GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado's defense put the clamps on Regis University's top scorers and used an early 11-0 run from which the visiting Rangers were never able to recover in Tuesday's 67-51 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference quarterfinal win at Paul Wright Gym.

The lead changed five times in the first three minutes, but the fifth time was the charm for the Mountaineers who took the lead, 9-8, and then proceeded to hold Regis scoreless for a little more than five minutes.

Tuesday's victory sends Western into the semifinal round of the tournament, where they will face the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in the second game of the night at Brownson Arena in Grand Junction, Colo., the home site of top seed and RMAC final four host Colorado Mesa University.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. Regis, 67-51
Records: Western 21-7, Regis 13-15
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Regis opened the game with a 3-pointer from Jessica Bollwahn, but Jayde Tschritter answered with a triple from the right wing to pull Western even.
• With the Rangers leading 8-7 Ivey Schmidt dropped in a floater from in the paint for an advantage that would only grow from that point forward.
• Penelope Urquhart hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to increase the lead, then pulled down a defensive rebound off a miss from Athena Saragoza, the RMAC's leader in made 3-pointers (87).
• Cockman added another bucket to make it 14-8, followed by a steal by Alyssa Eckroth who was fouled while driving for a layup, sinking both of her free throws double up the Rangers, 16-8.
• Sarah Novak's driving layup down the right side of the hoop made it 18-8 and gave Western a double-digit advantage.
• The Mountaineers finished the first period with a 20-10 lead, pushed the advantage to 15 on four occasions in the second quarter before heading into the halftime break with a 31-17 lead.
• Western opened the third quarter with possession and effectively put a nail in the coffin with their first three baskets, all from behind the arc. Tschritter was first from the right wing, Cockman was next from the left wing, and Jayda Maves buried one from in front of the Mountaineer bench in the left corner to increase the lead to 21 points, 40-19.
• Regis could get no closer than 14 points during the third frame, and in the final quarter pulled no closer than 15 points as Western sailed away to the 16-point victory.

COURT NOTES

• All season long the Mountaineers have dominated the glass, leading the league with a 40 rebounds per game average and a plus-9 rebounding margin. That prowess continued against the Rangers as Western won the rebounding battle, 48-33.
• Cockman, whose 18 points led all scorers, earned her seventh double-double of the season after coming away with 11 rebounds. Schmidt and Tschritter each had six, and seven others had at least two rebounds during the win.
• Schmidt hit for 14 points, with Tschritter adding 9 and Maves, Novak and Urquhart each chipping in with 6 apiece.
• Western's depth certainly made a difference in the game. At halftime Regis' bench players had yet to score and added just three points in the final tallies. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers' non-starters scored 18 points.
• The Western defense, with 38 of the team's 48 rebounds, stifled the Rangers' attack. Regis shot just 29 percent from the floor and only 21% from behind the arc. Their leading scorer, Erin Fry, came into the game averaging 18.8 points but finished with only 12. Saragoza scored just 7 points and hit just one 3-pointer after entering the playoffs averaging 18.1 points.
• The Mountaineers would finish the night shooting 48 % from the floor and rained in eight 3-pointers.

THEY SAID IT


UP NEXT

• The semifinals bring on an opponent that handed Western one of its five RMAC defeats during the regular season. The Mountaineers traveled to Colorado Springs on January 30 to spar with the Mountain Lions, who earned a 54-45 win on a night in which Western shot just 31% from the floor and 14% from behind the 3-point line.
• Top-seed and host Colorado Mesa, Tuesday night winners over eight-seed New Mexico Highlands (72-46), will square off with No. 4 seed Black Hills State before the second-seeded Mountaineers take on sixth seed UCCS in the nightcap on Friday.