Box Score Senior Becky Luetjen and junior Marissa Gradoz helped the Colorado College women's basketball team open Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a 77-67 victory over Southwestern University, Friday evening in Reid Gymnasium.  
 
Luetjen scored a season-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season and also blocked a team-high three shots to lead the Tigers. Gradoz earned her first double-double of her career with a season-high 13 points and tied her career-high 11 rebounds to lead the defense.
 
Down by five points in the first half with 17:57 remaining, the Tigers went on a 6-0 run to take an 8-7 advantage for their first lead of the game. CC scored three layups in a span of 52 seconds, which included two by Luetjen and another by senior Jenny Knapp.    
 
The teams traded points for much of the half, with the game seeing its fifth tie at 28-28 with 6:59 remaining in the first half.
 
With 6:39 remaining, sophomore Erin Slay dished an assist to junior Hannah Hoopingarner, who hit a three-pointer to help ignite an 11-4 run for the Tigers and take a 39-32 lead with 1:52 remaining in the half. The Pirates closed out the half going on a 5-2 run and went into intermission down, 41-37.
 
Southwestern pulled to within a point with a three-pointer by Anna Fareed 27 seconds into the second half, but Gradoz hit a layup with 17:19 remaining in the game to help spark a 9-0 run for Colorado College and take a 50-40 edge over the Pirates.
 
Southwestern attempted another comeback when Fareed completed a three-point play to cut CC's lead to 53-50 with 13:06 remaining in the game. The Tigers answered back with two made free throws by Luetjen to ignite an 11-4 run and take a 65-54 lead with a little under seven minutes remaining in the game. CC went on to win the game, 77-67 to earn its first conference win of the season.
 
Colorado College improved to 3-3 on the season and 1-0 in SCAC action, while Southwestern dropped to 3-3 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
 
The Tigers continue conference play as they host Trinity University on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Reid Gymnasium.