LAKEWOOD, CO- For the first two quarters of their season opening matchup against Lubbock Christian, it appeared as if the Cougars had a major upset brewing inside the CCU Event Center.

 The Colorado Christian women's basketball team played the two-time defending national champion Lady Chaps extremely tough through the first two quarters. However, the experience of Lubbock Christian showed in the second half as they pulled away for a 60-46 victory.

FIRST HALF TOUGHNESS: The first quarter was a low-scoring affair, as both teams came to play defensively. Agnes Paul got the scoring started for the Cougars with a nice jump-shot for her first points with Colorado Christian. Later in the first quarter it was Haley Hanson giving her team their first lead of the game at 6-5. Lourdes Gonzalez closed the defensive quarter with a bucket as the first frame ended with the Lady Chaps leading 10-9.

 Lubbock Christian pulled ahead 19-11 midway through the second quarter, but Paul made sure the Cougars did not fall too far behind. She repeatedly found ways to get points in the paint as she scored six straight for her team, including a strong reverse layup with two defenders on her. Megan Kamps got involved in the offense with a three-pointer late in the first half as the Cougars went to the break trailing by a mere five points at 27-22.

 A TALE OF TWO HALVES: Coming out of the break, the Lady Chaps increased their intensity defensively, time and time again creating turnovers from the Cougars. The offense came to life as well as Lubbock Christian started the third quarter on a 15-2 run led by consecutive threes from Laynee Burr. Kamps gave Colorado Christian some offensive life with a layup, and Christen Curry drilled a jump-shot to bring the score to 46-31 heading to the final quarter.

 The defense for Lubbock Christian continued to smother the Cougars as they held them scoreless for the first three and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. Colorado Christian battled hard despite the deficit, ending the game on a positive note with back-to-back threes from Mia Guest and Curry. The game closed with a final score of 60-46 as the Lady Chaps claimed their fourth straight victory to begin the season.

COUGAR LEADERS: Agnes Paul led the Cougars in points and rebounds with 12 and eight respectively. Haley Hanson paced Colorado Christian with three assists.

 INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• Colorado Christian outscored Lubbock Christian 22-18 in the paint
• There were only four lead changes and two ties in the game
• The Cougars outscored the Lady Chaps by a tally of 15-14 in the final quarter

 UP NEXT: The Cougars will return to action tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at the CCU Event Center against  No. 10 Texas A&M Commerce.