Rangers Jump Ahead of Western State with 23 Seconds Remaining to Grab 76-73 Victory

Denver, Colo.: Up until 23 seconds remained in the game, it looked as though Regis was going to drop their second RMAC game of the season to the Western State Mountaineers in Gunnison on Sunday. However, Lauren Luebbe sank a three-pointer at this mark to put the Rangers up by one. Two free throw's by Erin O'Toole followed which put Regis up by three for a 76-73 Ranger victory.

Regis held onto the lead for much of the first half after gaining it just over three minutes into play. While baskets were matched fairly evenly in the half, the lead was turned over to Western State going into the break (36-35).

The Rangers fought hard to gain the lead back in the beginning of the second period coming within two of the Mountaineers with 11:59 left to play (50-48); however, this two point WSC lead turned into ten (61-51) as the Mountaineers went on an 11-3 run. By the 1:02 mark, Regis cut their deficit to just one (72-71) before a free-throw by WSC's Brooke Pendergraft put Western up by two (73-71). A long shot by Luebbe put Regis up by one before two O'Toole free throws helped lead Regis to a 76-73 victory.

Meagan Nickell led the way for the Rangers with 19 points followed by three others in double-digits. Chelsea Porter totaled 13, Luebbe had 12, and Kari Ameling chimed in with ten. Kaitie Vader led the team in boards with six.

The Rangers were successful from long range in the matchup as Luebbe was 2-for-3, Porter was 3-for-6, and Nickell was 3-for-5.

Up next, the Rangers will travel to Mesa State to face the Mavericks on Monday. Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m.

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