Gunnison, CO- For the fourth consecutive game, CCU was on the road, playing Western Colorado in Gunnison. At 7,700 feet of altitude, the Cougars would fall 67-77 in the conference rematch.

Western would break the slow start of the night, draining a three-pointer a minute and a half into the game. Josie Grosdidier, coming off a fantastic night in Salt Lake City would immediately answer, splashing one of her own from beyond the arc. Both teams would hit another three, before going back and forth to the end of the quarter. A final free throw from Jordon Heckert would give the Cougars the lead entering the second quarter, 16-15.

The second quarter would open up as Amaya Felix and Hayley Luther would contribute to the tally, both scoring quick jumpers. Western Colorado would catch fire, going on a 13-4 run to close out the quarter. 6 of those points would come off of free throws for Western as the Cougars would enter half dealt an 8 point deficit, 25-33.

The second half would start out all Mountaineers as the Cougars struggled to disrupt Western's rhythm. Hayley Luther would drop two 3-pointers as Samantha Wattawa would find some success in the paint throughout the quarter. A flurry of 3's and free throws from Western would increase the deficit to 16 entering the final quarter, CCU down 44-60.

The fourth would see tremendous fight from the young CCU team, but would ultimately be too late. Jordon Heckert would open up the quarter splashing one from deep, followed by a layup from Hayley Luther. The Cougars would fight to keep their momentum as they slowly chipped away at the lead, Amaya Felix hitting a shot with four minutes left to cut the Mountaineer lead to 8. Western would respond, putting up a quick 5 points to slow the Cougars momentum as the clock trickled to the final three minutes. With every point the Cougars would score, Western would respond shot for shot, walking the game out 67-77.

The Cougars would have 3 players in double digits, with Luther, Grosdidier, and Heckert scoring 15,12, and 11 points respectively. Heckert would couple this with 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Samantha Wattawa would lead the team with 6 rebounds on the night.

Splitting results the away weekend, the Cougars now sit 2-10 in conference as they make a return home to play Chadron State. The stage set for February 5^th, tip-off is scheduled for 6pm MST, a favorable match up for the Cougars.