PUEBLO, Colo.  Western Colorado staged a second-half rally from a 12-point deficit to earn a 67-61 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference road win over Colorado State Pueblo behind 21 points each from Alyssa Eckroth and Ivey Schmidt.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. CSU Pueblo, 67-61
Records: Western 3-3 overall (1-1 RMAC), CSUP 4-5 (1-1)
Location: Massari Arena, Pueblo, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Midway through the opening quarter the visiting Mountaineers would inch in front, 12-11, but a 7-0 ThunderWolves run to close the frame allowed the Pack to head into the second quarter up by six.
• That gap widened to 12, at 27-15, just past the midway point of the quarter, but Western began chipping away at the deficit and a Jayda Maves 3-pointer in the final seconds brought the Mountaineers back to with six, 30-24, entering the halftime break.
• The CSUP widened it's lead to nine early in the third, Western began finding its way back with drives into the lane that the Pack had trouble stopping.
• By the end of the quarter the score was tied, 45-45, setting up a deciding fourth quarter as Western was trying to even its RMAC record while CSUP was trying to win its second RMAC game in three days.
• Pueblo led 54-50 early in the fourth but a Schmidt jumper cut the deficit in half, followed by a defensive rebound by Addison Harding followed by another trey from Maves to put Western in front, 55-54.
• The Pack used a layup from Ruby Sweeney-Spitzeck to retake the lead but the Mountaineers would embark on a 6-0 run that would be the deciding minutes of the game.
• Schmidt hit a jumper to push Western back in front and a CSUP turnover gave the ball back to Western for its first possession with the lead up to that point in the game.
• Chloe Daniels put in an easy layup from the left side of the rim off a Schmidt assist to lengthen the lead, and Schmidt grabbed a defensive rebound at the other end that turned into an Eckroth layup for a 61-56 advantage.
• The ThunderWolves got as close as four points twice in the final 73 seconds but both times Western would sink a pair of free throws to push the lead back out to its final six-point margin.

HARDWOOD NOTES

• Schmidt and Eckroth would tie for game-high honors with 21 points, including a 10-12 afternoon from the free throw line by Eckroth. Maves also reached double figures 15 points, including dropping in 3 of 5 from behind the arc.
• Western shot just 38 percent from the floor in the opening quarter, but warmed up each successive quarter, hitting 43% in the second, 62% in the third, and 67% in the deciding final frame.
• A chilly third quarter helped doom the ThunderWolves. Their six-point halftime lead fell apart with 20% shooting in the third, their improvement to 46% in the fourth too little, too late.
• Western usually has control off the glass, but CSUP would win the rebounding battle, 34-26, while losing the game.

NEXT UP
The Mountaineers return home to Paul Wright Gym for their next two games, RMAC contests against MSU Denver on Dec. 11 and against Regis University two days later.