DENVER  Rachel Cockman and Ivey Schmidt scored 21 points apiece for game-high honors in elevating the Mountaineers past host Metropolitan State University Denver, 70-61, in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon.

It was Cockman's sixth game with 20 or more points this season, while Schmidt eclipsed that same mark for the second time, this one serving as her season high.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. MSU Denver, 70-61
Records: Western 4-13 overall (2-10 RMAC), MSU Denver 3-14 (2-10)
Location: Auraria Events Center, Denver, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mountaineers flipped the scoreboard in the early minutes of the second quarter, taking the lead for good at the 7:27 mark on an and-1 from Schmidt who registered a steal in her defensive end and was then fouled on a successful jumper at the other end.
• The old-fashioned three-point play flipped a one-point deficit into a 25-23 lead that wouldn't be surrendered over the rest of the game.
• Western came out of the gate fast, rolling to a quick 8-0 advantage before the Roadrunners could break the seal on their basket. A 21-9 MSU Denver run, though, provided the home team with a four-point edge after the opening quarter.
• Jayda Maves drew Western within a point with a 3-pointer to open the second quarter, and after the Roadrunners scored a responding jumper of their own, Schmidt took over.
• She took a feed from Erika Lane on the next possession and hit a pull-up jumper in the paint to again draw her team within one, then added the steal, jumper and free throw for the lead. Schmidt corralled the next defensive rebound that turned into a Brooklyn Seymour turnaround jumper, off a dish from Schmidt, to make the score 27-24 in the Mountaineers' favor.
• Western would outscore the Roadrunners 18-9 in the quarter to take a 35-30 lead into the halftime break.
• That point differential would hang around the same number through half of the third quarter, until a Cockman jumper, a Schmidt fast-break layup, a Natalie Jojola layup, and a Rachel Novak layup ballooned what had been narrowed to a two-point lead up to double digits, 49-39.
• MSU Denver would twice rally to within five in the final three minutes of the game, but the Mountaineers would drain free throws over that final time span to finish off the nine-point win.

COURT NOTES

• In addition to her 21-point night, Cockman would also come down with 9 rebounds, the seventh time she has registered 9 or more boards in a contest.
• Schmidt's season-high total was buoyed by a 3-for-3 night from behind the arc. Maves also tallied three from long range, scoring all nine of her points from that location.
• Cockman was a problem all afternoon for the Roadrunners, as she was constantly in scoring positions that resulted in an 11-for-12 game from the free throw line.
• The Mountaineers finished the game shooting 44 percent from the floor, including 39% (7-of-18) from long range.
• Western would accumulate 34 minutes with the lead, allowing MSU Denver to hold the advantage for just 5 minutes.
• The RMAC victory was Western's second of the season, and the second in the past three games.

UP NEXT

• The Mountaineers host Colorado Mesa University at Paul Wright Gym on Jan. 30 in a rare Tuesday night outing.
• The RMAC contest is labeled as Western's White-Out Night.