Colorado Christian have dealt with plenty of adversity already this season, so when the game got tight in the second half of Thursday's contest against School of Mines, the Cougars responded the only way they know how: by battling to the finish.
 
When the Orediggers' shot at the final buzzer rimmed out, CCU had a 73-72 victory and their third in a row in the RMAC.
 
With a depleted bench, the Cougars would need big contributions from their small group and it's exactly what they got. Juniors Taylor Torres and Kate Louthan shouldered the scoring load, contributing 22 and 20 points, respectively.
 
Torres connected on a number of big shots, hitting four from beyond the arc to give Christian an outside threat.
 
"Our posts did an amazing job - and they have all season - of finishing at the glass. When the other team starts sagging, that's when our outside shot has to fall," remarked Torres.  "I was really grateful for the outside looks as a result of the hard work of our posts."
 
Louthan was her usual efficient self, mixing her post finishes with jump shots to finish 7-11 from the field while also adding seven rebounds.
 
Another reason for the recent success of the Cougars- freshman Ali Meyer is flashing her potential as one of the promising young stars on the team. Meyer, a Monument, CO native, recorded a double-double tallying 12 points and 11 rebounds.
 
While CCU held a double digit lead for much of the night, CSM climbed back into the game in the final period using eight second half 3-pointers. When a Mines trey found the bottom of the net with just over a minute remaining, it threatened to derail all of the hard work of CCU. The 70-69 lead for the Orediggers was their first in 33 minutes of action.
 
Even with fatigue setting in, the Cougars rallied and their aggressiveness paid dividends. Free throws by Louthan and Torres gave Christian their final four points, and the blue and gold finally caught a break as Mines' shot at the buzzer failed to fall.
 
"This team just needed one moment that went our way. That was it," reflected Head Coach Tim Hays. "We've had so many struggles this fall, we just needed one roll, one thing to go our way and I think that was it.
 
"It has felt like we just keep taking hits. There's only so much teams can take. Sill, these girls came in with the attitude that they were going to get it done, even if it was with five," said Hays. "We had several girls step up, including Jenn Lapp and Mikala Gordon who both hit big shots for us. Girls like Kate Louthan and Ali Meyer and Taylor Torres just absolutely gutted that one out."
 
After Thursday's inspired performance, Colorado Christian now sits at 3-2 in the conference with a much-needed break on deck. They'll return to the court in 2015, heading on the road starting with a big matchup at Colorado Mesa on January 2.