Box Score The NMHU Women's Basketball team kept their post-season hopes alive with a 75-67 victory at home against the Rangers of Regis University. The Cowgirls took control of the game early on and kept the Rangers at bay for most of the game. Regis did not see their first lead until halfway through the second half, but the Cowgirls were able to regain their composure and some key defensive plays from
Ashley Godfrey saw the Cowgirls re-establish control of the game. The Cowgirls played a complete team game that saw four of their players score in double figures. The Cowgirls wore their special pink jerseys in support of breast cancer for Pink Night and the uniforms seemed to bring them good luck as they had a good game shooting in front of a big crowd at the John A. Wilson Complex. The Cowgirls shot 45% from the field, 40% from behind the three-point arc, and an outstanding 92.6% from the free-throw line.
Ashley Godfrey anchored a tenacious Cowgirls' defensive effort that helped them achieve victory on a spectacular night of basketball in Las Vegas, N.M. With the home win the Cowgirls, led by Head Coach Tiffany Darling, improve to an 8-12 record in the RMAC and 12-12 in overall play.
China Smith was the leading scorer for the Cowgirls in the game. In 28 minutes on the court, Smith scored 16 points. She came very close to a double-double performance with her team leading nine rebounds. Smith would add one blocked shot, a steal, and an assist to her impressive game, which also saw her shoot a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.
Alyssa Lopez scored 15 points for the Cowgirls in her team leading 31 minutes of playing time. She grabbed six rebounds, added an assist and a steal to her nights totals.
Tanee' Denson-Griffin and
Brittany Neeley rounded out the Cowgirls double-digit scorers in the game. Denson-Griffin put up 12 points, while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out an assist in 19 minutes on the court. Neeley scored 10 points in an outstanding shooting performance that saw her go a perfect 3-3 from the field, 1-1 from beyond the three-point line, and make three of her four free-throw attempts.
Ashley Godfrey led the Cowgirls on defense in the game. Godfrey was solid on the defensive side of the ball, pestering the Regis players on offense. She finished with two blocked shots, two steals and six points in her 30 minutes of playing time.
Tanee' Denson-Griffin got the Cowgirls off to a great start by hitting a three-pointer out of the gate.
Brittany Neeley came down the court, less than a minute later, and hit another big three-pointer, exciting the crowd with a 6-0 lead for the Cowgirls. The Rangers fought their way back into the contest and cut the lead to two points with 15:40 left in the first half. The teams went back and forth, but the Cowgirls kept the lead and with 11:11 left in the half,
China Smith hit two free-throws to extend that lead to eight points. The Rangers closed the gap slightly but the Cowgirls enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at nine points when
Alyssa Lopez converted both of her free-throw attempts with five minutes left to play in the first half. The Rangers were able to close with the Cowgirls once again, and when the buzzer sounded for halftime the Cowgirls took a four point lead into the locker room, up 38-34.
The Cowgirls got off to another good start at the beginning of the second half, extending their lead back up to eight points thanks to back-to-back lay-ups from Neeley and Denson-Griffin. Regis began to get on a roll and tied the game up at 45 apiece with 15:28 left in the game. The Cowgirls regained the advantage and put some distance on the scoreboard, but the Rangers would not give up and they took their first lead of the game, 51-50, with 10:38 on the clock. Regis managed to extend their lead to three points, but a big three-point shot from
Alyssa Lopez tied the game back up at 55 apiece with 8:41 left to play. The Cowgirls would take the lead back and three big-time defensive plays by
Ashley Godfrey ensured that the Cowgirls remained in control of the game. Godfrey got a blocked shot, a steal, and another big block in quick succession, all leading to Cowgirls' points. The Cowgirls maintained their lead and when the final buzzer sounded they had come away with a big home victory, 75-68, keeping their RMAC post-season hopes alive.
The Cowgirls will continue conference action again, on 2/18, as they host the Roadrunners of Metropolitan State College of Denver. The NCAA DII #2 Roadrunners are in the lead in the RMAC with an 18-2 conference record and 22-2 in overall play. The last time the two teams met, in Denver, Colo., the Roadrunners rolled to an 86-48 victory on their home court. The game 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 out to the John A. Wilson Complex to watch your Cowgirls in action, you can click
HERE to watch the game LIVE on the America One network.
GO COWGIRLS!!!
