The Cougars faced off against Metro State on Friday night and were able to come away with the victory by a final score of 65-46. The Colorado Christian offense was able to execute their game plan to perfection, and defensively they never allowed Metro to sustain any momentum. It was a rare win for CCU at Metro as it was only the third time in the past ten years that they have been able to walk away with the victory.
 
The first quarter was a back and forth battle between the in conference rivals. Taylor Torres was the early aggressor for Colorado Christian as she was able to use her speed to drive past her defender to the basket for a couple of easy buckets. Torres finished the first quarter with six of the Cougars 12 points. Metro drained a late three pointer to give them the lead. After one period, the score was 13-12 in favor of the Roadrunners.
 
In the second, CCU began to settle down and slowly but surely began to seize the lead from Metro. CCU headed into the half with a 32-27 lead. It was an all-around team effort to take the lead as the entire team began dishing out more dimes than the state mint. CCU finished with a 12 assists on 13 made baskets. Taylor Torres finished the first half as the leading scorer with nine points and had four assists. Also having a strong first half was Kate Louthan who had eight points, grabbed four rebounds, and also had four assists.
 
The Cougars finished the half shooting 48% from the field (13-27), and 37.5% (3-8) from beyond the three point line. The Colorado Christian defense held Metro State to just 30% (10-33) from the field and 20% (2-10) from downtown. One negative from the first half was a big reason why Metro was able to keep the game close. The Roadrunners enjoyed a 26-12 rebounding advantage over CCU including 12 offensive rebounds which led to ten second chance points and kept the lead in single digits heading into the second half.
 
Colorado Christian was able to add two points to their lead by the end of the third quarter as they led 46-39 heading into the fourth. The Cougars continued to contest all of the shots by Metro, but much like it was the story in the first half the Roadrunners continued to pound the offensive glass and give their team second and third chances. After three quarters, Metro had taken 12 more shots than CCU in the game.
 
The Cougars opened up the flood gates early in the fourth quarter and with seven minutes remaining in the game they had extended their lead to 13 points after going on a 10-2 scoring run. The offensive dominance continued throughout the remainder of the game as Colorado Christian was able to defeat Metro by the final score of 65-46.
 
Four Cougars finished the game in double figures led by Kate Louthan who finished with a game high 16 points. Taylor Torres finished with 14 points and seven assists, Alex Nelson had 11 points, and Claire Paxton also finished with 11 points. Paxton threw a block party and invited everyone as she was credited with five blocks on the night, and also had her hand in altering several more of the Roadrunner attempts. Ali Meyer took it upon herself to control the glass especially in the fourth quarter as she helped stop the advantage for Metro on the offensive glass. Despite battling foul trouble, Meyer was able to finish the game with a team high eight rebounds and had five steals.
 
Coach Darren Richie discussed the team's effort after the game, "Our man defense was stifling especially in the second half as we were able to hold them to just a 22% shooting in the second half, and only seven total points in the fourth quarter. The girls continue to play outstanding together as a team, and it has really elevated our confidence as we move forward."
 
The win marks the seventh straight victory for the Cougars as they are climbing up in the RMAC rankings as they now sit in third place just one game behind CSU-Pueblo and one and a half behind the first place Colorado School of Mines squad. The win improves their record to 11-3, and 8-2 in conference play. CCU will travel to Colorado Springs tomorrow night as they will be facing off against UCCS. Tip is scheduled for 5:30PM MST.
 
DNL