Colorado Christian took to the court on Saturday afternoon looking to finish off 2016 with a victory as they faced off against Black Hills State in Lakewood. The Cougars led after three quarters of play, but the Yellow Jackets used a strong fourth quarter performance to secure the victory as they beat the Cougs by a final score of 65-55.
 
The Cougars got off to a hot start in the first quarter as they were able to jump out to an early lead over the Yellow Jackets. CCU took a 17-11 lead heading into the second quarter, but Black Hills soon found their rhythm. BHSU used stellar defense in the second quarter to keep the Cougs offense in check. The Yellow Jackets swatted four Cougar shot attempts in the half. Colorado Christian looked as though they were going to take a lead heading into the halftime break, but Black Hills hit a three pointer with a few seconds left, which gave them the slim one point lead 27-26 at the half.
 
Kaitlyn Hinch was the leading scorer for CCU in the first half, as she connected on 4-10 from the floor to finish with 10 points. Mikala Gordon was also a factor for Blue and Gold finishing with seven points and grabbing five rebounds. Alex Nelson was the team's leading rebounder as she grabbed seven to go along with her four points scored. Leisha Crawford provided a park for the Cougs coming off of the bench as she led the team in assists with three while hitting both shots she took to finish the half with five points.
 
Colorado Christian made some adjustments at halftime which had immediate dividends. The Cougs opened up the third quarter on an 8-0 scoring run, which propelled them back into the lead 34-27. With 2:30 left in the third, Christian led 40-32. Both offenses stalled in the final couple of minutes, but Black Hills once again hit a three at the end of the quarter which cut the CCU lead down to five heading into the final quarter.
 
The Yellow Jackets were determined to get back in the game, which is exactly what they did. By the five minute mark, they had erased their deficit and had once again regained the lead 48-46. Once again the defenses tightened up as neither team was able to score a basket for a three minute stretch. Black Hills State went on a 9-4 run to put them ahead by a score of 57-50 with just under a minute remaining. This forced CCU to foul, but BHSU were able to hit their free throws down the stretch to put the game away and give them the 65-55 victory over the Cougars.
 
Four Cougars finished the game in double figures, led by Kaitlyn Hinch who finished with 13. Hinch also led the team with five assists and three steals. Mikala Gordon finished the night with a double-double scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Alex Nelson also notched a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. For Nelson, it is her third straight game with a double-double, and fourth on the season. Rounding out the Cougs scoring in double digits was Leisha Crawford who scored 10.
 
The tough loss drops the Cougars record to 5-8 overall, and 3-5 in conference play. They will be back in action next week as they hit the road for a pair of conference games. First up will be a matchup against Westminster College in Salt Lake City, UT. The game is on Friday January 6^th, and will begin at 5PM MST.