Colleges: UCCS women stage huge comeback in home opener

Behind 18 points from freshman Lauren Wolfinger and Mallory Lowe’s second career double-double, Colorado-Colorado Springs overcame a 21-point deficit Tuesday night to defeat Western State 56-52 in a women's basketball game at the Lions’ Den. 

Lowe had 11 points and 10 rebounds. UCCS (3-1) limited the Mountaineers to 14.3-percent shooting (5-for-29) in the second half.

“With about a minute and a half to go when we took the lead by two, I said ‘ladies, I don’t care what happens in this game, I couldn’t be prouder of a bunch of kids,’ ” UCCS coach Stephen Kirkham said after his team's home opener.

Wolfinger scored 14 of her points while Lowe had had nine of her 11 points and eight of her 10 rebounds in the second half as the Mountain Lions came all the way back from a deep hole. A chasm maybe. The pit of despair.

And that pit was dug behind some absolutely miserable shooting. The Mountain Lions shot a meager 5-for-25 percent in the first half, and that only because they made two of their final three attempts.

“I’m very upset with (UCCS softball) coach (Scott) Peterson,” Kirkham said with tongue firmly in cheek. “I asked him to put cellophane over the basket and he put it on the wrong end.”

As UCCS struggled to score, Western State built a 38-17 first-half lead. A Payden Ackerman 3-pointer cut the deficit to 18 at the intermission. But, in a way, UCCS’ poor shooting was Western State’s downfall.

“They thought it was over and that’s what coach said at halftime when we were coming out of the huddle,” said Wolfinger. “He said, ‘they think they have this one.’

“He said we needed to keep going and we needed to do it one basket at a time and not all at once. He said our defense was great and we were hustling; just nothing was falling.”

CC volleyball No. 7 in final poll

The Colorado College volleyball team earned its highest ranking ever when the Tigers moved up six spots to No. 7 in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll of the 2009 season.

The Tigers finished the season with a 35-5 record and advanced to the national semifinals for the first time in the 31-year history of the program. CC earned a bye in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and defeated California Lutheran and La Verne en route to its first regional championship.

“The team lived up to the goals we set at the beginning of the season,” said coach Rick Swan, who has led the program to the NCAA Tournament in each of his 12 seasons at Colorado College.

“Our goals were winning the regional championship and making it to Cleveland and the Elite 8, being ranked in the top 10 at the end of the season. We accomplished both of those things.”

Men's basketball

• Nic Wise scored 30 points, including 16 of his team’s final 19, to lead Arizona past Colorado 91-87 in overtime in a consolation game at the Maui Invitational.

• Dorian Green’s game-high 17 points helped lead Colorado State to a 79-42 victory over Mayville State.

• Damian Lillard scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead Weber State to an 89-62 win over Western State, Colo.