Paxton Ritchey-CSC Sports Information
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Kylie Krise put up a career-high 25 points and Chadron State outscored UCCS in the second half, but a slow start proved too much for the Eagles to overcome as the Mountain Lions defeated the Eagles 82-66 Saturday afternoon in the Gallogly Events Center.
The Eagles (2-8, 1-3 RMAC) dropped their third straight RMAC game since winning their conference opener. UCCS improved to 5-4 overall and 3-1 in the RMAC with the win.
Krise shot 6 of 9 from the field, 2 of 5 from deep and 11 of 14 from the free-throw line, spearheading an Eagles team effort that had 34 free throw attempts over the course of the game. She also led the team with seven rebounds. Her 25 points are two more than her previous season and career-high set in the RMAC opener against South Dakota Mines on December 5.
Megan Counts also had 15 points for the Eagles, more than doubling her previous season high of seven and three points off her career high of 18 and added four rebounds and two blocks. Liberty Line and Ashayla Powers scored seven points apiece and Kyra Tanabe had a team-high four assists.
The Eagles shot 40 percent from the field, 25 percent from three (5-20) and 74 percent from the line (25-34). UCCS finished the game 41 percent from the field, 34 percent from three (9-26) and 71 percent from the line (27-38), but the Eagles did a much better job in the second half as the Mountain Lions were over 50 percent from the field at halftime.
UCCS hit six of their first eight field goal attempts, including three straight three-pointers, to build a 16-6 lead in the game’s first four minutes. The Eagles went to Megan Counts for back-to-back layups, but another UCCS three made it 24-14 Mountain Lions after one quarter of play.
The teams traded buckets for the first portion of the second quarter, but UCCS got to the line and continued to shoot well, making 54 percent of their field goal attempts and 6 of 8 free throw attempts. The Mountain Lions went on an 18-6 run before two CSC free throws made it 47-28 UCCS at the half.
The third quarter saw the Eagles outscore UCCS 17-14, as CSC had seven different players score in the period.
The fourth quarter began with a 10-3 run by the Eagles as Chadron State got to the line, making 5 of 6 free throws, outrebounded UCCS 6-1 and blocked two shots during that time frame, cutting the lead to single digits at 64-55.
The Eagles took 14 free throws in the fourth quarter alone, hitting 12 to keep the game within 10 points. Kylie Krise forced a steal and hustled down the court for a fast-break layup to make it an eight-point lead, 74-66 with 45 seconds to play.
UCCS shot eight free throws in the final 39 seconds to put the game away at the line and push the lead back up to its final margin of 16 points.
For UCCS, Maison White led the way with a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double. Three Mountain Lions finished in double figures.
The Eagles are now off through Christmas break. They will take the court next against Colorado School of Mines on January 9 at 5 p.m. at home in the Chicoine Center.