Traveling to South Dakota for their first away games of the year, Colorado Christian Women's Basketball came out with an exciting win over the #22 ranked Yellowjackets of Black Hills State. The Cougars had a strong rally in the 4th quarter and scored 28 points to take the win by 12, 73-61. The big win was the first top 25 win since February 2nd, 2013 when the team defeated Colorado Mesa.

HOW IT HAPPENED: The first quarter was off to a strong start for the Cougars, after scoring the first bucket of the game and finishing the quarter with a 6 point lead.

The second quarter took Colorado Christian a little longer to get going, but once they did the continued to hold onto the lead. The scoreless streak ended a few minutes in after a three from Brianna Pribble, who then went on to get the last bucket of the half with another three to give the Cougars a 13 point lead going into the locker rooms.

Not liking the results of the first half, the Yellowjackets came out on fire in the third quarter. They started out the quarter going on a 10-0 run. They continued to fight back and finished the quarter with 1 point lead of 46-45 and outscored the Cougars 23-9.

It didn't take long for Colorado Christian to take back the lead after back to back three's from Sarah McGinley in the matter of only 30 seconds. With a little over 5 minutes left, Black Hills tied up the game at 55, and the trend continued until the teams were tied yet again with a little over 3 minutes remaining. The Cougars took the lead from there and did not look back. The Yellowjackets tried to slow down the game with some fouls, but Colorado Christian finished 8-9 from the free-throw line in the final 2 minutes of play. These were crucial in sealing the 12 point win and the pressure did not hold them back.

When asked about the key factors in the victory, Head Coach Corey Laster remarks "Important aspects included the defensive focus that allowed us to only give up 23 points in the first half, and we were aggressive in the first half as well. Our point guard Davenport Brantley was very steady. Jordan Baer continued to fight and lead, as well as huge contributions tonight by Brianna Pribble and Laurel Tomlinson. Staying mentally tough throughout the game and playing as a team was the overarching factor."

GAME LEADERS: With four of the Cougars in the double digits, it was a strong offensive effort across the board. Jordan Baer led the team with 23, who also led the team in rebounds with 9. Next up was Sarah McGinley with 17, after going 3-5 from behind the arc. Scoring her career high at Colorado Christian, Brianna Pribble landed 15 after also going 3-5 from behind the arc. Last but not least in the double digit range was Davenport Brantley with 13. A notable stat on the night was the 10 assists that Marie Tsoungui dished out.

UP NEXT: The win gives the Cougars an overall record of 7-7, and an RMAC record of 5-3. The team will play at South Dakota School of Mines for their next game on Saturday, January 12th at 3:30pm.