PUEBLO, Colo. (January 10, 2015) – The Colorado State University-Pueblo women's basketball team returned to the win column Saturday, using a dominating defensive performance to down the Western State Colorado University Mountaineers, 66-34, at Massari Arena.
The victory snaps a three-game losing streak for the ThunderWolves and improves their overall record to 8-5 and 6-3 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contests. CSU-Puebo extended its winning streak at home versus the Mountaineers to 12 games. With the loss, Western State falls to 4-10 on the season and 3-7 in conference tilts.
CSU-Pueblo's defense matched a season-high with 15 steals. The Pack turned those steals into a big advantage in points-off-turnovers, 21-4. The ThunderWolves also dominated the glass, pulling down 46 rebounds to the Mountaineers' 28.
Offensively, the Pack owned the shooting advantage in shooting, 41.3 (26-of-63) percent to 29.2 (14-of-48) percent for Western State. CSU-Pueblo registered 16 assists, while the Mountaineers tallied nine.
The ThunderWolves displayed a very balanced offensive attack as 10 different players found their way into the scoring column. Katie Nehf (Sr., Broomfield, Colo.) led the way with a game-high 13 points, while Dee Arrieta (Jr., Pueblo West, Colo.) and Ana Gurau (Jr., Longmont, Colo.) chipped in with nine points apiece. Gurau finished with a game-high in both assists (6) and steals (5). Gurau's five thefts set a new career high, while her six helpers matched her career best.
Taylor Long paced the Mountaineers in scoring with eight points. Jade McIntosh registered a contest-best nine rebounds.
The ThunderWolves opened the contest by scoring 10 out of the first 12 points. Ashley Piper (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa) buried a 3-pointer to start the scoring and Emily Dungey (Sr., Lake Oswego, Ore.) capped the 10-2 run with a triple of her own with 7:37 elapsed in the opening period.
Western State pulled to within five, at 16-11, on a 3-pointer by Long at the 8:48 mark, but CSU-Pueblo dominated the remainder of the first half. The Pack outscored the visitors 14-3 to close the stanza, giving CSU-Pueblo a 30-14 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
The ThunderWolves controlled play in the paint in the opening 20 minutes of play, outscoring the Mountaineers, 18-6. CSU-Pueblo also held the decided edge in points-off-turnovers, 15-0, thanks in part to 12 first-half steals.
The Pack scored the first seven points of the second half to push their lead to 37-14 at the 16:53 mark.
The rest of the second half was much of the same as the ThunderWolves continued to control the contest, pushing their lead to 29, at 49-20, with 11:38 remaining in the game. Six different players scored for CSU-Pueblo in the opening 10 minutes of the final period.
The Pack ballooned its lead to as many as 36 points, at 63-27, on a pair of free throws by Gurau with 5:08 remaining in regulation.
CSU-Pueblo's final basket came courtesy of Arabella DeAngelis (Fr., Plano, Texas). The freshman's first-collegiate points gave the ThunderWolves a 66-32 lead with 26 seconds left in the contest.
A late basket by the Mountaineers made the final score, 66-34, in favor of the Pack.
CSU-Pueblo takes to the road for its next four games, beginning with a matchup with Colorado Christian University Friday at 6:00 p.m.
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Colorado State University – Pueblo competes in 22 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
