DENVER, Colo. – The wins come easily when you play all dimensions of the game and that is precisely what the Western Colorado University Women's Basketball team did on Sunday night. Western dominated play against Metropolitan State University of Denver, taking the win 66-46.

From the tip, Western (5-2, 3-2 RMAC) came to play leading all but 1:22 of the game to get over .500 in conference play. In a growing trend, MSU Denver (3-7, 2-3 RMAC) could not handle a swarming Western defense that forced turnovers and rushed shots all night long.

In a true display of team defense, the Mountaineers held the Roadrunners to a mere 26.4% shooting from the floor. If contested shots were not enough, Western managed 13 steals on the night and forced a totally of 22 MSU Denver turnovers. Tammarrah Gothard led Western's defensive effort with five steals of her own.

And the Mountaineers capitalized on the other end.

Western earned 23 points off of 22 turnovers to make MSU Denver pay for their mistakes.

While defense created the opportunities, Western let few opportunities slip away offensively as they shot 50% from the floor on the night. The Mountaineers balanced their offense as both Katie Dalton and Jessie Erickson scored 15 points for Western while Samantha Coleman and Savannah Cox each tallied nine points.

After a slow second quarter, Western got hot in the second half shooting 54.5% in the third quarter before burying a remarkable 69.2% of their shots in the fourth quarter. Western's 23 point deluge in the fourth quarter cemented the win as the Mountaineers led by as many as 21 with 2:46 remaining in the game.

In the first half, Western held MSU Denver scoreless for over 10 straight minutes as they began to amass their lead.

At the half, Western went to the locker room up nine points, 26-17.

Western returns to action just before the New Year against St. Edward's University on Dec. 29. 2018.