DENVER, Colo. (February 27, 2015) ~ Trailing by two early in the second half, the Colorado State Univeristy-Pueblo women's basketball team used a 15-5 scoring run to seize control of the game en route to a 69-59 road victory over Metro State University of Denver Friday at the Auraria Event Center.
The ThunderWolves improve to 16-9 overall and 14-7 in RMAC tilts. The win gives CSU-Pueblo a two-game season sweep of the Roadrunners for the first time under head coach Kip Drown. The loss drops MSU Denver to 13-11 overall 10-11 in league contests.
CSU-Pueblo finished the game shooting 23-of-56 (41.1 percent) from the field, while holding the Roadrunners to 22-of-64 (34.4 percent) shooting. The Pack dominated the paint, outscoring the home team, 34-16. A big difference in the game came at the free-throw line where CSU-Pueblo outshot MSU Denver, 18-for-23 to 9-of-11. The ThunderWolves also held the slight edge in rebounding, 40-39.
The Pack's two leading scorers entering the contest, Katie Nehf (Sr., Broomfield, Colo.) and Ashley Piper (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa), stepped up in a big way, tallying 19 and 18 points, respectively. Nehf and Piper combined to shoot 15-of-17 from the charity stripe. Nehf added a game-high nine rebounds and a team-best three assists. Angie Moore (So., Katy, Texas) also scored in double figures with 11 points. Dee Arrieta (Jr., Pueblo West, Colo.) matched Nehf for the game-high in rebounds with nine.
The Roadrunners' Deni Jacobs had a team-high 13 points, while Brittany Curl chipped in with 12 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
The ThunderWolves started quickly, taking a 7-2 lead in the first 1:30 of the contest.
MSU Denver responded with a 19-8 run over the next 7:56 to move ahead by six, at 21-15. The six-point lead was largest of the first half for the home team.
Trailing by four with just over two minutes remaining in the opening period, the Pack closed the half on a 6-2 run to tie the game at 34-34 heading into the intermission. Nehf scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the first 20 minutes.
The Roadrunners tallied the first basket of the second half to move in front 36-34, but the two-point edge proved to be their last lead of the contest.
The Pack went on a 15-5 run over a span of 4:42 to seize control of the game, taking a 49-41 lead at the 12:09 mark.
MSU Denver managed to trim the deficit to three, at 49-46, but the visitors outscored the home team, 20-13, over the final 8:58 to earn the 69-59 victory.
The ThunderWolves close the regular season Saturday with a road contest at Regis University. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. A win or a Fort Lewis loss will clinch a home game for CSU-Pueblo for the quarterfinals of the RMAC Shootout.
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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.
