UCCS women rally for tournament win

DENVER - With 8:28 remaining in Tuesday's first-round Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoff game against Regis and trailing by 12 points, Colorado-Colorado Springs women's basketball coach Dave Murphy called a timeout.

"I told (the team) to play Mountain Lion basketball," Murphy said. "That means pressure defense, hustle and no prisoners."

Fortunately for Murphy, his team was in no mood for prisoners and rallied for a 75-70 victory over Regis (17-10).

Fifth-seeded UCCS (16-10) outscored fourth-seeded Regis 22-5 over the final 81/2 minutes to advance to the semifinals of the playoffs.

UCCS will face No.1 seeded Nebraska-Kearney at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the University of Denver's Hamilton Gymnasium.

Corrissa Johnson and Heidi Koskovich combined for 55 points on 21- of-30 shooting as UCCS shot 51.8 percent from the field.

"It was a comeback for the ages," said a jubilant Murphy. "We absolutely refused to give up. I am so proud of this team. It's unbelievable how hard we played defensively down the stretch. That was really the difference."

MEN

Metro State 100, UCCS 85

It took the defending national champions to cool off the RMAC's hottest team as Metro State (20-6) ended not only UCCS's conference- best eight-game winning streak, but also its season.

Fourth-seeded Metro State used 10-of-14 shooting from 3-point range to defeated fifth-seeded UCCS (15-11) and advance to the semifinals against No. 1 seed Fort Hays State.

"We didn't play defense tonight," said UCCS coach Ed Pipes. "But I think our program has come of age. We're commanding respect and, with support, we'll continue to improve."

The loss also ended the college career of Wayne Rhymes, who set a CU-Colorado Springs record for points scored in a season this past week, Quincey Simpson and Joe Hutchins.

"It really hasn't set in yet that this was my last game," said Rhymes. "All I can think about is the things I might have done to change the outcome."

"It hurts ... for me it's the end," said Simpson. "I'll never play college basketball again. All I can think of is that we should be playing one more game."

UCCS women

UCCS 75

Regis 70

HIGHLIGHT: UCCS overcame a 12-point deficit in the last 81/2 minutes.

UCCS men

Metro State 100

UCCS 85

HIGHLIGHT: Metro State took 14 3-point shots and sank 10 of them to end UCCS's eight-game winning streak.

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