Kayla Mackel scored a career-high 16 points and Zoe Tomlinson collected a double-double to lead the Colorado College women's basketball team to a dominating 85-48 victory over Nebraska Wesleyan in the 2023-24 season opener Friday night in Reid Arena.
 
Mackel scored 14 of her points in the first half when CC pulled away from the Prairie Wolves.
 
NWU's Brianna Denton hit a three-pointer to even the game at 14 with just under one minute to play inf the first quarter, then the Tigers rattled off the next 13 points, including a pair of buckets from Mackel, to take a 27-14 lead with 8:48 remaining in the second quarter and they never looked back.
 
CC used a 14-point run at the end of the second quarter into the third, culminating with a three-point play by Healy Bledsoe, to double up NWU, 52-26, with 8:29 left in the third.
 
Tomlinson, who had 14 double-doubles last season, had 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Bledsoe chipped in with 13 points and Audrey Bayston had 11. Kyle Rowland filled the stat sheet with a game-high five assists and three steals.
 
The Tigers shot 46 percent from the field (34-74) and held Nebraska Wesleyan to just 29 percent (17-58).
 
Colorado College returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 12, against UT-Dallas beginning at 12:30 p.m.