Fans at the Event Center Friday night saw a CCU women's basketball team on full-throttle. After turning in what was perhaps the most complete game of their season, the Cougars walked off the floor with an impressive 81-49 win – their 13^th in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play this year.
 
From the game's opening minutes, it was clear which squad had come to play. After WNMU drained the night's first bucket, the Cougars launched a 15-0 run to jump out on top of the visiting Mustangs. The trend would continue throughout the game, as Christian's hot 57% clip from the field would not be matched. After hanging 40 on the scoreboard in the first half, CCU continued their unrelenting play in the second. A terrorizing defense set the home squad up for an easier effort on the offensive end, as the blue and gold harvested 29 points off 24 WNMU giveaways.
 
"A few weeks ago we knew that what needed to come around was our offensive playmaking," reflected Head Coach Tim Hays on the night and the season. "We needed to finish good shots that were created in our offense, and we knew we needed to pass the ball better. We needed to share it, we needed reversals in our offense, we needed to make our opponents work defensively. Tonight we got the easies off the steals, we got run-out layups which are obviously huge momentum boosters, and when we had to play a half-court game, we were patient enough to get shots at the right times. We had 21 assists and 12 turnovers – I'll take that any night. This was an incredible effort on their part, great focus, and we're going to work to continue to get better."
 
Indeed, CCU's effort against the Mustangs' uncharacteristic zone defense was a good one, thanks to early treys from junior Taylor Torres, and a dominance in the paint the Cougars refused to get away from. By the time the final horn sounded, Christian had outscored their opponents 40-12 under the basket.
 
"Taylor's buckets were huge," Hays continued. "Coming out and hitting shots at the start of the game got her confidence going, and got everyone else going too."
 
Torres' early makes helped the Cougars jump on top of WNMU early, and stretched out a defense they hadn't necessarily prepared for.  
 
"We're in a part of the season where it's more about being able to adjust in the moment then it is about knowing what the other team is going to do," Torres explained. "I think that we have the potential to be extremely good, I think it comes down to our decision making and our teamwork. We're at our best when we're playing as a team, and making the next pass, and having fun with it. I think that's what we did tonight."
 
The junior guard finished the night with a game-best 18 points, thanks in large part to a 4-for-7 showing from three point land. Torres' partner in the backcourt, Christina Whitelaw, chipped in with an impressive 10 assists and ten seals, while junior Kate Louthan notched a career-best six blocks. All but one of the ten CCU players to make it onto the court Friday found the bottom of the net.
 
Now 13-7 in conference competition, and owners of the fourth-place seed heading into tournament time, the Cougars understand the irony in the way the season has played played out thus far. Their 0-8 start seems like a distant memory
 
"It was tough and it was hard and it hurt to lose eight straight games," Torres continued, "but to watch my teammates grow as individuals, and to watch this team grow together through some of the ugliest things – injuries and losing players – it's something so beautiful and it's beyond basketball. I think there was a set plan for us from the beginning. God really took over, and that's the exciting part."
 
"In a lot of ways, I think that 0-8 start helped us," Hays remarked at the close of the night. It gave us perspective, and helped us see what we're capable of doing and allowing situations like playoffs to take care of themselves. Right now, it's about us becoming the best team we can be and controlling what we can control. It's been easy to focus on one game at a time, because we're just focusing on us."
 
The Cougars will look to protect their position in the post-season as they close out 2015. The final home game of the year is slated for Saturday at 5:00 pm.