GUNNISON, Colo. – Western State Colorado University women's basketball battled Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference leading CSU-Pueblo possession for possession on Saturday night. CSU-Pueblo escaped Paul Wright Gym with the win 57-69. Jessie Erickson paced Western with her first double-double of the season.
 
Erickson played all dimensions of the game on Saturday, with 13 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Katie Dalton also poured in 13 points for the Mountaineers providing a crucial presence in the paint.
 
Western (4-8, 1-5 RMAC) came out firing in the first quarter pushing to a 12-4 lead with 2:25 remaining in the quarter. Western put up points in the paint early with 8 of their 14 points coming in the lane. But, CSU-Pueblo (8-4, 6-0 RMAC) raced back to tie the first quarter 14-14.
 
Deep in the third, Western would cut CSU-Pueblo's lead to three points on an Erickson free throw with 1:12 remaining. That deficit would be as close as the Mountaineers would get in final 10 minutes of play.
 
Western balanced their offensive attack with Erickson and Dalton both scoring 13 points and three other Mountaineers putting up 8 point tallies. These five scorers accounted for 47 of Western's 57 points.
 
The Mountaineers return to action for a year's end match against UCCS on December 30^th at 5 p.m. in Paul Wright Gym.