Colorado Christian took to the court on Friday night to square off with Western New Mexico University. A strong second half performance propelled the Cougars to an 82-65 victory. Kate Louthan and Ali Meyer could not be stopped, especially in the second half.
 
It was a defensive first quarter for both teams, as each struggled to gain any traction on the offensive side of the ball. The mustangs had a knack for getting in the passing lanes as they forced eight total turnovers and had six steals. CCU was close behind as they forced seven turnovers in the first quarter. Colorado Christian gained the edge late in the quarter and took a lead 17-15 heading into the second.
 
The second quarter began with a run by WNMU as they took the lead away from the Cougars and held onto it until five minutes remained in the half as the score was 24-21 in favor of the Mustangs. CCU finished the quarter on a 13-8 run and took a two point lead into halftime 34-32.
 
Kate Louthan was the leading scorer for the Cougs in the first half as she was able to score nine points while also grabbing six rebounds. All seven players who played in the first half for CCU had at least one made field goal in the game as it was a great team effort in finding the open person for the shot. Ali Meyer finished the half with six points and six rebounds. Taylor Torres and Chandler Sturms were tied for the team lead in assists, as they both had two in the half. CCU finished the half shooting 40% (12-30) from the field and 31% (4-13) from beyond the three point line.
 
CCU came out of the break with their foot on the gas as they were able to score early and often throughout the quarter. Kate Louthan had an amazing quarter as she scored 16 points on 6-7 shooting from the floor. She could not miss as she was the main reason the Cougar lead was extended to double digits. Their defense continued to give great effort as they held the Mustangs to only 12 points in the quarter. At the end of three, Colorado Christian was leading by a score of 56-44.
 
The Cougars kept the pressure on in the fourth and continued to score at will against Western New Mexico. When all was said and done, Colorado Christian had outscored the Mustangs by 15 points in the second half. CCU shot 54% (19-35) in the second half which boosted their overall shooting performance up to nearly 48% (31-65) in the game.
 
Kate Louthan led the Cougars on the night as her second half surge was good enough to give her a double-double on the night. She finished with a game high 30 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds. Ali Meyer had the other double-double for CCU as she had 12 points and grabbed a team high 14 rebounds. Taylor Torres and Kaitlyn Hinch were also in double figures as they each had 12 points.
 
Coach Darren Richie spoke about the victory after the game, "Our post play, led by Kate Louthan and Ali Meyer, dominated on the inside throughout the game. When those two can combine to score 42 points and grab 24 rebounds, then we are going to be tough to beat."
 
With the win, the Cougars record improves to 16-6 overall, and 13-5 in conference play. They are now 9-2 in the friendly confines of the CCU Event Center. They will be back in action Saturday night as they will be taking on New Mexico Highlands University. It will be senior night, as we will be celebrating the senior class for the Cougars as they play in their final home game. Tip is scheduled for 5PM MST.

DNL