ST. GEORGE, Utah --- The Western Colorado women's basketball team couldn't slow down Dixie State on Saturday like it did No. 15 Westminster on Friday as the Mountaineers fell behind early and never recovered in a 68-54 loss at Burns Arena.
 
The Mountaineers (12-5 overall, 10-3 RMAC), ranked seventh in the South Central Region, fell behind 21-5 after one and were down by as much as 29 points in the second quarter to the Trailblazers (13-6, 8-5), ranked ninth in the region, as the Mountaineers trailed 43-23 at the half. DSU was helped by their 3-point shooting – going 7-for-9 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
 
This comes a night after WCU knocked off Westminster 45-44 – a game it held the Griffins to 22 points through three quarters as it was the Mountaineers' first win over a ranked opponent since 2009.
 
After falling behind by 20 at the half Saturday, WCU cut the lead down to 13 points in the third quarter, but the Trailblazers went on a 14-2 lead to end the period to take a 22-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
It was a perfect storm of struggles for WCU as it shot a season-low 22.8 percent from the field (13-for-57) while allowing DSU to shoot 50 percent from the field – the highest the Mountaineers have allowed this season.
 
Katie Dalton led the Mountaineers with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. Jessie Erickson added nine points while Hannah Cooper had eight points, five rebounds and three steals.
 
The Mountaineers are on the road next week again as they travel to take on Colorado Christian on Friday and Regis on Saturday.