LAKEWOOD, CO –  With the 2024-2025 season close to ending, the Cougars headed into this game against Regis with extra motivation as they had the opportunity to play spoiler and prevent them from making the playoffs. Both of the teams looked to finish the season on a strong note in the second to last contest of the regular season.

The Cougars came out strong both defensively and offensively by quickly taking a 10-0 lead early in the first quarter. The Cougars fast paced offense proved to be problematic for the Rangers as they were hitting both three pointers and driving to the rim for easy buckets. The Rangers started to heat up near the end of the first quarter by forcing turnovers and capitalizing on the post-game. The streaky run by the Rangers resulted in a 4-point deficit and totaling the score to 17-13 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter started with a back-and-forth battle from the 3-point line. The Cougars remained on fire from three as they ended the half shooting 8-15 from deep. The Cougars led the Rangers 36-34 at the half.

The second half begun with a flurry of turnovers from the Rangers and the Cougars took no time to capitalize off them. Smooth ball movement from the Rangers resulted in a fastbreak layup to even the score at 44. The strong offense continued from the Rangers, and they took a 55-52 lead to end the third quarter and keep their playoff hopes alive. 

The fourth quarter was off to an electric start with both teams trading off buckets. Hayley Luther and Dasiya Jones both were contributing for the Cougars and were up to 15 points each with 4 minutes remaining. The game started to get chippy down the stretch with both teams committing multiple fouls. Nicole Bowlin started to heat up late hitting a clutch three. Athena Saragoza hit a massive three for the Rangers to put them up by 1 point with 1 minute remaining. Erin Fry added a pair of free throws for the Rangers to put them up by 3 with less than a minute remaining. The game concluded with the Cougars slightly missing a last second heave to attempt to tie the game. The game finished with a Regis win of 77-74 resulting in a playoff berth for the Rangers.