GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado roared to the lead in first-half action on its way to clinching a berth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament with Thursday night's 77-55 win over visiting Chadron State College.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. Chadron State, 77-55
Records: Western 18-6 overall (13-4 RMAC), Chadron State 5-18 (4-13)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The teams traded opening baskets at the start of the first quarter, but the first of several Western scoring runs set the tone for the rest of the game.
• Trailing 5-2 the Mountaineers hit on an 8-0 burst, ignited by a 3-pointer from Jayda Maves from the left wing. A steal and fastbreak layup by Brooklyn Seymour continued the run, and Rachel Cockman finished it with a block in the defensive end followed by a layup and one at the other end for a 10-5 lead.
• The Eagles finally broke the string with their own trey, but the Mountaineers responded with nine unanswered points to stretch the advantage to 19-8. The 9-0 spree included a putback by Cockman, a fastbreak layup by Ivey Schmidt after Penelope Urquhart's steal, an Urquhart triple, and Natalie Jojola's driving layup at one end after Alyssa Eckroth's defensive rebound at the other end.
• Chadron hit one of two free throws at the end of the quarter to finish the frame down by only 10, 21-11, but Western's third scoring streak of the half opened the second quarter to quickly double the advantage.
• Maves started the run with another 3-pointer from her same spot out on the left wing, then Seymour hit a floater from in the paint. Schmidt continued things with a layup and after her steal in the defensive end Cockman popped in another putback after a miss.
• Urquhart closed out the run with a layup to elevate the advantage to 32-11, and the Mountaineers would eventually tote a 47-20 lead into the halftime break.
• Western kept it's lead in the 20s over second-half action, eventually settling on a 22-point cushion at the final horn.

COURT NOTES

• Western's defense and rebounding held the Eagles without baskets on consecutive trips down the floor over the entirety of the first half. On two of the first-half runs, Chadron could only break the strings from the free throw line.
• The Mountaineers would finish the game with 48 points from in the paint, helping close out the game shooting 50 percent from the floor (30-of-60).
• Averaging 40 rebounds per game and with a +9 rebounding margin, Western was able to uphold those figures as it won the rebounding battle, 42-33.
• Cockman would lead all scorers with 18 points in the win, while Schmidt (15) and Chloe Daniels (10) would also reach double digits.
• Cockman and Eckroth paced Western's rebounders with six apiece with game-best honors.
• Urquhart scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds, but perhaps he bigger mark in the game was her career-high four steals.
• Western's inclusion in the RMAC postseason tournament will be it's first since the 2022 tournament.

UP NEXT
Western will try to extend its five-game win streak with Saturday's home game against South Dakota Mines at 1 p.m.