Colorado Christian Basketball picked up a big RMAC win Friday, knocking off a perennially tough Colorado State Pueblo team 53-49 in front of a packed Event Center in Lakewood. The Cougars advanced to 6-4 in conference play with the victory.
 
CCU's squad came out of the gates ready to play. From the game's onset, the Cougars thrilled fans with an energy that had the visiting Thunderwolves rattled. A hyper defensive effort combined with a scorching efficiency on offense had Christian up by as many as 14 points late in the opening half. To that point, CCU owned a head-turning 68% shooting percentage – benefiting from the hot hands of bigs Kate Louthan and Ali Meyer. Heading into the halftime break, Louthan and Meyer had 18 points combined.
 
Though Pueblo didn't make big second-period changes, the game's momentum began to even as the final half progressed. As one team cooled, the other heated up, assuring a tense finish to a previously lopsided game.
 
After pulling to within one with an early trey, Pueblo took their first lead of the night less than two minutes into the half. The game would be theirs for the next 16 minutes, as Christian struggled to find the bottom of the net. Fortunately, while Colorado Christian cooled after the break, Pueblo did too, allowing CCU all the opportunity they'd need to regain their early advantage.
 
The Cougars went back on top with 2:18 left on the clock, using a Taylor Torres three to ignite a surge that would eventually assure the Christian win. Makes from the foul line by Christina Whitelaw held the Thunderwolves at bay, and soon CCU had the well-earned four-point win.
 
"I thought our team came out really ready to play tonight," explained Louthan after the win, "we were together and cohesive on the court. It was no doubt a hard fought 40 minutes, but it's always nice to come out on the winning end against a good team like that."
 
As expected, Colorado Christian won most of the night's categories, including a 14-rebound advantage and a 44% offensive clip (compared to 37% from CSUP). Louthan and Whitelaw led the with eight boards apiece.
 
"We did what we needed to do on the boards tonight," Louthan continued, "especially defensively. We knew they do extremely well digging out offensive boards. That's just one example of the discipline we had and needed to have tonight in order to come out on top.
 
With the first of a pair of tough RMAC challenges behind them, the Cougars turn their attention to Saturday night's contest against CU Colorado Springs. The Mountain Lions enter the game atop the RMAC standings.

"We're ready for tomorrow. It's definitely a big rival, and we need to keep the momentum we had tonight especially the energy from the bench."
 
Colorado Christian tips off against UCCS at 5:00 pm.