Box Score GOLDEN, Colo. – For the second-straight contest, the women's basketball team fell behind by a pair at halftime. Unlike last night, the Cowgirls defense took over for the victory. New Mexico Highlands University (4-1, 1-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) held Colorado School of the Mines (2-4, 1-1 RMAC) to only 26 points in the second half, outscoring the Orediggers by eight en route to a 65-59 win Saturday night (Dec. 7).
"I'm happy with the way we responded after last night's loss," head coach
Tiffany Darling said. "We still have a lot of work to do on the defensive end of the floor and on the boards. Anytime you can get a split on the road, that's a good weekend.
"We need to get back to work on Monday," Darling added.
With the score knotted at 54 with 4:04 left, the Cowgirls scored five unanswered to take momentum in the contest. Senior
China Smith broke the deadlock with a layup. After a defensive stop, Highlands grabbed two offensive boards to keep possession and bleed more time off the clock. Junior
Trish Simpson grabbed the second offensive board and found senior
Alyssa Lopez behind the arc to drain the triple. The Cowgirls had the 59-54 advantage, never leading by three the rest of the way. The visitors hit 6-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the win.
Simpson, who grabbed the big offensive rebound that led to Highlands going up by five, recorded a game-best 12 boards. Lopez, senior
Patrina Goree and junior
Jenny Johnson all tallied a game-high 12 points.
The Orediggers did manage to outshoot the Cowgirls (41.7-40.7 percent), but Highlands countered with its ability to get to the free-throw line. Highland made 13-25 (52 percent) from the line, compared to 6-14 (42.9 percent) for Colorado School of the Mines.
Lopez – who only hit a pair of three-pointers on the night – made the most of both her shots. Colorado School of the Mines pushed out to a 30-23 edge in the first half before Goree grabbed a defensive board and found Lopez for the triple.
"It was great to see Alyssa back to her old self tonight. We've been easing her way back into game action. Well, she showed she was back tonight," Darling said.
Goree went 3-4 from the charity line down the stretch in the first half, while Johnson grabbed a steal and went straight to the hoop, to pull Highlands within 33-31 at intermission.
Tied at 37, Courtney Martin recorded a pair of lay-ups to give the Orediggers its biggest lead of the second half. Goree and Simpson quickly tied the game with a pair of lay-ups of their own. Allie Grazulis gave the home team its final lead with 12:09 left, but Lopez found junior
Katie Gannon behind the arc on the ensuing possession to put Highlands up 44-43.
"Besides Lopez,
Kate Cryderman took two huge charges in the second half that changed momentum in the game," Darling said.
Sam Rusk led Colorado Mines with 12 points while Martin contributed 11. Courtney Gallo chipped in 10 points while Grazulis added 11 boards.
The Cowgirls close out home play in 2013 next weekend when they host Western State Colorado and #5 Colorado Mesa. Both games are scheduled to tip at 6 p.m.
