LAKEWOOD, CO- Colorado Christian kicked off a four-game homestand on friday night as they faced off against CSU Pueblo. A tough-shooting first half ultimately did the Cougars in as they could not complete the comeback in a 79-70 setback at the hands of the Thunderwolves. 

The matchup pitted the two top scorers in the RMAC in Maggie Hutka (20.7 ppg) and Alisha Little (19.9 pgg). The two players also were the reigning offensive and defensive players of the week in the RMAC so the tilt was set to be a good one from the outset. CSU Pueblo raced ahead early, using strong inside play to gain an 18-11 advantage, but a jumper from Victoria Perez and free throw from Dasiya Jones cut the deficit to 18-14 heading to the second quarter. 

The second quarter was a tough one for the Cougars, as the visitors started the quarter on a 15-0 run. The shots simply refused to fall for CCU as they would be halfway down and somehow rattle out. Hutka got a late layup to go, but the half ended with the Pack leading 41-26. 

The offense for CCU found some rhythm in the third quarter, starting with jumpers from Jones and Hutka and a layup from Agnes Paul. After Regan LoConte made a jumper on a fastbreak to cut the deficit to just nine, things looked like they were about to get close. But the Thunderwolves responded in a huge way, going on a 13-0 run to make their lead larger than it had previously been at any point at 22. Nicole Bowlin converted a late pair of free throws as the teams headed to the final frame with the visiting side leading 60-45. 

A quick 6-0 burst from Hutka gave the Cougars life trailing single digits yet again, but CCU could not manage to get any closer than nine points of separation as the offense for CSU Pueblo continued to be effective and would not let the home team get close enough to believe they could make the comeback. Mia Guest drilled a late three-pointer to cap the scoring, but in the end it was the Thunderwolves who came away with the 79-70 victory. 

Hutka continued her torrid scoring this season with an impressive 27 points along with a block and two steals. Jones was strong with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Perez scored in double digits with 10. 

The Cougars are back at home on February 17 as they host the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls with tipoff slated for 5 p.m. MST.