When student-athletes commit to playing women's lacrosse at Colorado College, they embrace the responsibility to live up to the program's championship culture.

Since women's lacrosse became a varsity sport in 1995, CC has cultivated a much-deserved reputation of being one of the most successful and respected programs in the West Region, at the national level, and more recently, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

This Sunday, one of the youngest teams in head coach Susan Stuart's 26-year tenure has an opportunity to author its own chapter in the program's storied history when the Tigers face either Southwestern University or the University of Dallas in the SCAC championship game at 10 a.m. MT in Irving, Texas.

The Crusaders play host to the Pirates on Saturday at noon CT for the right to play Colorado College in what will be just the fourth championship game in conference history. CC has won the last two SCAC crowns, the first in 2012 and most recently in 2019.

"Despite all of the adversity of this season and knowing we would be excluded from the NCAA tournament as an independent, this young team has grown so much and stuck together putting the team and the season first all year," Stuart said. "I am incredibly proud of these young women who have made this season one of my most enjoyable to coach because of their enthusiasm, resilience and eagerness to grow and better themselves every day.

"We are looking forward to our trip to Texas and are excited to compete for another SCAC championship."

Despite having no seniors and only six juniors on their roster, the Tigers are riding a five-game winning streak, which includes four convincing victories in conference play.

After beginning the season with a pair of games against Division II opponents Colorado Mesa University and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, CC utilized the experience as an opportunity for growth and by the time the Tigers played Colorado State University-Pueblo on April 7, they began to demonstrate chemistry and confidence in their game.

With the scored tied 4-4 against the ThunderWolves, first-year midfielder Hayley Heinecken whistled a goal into the upper left corner with two seconds remaining before halftime, then scored the first goal of the second half to put the Tigers ahead to stay.

Sophomore goaltender Natalie Slade made eight of her career-high 16 saves as CC scored six of the last nine goals to claim its first victory of the season.

The Tigers' new-found confidence was put to the test in the next game at Southwestern when the Pirates were within 10-8 late in the first half, but junior attacker Bella Beattie scored five of her program record-tying eight goals as Colorado College outscored the Pirates 13-2 during the final 31 minutes.

CC's tenacity carried over into the next three games during which the Tigers outscored their opponents 58-5.

Through seven games, Beattie leads the Colorado College attack with 23 goals and a career-high 30 points. She also has team-highs of 21 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers.

Freshman attacker Bridget Hanley produced a team-leading 17 assists, ranks second with 26 points and is tied for fifth with nine goals. Her most memorable performance occurred during the 22-0 victory over Dallas when she set the program record with 11 points and matched the mark of eight assists.

Sophomore attacker Courtney Zell ranks third on the team with 20 points on 11 goals and nine assists, all of which were career highs, while sophomore midfielder Bella Scola was second with 17 goals and fourth with 19 points, which also were career highs.

In addition to her nine goals and 11 points, Heinecken leads the Tigers with 21 draw controls and was fifth with 19 ground balls.

The CC defense is anchored by juniors Natalie Schluter and Abigail Turner. Schluter is second on the team with 20 ground balls and has five caused turnovers, while Turner has 12 ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.

In her first season as the team's starting goaltender, Slade owns a 7.68 goals-against average and a .465 saves percentage to go along with her 5-2 record.

Colorado College is 5-1 all-time in the SCAC Tournament. The Tigers defeated Southwestern, 18-1, in the 2019 championship game at Washburn Field.