LAKEWOOD, CO- The Cougars hosted rivals MSU Denver on Thursday night, falling short, losing 60-65. The tight affair saw the Cougars ahead the second and third quarter, however, CCU could not hang on as the Roadrunners strong final quarter proved enough for the victory. 

Both teams got off to a slow start, as the game opened up scoreless for almost three minutes before MSU could break the seal. A jumper and quick three would start the Roadrunners ahead 5-0 before Samantha Wattawa would find the first points for the Cougars. MSU would continue an offensive surge as the first quarter would end 16-8 in the Roadrunners favor.

The second quarter would be an excellent one for the Cougars, led by the means of Hayley Luther and Jordon Heckert. Luther would splash a three pointer 20 seconds into the quarter to give CCU momentum, followed by another three from Heckert the next play. Maley Williams would find her groove past the ark sinking a three before Luther would hit yet another three to tie the ball game. Elise Grosdidier would display her ferocity in the paint, scoring six points in the final minutes of the game to go into half 34-30 over MSUD. 

The second half would open up with more points from Hayley Luther as the Cougars would go on a run, leading the Roadrunners by as much as 12 points halfway through the third quarter. MSU's Jadyn Watts responded with a staggering 9 point solo run the next 4 minutes as CCU did their best to hold onto the lead. The teams would enter the final quarter with the Cougars on top, 50-46.

As the final quarter played out, the Cougars managed to hold onto the lead with four minutes left in the game, until an offensive surge from the Roadrunners proved too much to handle. MSU Denver would hit several three pointers and close out the game with free throws to hand the Cougars their 6^th conference loss.

The Cougars would have a collective 15 steals on the night with an impressive 19 points off turnovers. Luther made known her danger from deep, going 5-9 from three and leading the team with 19 points. Heckert would showcase another gritty performance, leading the team with 8 rebounds and scoring 9 points herself.

The Cougars are back at home on Saturday, January 17^th against Colorado School of Mines. CCU will look to gain some momentum in conference with tip-off scheduled for 1 pm MST.