DENTON, Texas – (Nov. 20, 2016) – Emily Spector scored a game-high 17 points and helped Texas Woman's University stave off a late 11-2 run by UC-Colorado Springs to close out the 2016 Best Western Premier Pioneer Classic with a 70-66 win over the Mountain Lions.
 
Spector was named All-Tournament Team following a 6-of-9 performance from the field that included a 3-of-5 showing from beyond the arc and Alexis Nezianya added 13 points in the winning effort. The Pioneers (4-1) were outrebounded 40-to-28 by the Mountain Lions (3-1) but connected on six more field goals, dished out an additional six assists and had three less turnovers.
 
Cienna Rodriquez drilled a three from the left wing to give the Pioneers a 13-point advantage with 4:43 remaining in the contest. A 6-0 Mountain Lion run within the next 90 seconds run whittled the lead to 60-53 before Kenesha Saygo scored on a drive from the left side. With under three minutes to go, UCCS's Jen Vigil drained a three-pointer from the left baseline and Chelsea Pearson scored in the paint to pull the Mountain Lions to within 62-58 as 1:53 remained on the clock.
 
Andrea Mapua tossed in a three from the left side to up the margin to 65-58 before Tori Fisher of UCCS made a hook shot. On the next trip down the floor, Mapua found Nezianya under the hoop to extend the lead to 67-60, but Vigil again found the net on a three from the left baseline with less than a minute left to make it a 67-63 ballgame. The Mountain Lions then applied pressure in the backcourt, and the Pioneers were able to break the press for Nezianya to score a layup with 35 seconds left to play. Saygo connected on one-of-two from the line to make it a seven-point lead as UCCS hit another three from the same spot to cut it to 70-66 with 12 ticks until the buzzer, but TWU was able to hang on for the in-region win.
 
Mapua opened the evening's scoring with the first of her trio of three-pointers, but UCCS answered with back-to-back threes and a layup to take an 8-3 lead halfway through the first quarter. The Mountain Lions knocked in a three with a minute left to take a 15-13 advantage. Spector scored 10 of the 17 Pioneer points in the second quarter, including consecutive three-pointers to push the lead to 30-21 with one minute until halftime until UCCS closed with three free throws for a 30-24 TWU lead.
 
Mapua sank a shot from deep to begin the third and Spector followed with one of her own to give the Pioneers its first double-digit lead of the game at 36-24. Two Mountain Lions free throws and three-pointer cut the margin to 41-35 with 3:36 to go, before Nezianya scored on spin move from the post and Deja Pointer drove down the middle for another bucket to close the third quarter with a 47-37 edge.
 
The next contest for the Pioneers takes place at Oklahoma Christian Nov. 26 at 3 p.m.