of the second half but the Cowgirls never relinquished the lead.
China Smith hit a layup on the fast break to give the Cowgirls their first double digit lead of the game with 9:56 left to play in the game. The Orediggers answered with a three-point basket, but
Whitley Coca responded with a three-pointer of her own to maintain the 10 point lead. The Cowgirls never looked back after that and they just kept on extending their lead. With 5:07 remaining on the clock,
Tanee' Denson-Griffin hit two free-throw shots to give the Cowgirls a 16 point lead, their biggest of the game. The Orediggers tried to mount a comeback but the Cowgirls' defense was smothering and when the final buzzer sounded the Cowgirls had come away with their second conference win of the season by the final score of 69-56.
The Cowgirls are beginning to play well as a team, as witnessed by winning two of their last three games. Tonight's game highlighted that team effort as four different Cowgirls scored in double digits. Head Coach Tiffany Darling said, “It was a great team effort tonight. It's always nice to have balanced scoring with four girls in double digits. We really shared the ball tonight and played well together.” The team effort was readily apparent in the tenacious defense that the Cowgirls played against the Orediggers, all players were swarming to the ball and making plays. “Our girls played hard and really showed improvement defensively, in the second half we forced 15 turnovers compared to our three turnovers,” commented Coach Darling.
The Cowgirls will continue conference action again, on 12/31, as they host the Cougars of Colorado Christian University. The Cougars are currently ranked eighth in the RMAC with a 2-4 conference record and 4-8 in overall play. The game at the John A. Wilson Complex is scheduled for a 6 pm tip-off time, with the Cowboys taking to the court shortly after the completion of the women's game. If you can't make it up to the gym to watch your Cowgirls in action, you can click
HERE to watch the game LIVE on the America One network.
GO COWGIRLS!!!
