Colorado Christian took to the floor on Saturday Night as they squared off against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. Christian battled throughout the game, but UCCS proved to be too much to handle, as the Cougs lost by a final score of 91-78. The CCU Event Center was packed, as the home group crowd out for Senior Night to watch Claire Paxton, Mikala Gordon, and Leisha Crawford, as they played their final game in their collegiate careers.
 
The talented Mountain Lion squad took control early, as they jumped out to a 10-4 lead with just under four minutes left in the first quarter. CCU mounted a comeback and cut the deficit down to two at 10-8, but then UCCS turned up the intensity and finished the quarter on an 8-2 run to give them an 18-10 advantage heading into the second quarter.
 
Three minutes into the second, UCCS had extended their lead to 15 points as they held the advantage 29-14. CCU battled back, as they trimmed the Mountain Lion lead back to single digits thanks to a made three pointer from Alex Nelson with four minutes left in the half. The Cougs held UCCS in check for the remainder of the half, but heading into the break UCCS was still leading by a score of 40-29.
 
Starting the second half, UCCS came out and extended their lead, and with six minutes left in the third, they had pushed their lead to 20 points with a score of 51-31. Christian shot their way back into the game, and back to back threes from Haley Shaner to close out the quarter put them in better position heading into the final quarter trailing 61-49.
 
The Mountain Lions did everything they did to put the Cougars away, but CCU showed great tenacity, as they fought the entire way. Blue and gold mounted a late comeback thanks to hot shooting from beyond the arc. With a minute left in the game, Alex Nelson trimmed the UCCS lead down to nine 84-75. Unfortunately, the clock cut short the comeback attempt, as their simply was not enough time as they lost by a final score of 91-78.
 
Alex Nelson led CCU in scoring on the night, as she finished with 22 points. Nelson finished one rebound shy of recording a double-double as she collected nine boards in the game. Mikala Gordon finished with 19 points in the game, and also grabbed nine rebounds. Claire Paxton tallied 14 points in the game, and Leisha Crawford tied for the team lead in assists with five.
 
Leisha Crawford, Claire Paxton, and Mikala Gordon each made a significant impact on the Cougars program during their time at CCU.
 
Leisha Crawford was a leader on the team, and her tremendous heart and effort were on display every time she took the court. Crawford finishes the year averaging 7.6 points per game, and led the team with an average of 3.2 assists per game. Crawford torched Chadron State back on Feb. 3^rd, as she scored a season high 18 points in route to the victory.
 
Claire Paxton finishes her fourth year as a Cougar, and during her time at CCU she amassed 1,112, grabbed 562 rebounds, and blocked 115 shots. Paxton finishes the year averaging 11.2 points per game, and 4.9 rebounds per game. Paxton's best offensive game of the season came against CSU-Pueblo on Feb. 18, when she lit up the scoreboard for 21 points and also grabbed seven rebounds.
 
Mikala Gordon battled injuries during previous years, but Gordon remained healthy all season long as she became one of the top producers for the Cougs. This year she averaged 12.5 points per game, along with 7.4 rebounds per game. One of her best games of the year came back in early January against Westminster, when Gordon finished with 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds finishing with one of her four double-doubles on the year.
 
With the loss, Colorado Christian wraps up their season with an 11-16 record overall, and 9-13 in conference play.