Colorado Christian got back into the win column on Saturday night as they defeated New Mexico Highlands University by a final score of 83-52. It was an impressive all-around game from the team as they dominated both offensively and defensively throughout all four quarters.
 
The Cougs came out ready to play as they made the long journey down to Las Vegas, NM to take on New Mexico Highlands. Both teams exchanged baskets early on, but Highlands took an early two point lead with the score 6-4 just three minutes into the game. Then CCU took over both offensively and defensively. Christian finished the rest of the first quarter on a 15-2 run to take a double digit lead 19-8 after the first.
 
The Cougars remained hot in the second quarter as they continued to add to their lead. Blue and gold took a commanding 18 point lead 43-25 heading into the break. It was a flawless half for the Lady Cougs as they did not turn the ball over at all during the entire half. On the defensive end, they were able to force 15 turnovers, which led to 19 points on the offensive end.
 
The leading scorer at the half was senior Claire Paxton who scored 11 points. Alex Nelson and Kaitlyn Hinch both had nine points in the first half. Nelson led the team in assists with three, and Hinch had four steals.
 
The third quarter went just like the first two as the Cougars continued to add to their lead. Claire Paxton continued to shine, as she added seven points in the third quarter to give her 18 for the game. Mikala Gordon also had an impressive quarter with seven points to give her 10 for the game. Heading into the final quarter, the Cougs held a 62-38 lead.
 
With the game was well in hand, the Cougars continued their impressive play throughout the fourth quarter. Gabriella Odom made her return to the floor tonight for the Cougs for the first time since the end of November. She made good use of her time on the floor as she scored four points on 2-2 shooting from the floor in the 4^th quarter. Christian ran away with it, and won by a final score of 83-52.
 
Alex Nelson finished as the team's leading scorer as she had 22 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Claire Paxton finished with a season high 20 points on 9-16 shooting from the floor. Mikala Gordon finished one rebound away from a double-double as she had 12 points and nine rebounds. Kaitlyn Hinch rounds out the Cougars in double figures as she finished with 10 points in the game.
 
As a team, Christian shot lights out going 32-61 (53%) from the floor, and 5-9 (56%) from long distance. They dominated in all facets of the game. Great defense creates offense, and that was definitely the case in this game. CCU forced Highlands to turn the ball over 20 times, leading to 31 points on the offensive end. Colorado Christian had a season high 13 steals in the game, and also set a new season low in turnovers with four.
 
Head coach Corey Laster remarked, "It was a good team effort, we played well from the start. Shot the ball for a good percentage. We focused on getting post touches which took some of the pressure off of our perimeter. We adjusted our press, and mixed things up and were aggressive which led to our 13 steals. Good contributions all across the board."
 
With the victory, the Lady Cougs record improves to 8-10 overall, and 6-7 in conference play. They will be returning home for their next game action which will take place on Tuesday Jan. 24^th at the CCU Event Center. They will be taking on their cross town rival Colorado School of Mines. Tip is scheduled for 5PM MST.