It's been tough to be a Cougar away from home this year. Road wins have been elusive for Colorado Christian Women's Basketball, and Saturday in Denver was no different. Just one night after dropping an RMAC duel at Regis, CCU stumbled again, falling 69-56 Â at Metro State. The setback marked the seventh road loss for the Cougars this season, and dropped the squad's record in conference play to 10-7.
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From the game's opening tip, the home Runners made clear they'd be tough to beat. Taking advantage of a missed Christian layup, the home team drained a trey to start the night's scoring. The rest of the period belonged to the deep Metro team, who got 65% of their first-half points from the bench.
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As Metro's lead grew, CCU's offensive effort shriveled. Unable to find the bottom of the net, the Cougars had to rely on free throws to remain in the game. Though they only managed five makes from the field in the first 20, the visiting Christian squad went into the break down by just eight thanks to a 10-for-13 showing at the line.
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There wouldn't be a turn-around in the second - yet, though they struggled to hit, the Cougars kept swinging. Again their trips to the charity stripe kept CCU in the game but wouldn't be enough to help any comeback efforts. A six-point score difference in the half's opening moments would be the closest Christian would get. The Roadrunners heated up and left CCU in their wake, building leads as big as 16 and shooting 48% compared to 25% from the Cougars.
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CCU finished the night with just 12 buckets (21%) and a lowly 1-for-12 showing (8%) from downtown.
Claire Paxton's 13 points and seven boards marked a high for the Cougars, while senior guard
Alyssa Fressle notched a team-best eights rebounds. Metro outdid Colorado Christian 51-38 on the glass.
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Unfortunately, another weekend away from home awaits the road-weary Cougars this week. They'll travel north for a Friday contest at Chadron before closing out the weekend with an early game at Black Hills State.
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