DENVER, Colo. --- The Western Colorado women's basketball team was in a back-and-forth battle with Regis on the road Saturday afternoon and eventually fell to the Rangers 56-52 at Regis Field House.
 
The Mountaineers (13-6 overall, 11-4 RMAC) and Regis (8-13, 6-9) were tied 40-40 early in the fourth quarter before a basket in the paint by Katie Dalton – set up by a nice pass from Jessie Erickson – and a 3-pointer from Samantha Coleman made it 45-40 with 7:35 left in the game.
 
WCU was still holding a 48-45 lead with 2:38 remaining after a Hannah Cooper free throw before a 5-0 run by Regis gave it the lead back at 50-48 with 1:49 left. Cooper hit two more free throws on the Mountaineers' next possession to tie it 50-50 with 1:35 remaining.
 
Neither team hit a shot from the field the rest of the game (Regis didn't even attempt a shot while WCU went 0-for-3), but the Rangers went 6-for-7 from the line (including two key free throws with six seconds remaining to make it a two-possession game) while the Mountaineers went 2-for-4 and dropped to 11-4 in RMAC play.
 
Both teams struggled with turnovers as WCU committed 25 while Regis committed 20 – but the Rangers took advantage of the turnovers, scoring 18 points off WCU turnovers compared to just nine points for the Mountaineers.
 
Dalton led WCU with 16 points before fouling out while Gabie Doud had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Samantha Coleman had 10 points.
 
The Mountaineers return to action Friday as they host Dixie State at 5:30 p.m.