SALT LAKE CITY  Western Colorado hit from long range early and often Thursday night in running out to an 83-43 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory over host Westminster University.

The Mountaineers rained down nine 3-pointers and were a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line in building a 19-point halftime lead.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. Westminster, 83-43
Records: Western 11-4 overall (6-2 RMAC), Westminster 3-11 (2-5)
Location: Behnken Field House, Salt Lake City, Utah

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the Griffins opened the first quarter with a free throw and a basket, Western put together a 10-0 run but allowed a pair of 3-pointers by Westminster to narrow the lead to just one point.
• Consecutive triples from Jacy Chandler and Alyssa Eckroth shifted the momentum back toward Western and it never turned back.
• Chandler hit another trey near the end of the quarter, and early in the second frame Jayde Tschritter hit her first of the night to lift Western to a 27-18 lead.
• Two Eckroth free throws would soon provide the Mountaineers with their first double-digit lead in the game, and minutes later the roof fell in on the Griffins as Western hit three straight triples.
• Chandler hit from the top left of the arc for the first of those, and Penelope Urquhart then hit her first of the night from the same spot.
• Another Urquhart 3-pointer pushed the Western lead to 18 (42-24), and after free throws from Eckroth and a layup by Urquhart, the Mountaineers went into the halftime break with a 46-27 advantage.
• By the end of the third quarter the lead had grown to 25 (61-36), and Western held the Griffins without a point for more than eight minutes in the fourth while continuing to add on to its advantage.

COURT NOTES

• The 83-point effort was the highest point total by Western since an 83-80 win over Chadron State on January 16, 2022.
• The Mountaineers, the RMAC's leading rebounding team, ripped down 51 in the win over the Griffins, matching the 51 pulled down in a 78-53 victory over the University of the Southwest (N.M.) on November 30, 2019.
• Western's 12 3-pointers in the game were a season high.
• Eckroth posted a career- and game-high 19 points in the win, also hitting a career-best 10 free throws as Western finished 13 of 14 from the stripe.
• Urquhart's 16 points, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, were a career high, and both Chandler and Darcy Jardine reached double figures with 10 points each, also career highs.
• Every Mountaineer came away with at least one rebound on the night, but Urquhart led the team with nine.
• Western shot 45 percent from the floor while limiting the Griffins to a 27% night.
• The Mountaineer were in the lead for a whopping 38 minutes and 19 seconds. Westminster opened the game with the lead but held that advantage for just a total of 40 seconds.

UP NEXT
Western embarks on a five-game RMAC road swing in its next games, beginning with a trip to South Dakota to take on South Dakota Mines on Jan. 23 and Black Hills State on Jan. 25.