LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball used a strong second half here Thursday evening as the ThunderWolves won its third straight game with a 62-52 victory over Colorado Christian in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at the CCU Event Center.

With the win, the Pack improves to 13-11 overall and 9-7 in the RMAC, while CCU falls to 6-17 overall and 3-12 in the league. The win, coupled with Fort Lewis' loss at No. 4 Colorado Mesa and Colorado School of Mines' loss at Black Hills State on Thursday night pushed the Pack into sole possession of seventh place in the league standings with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

The Pack, who trailed 25-24 at the half, outscored the Cougars 38-27 in the second half, including 19-10 in the third quarter to take a 43-35 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play. The Pack also won the fourth period, 19-17 to post the comeback victory.

The Pack's win was keyed by the play of senior guard Seneya Martinez (Windsor, Colo./Appalachian State) as she scored 23 of her team-high 29 points in the second half. In fact, Martinez scored four points fewer than the entire CCU team scored (27) after halftime.

In addition to Martinez, freshman forward Jada Bobb (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest) and senior guard Ruby Sweeney-Spitzeck (Melbourne, Australia/Idaho State) each tallied nine points in the win.

But the night belonged to Martinez as she was 11-for-19 from the field, including going 2-for-7 from the 3-point line and was 5-for-6 at the line as she recorded her sixth straight double figure scoring game. In addition to the 29 points, she added eight rebounds and three steals.

Martinez's performance on Thursday followed her career-high 36-point effort in the Pack's 79-68 home win on Tuesday over UCCS. The 36 points are tied for fifth-most in game in school history.

After trailing 25-24 at the half, the Pack opened the third period on a 6-0 run keyed by back-to-back baskets from Martinez to take a 30-25 lead. After Jordan Heckert stopped the Pack run, the Pack went on a 9-4 run to push its lead to 43-31 following two free throws from junior forward Laci Roffle (Aurora, Colo./MSU Denver) with 3:03 left in the period.

The Cougars closed the period by scoring the final four points to cut the Pack's lead to 43-35 after 30 minutes of action.

CCU opened the final period by scoring four of the first six points to pull within 45-39 with 8:16 left in the game, but the Pack responded with an 8-2 run capped by a lay-up from Bobb to extend out to a 53-41 advantage with 4:10 remaining in the game.

The Cougars pulled within 56-47 with 1:09 left, but the Pack held off the Cougars thanks to making six of eight free throws in the final 64 seconds to seal the win.

Heckert led the way offensively for CCU with 29 points and added five rebounds and four steals. Heckert tallied 17 of CCU's 27 second half points.

The Pack opened the game by making five of its first 12 shots and led 15-10 after the opening 10 minutes of play.

CCU opened the second half on an 8-4 run to pull within 19-18 following a trey from Heckert with 5:34 left in the period. The Pack pushed its lead back out to three at 21-18 following a basket by junior guard Wynter Jones (Dallas, Texas/Blinn College), before CCU closed the period on a 7-3 run to take a 25-24 lead at the half.

The Pack closed the game shooting 39 percent from the field and 23 percent (5-for-22) from the 3-point line, while CCU shot just 28 percent from the field and 17 percent (4-for-24) from long distance.

CSU Pueblo held a 40-30 edge on the boards as along with Martinez's eight boards, senior guard Genesis Sweetwine (Aurora, Colo./Northeastern CC) also had eight boards and added five assists and junior forward Anyla Owens (Colorado Springs, Colo./Otero JC) had a game-high 10 boards.


CCU forced the Pack into 21 turnovers, while CCU had 13 turnovers. The Pack, though, held a 16-14 edge in points off turnovers and also held a 30-20 edge in points in the paint.

Both teams were strong at the free throw line as the Pack finished the game 15-for-18 (83.3 percent) at the line, while CCU was 14-for-19 (73.7 percent) from the line.

The Pack will now take a week off from action before returning to action on Thursday, Feb. 19 with a 5:30 p.m. game in Denver against MSU Denver (11-12 overall, 9-6 RMAC).