Electric. No other word describes the environment inside Reid Arena as No. 21 Colorado College downed Trinity 69-52. The Tigers finished the regular season 13-0 at home, marking the most wins inside Reid Arena and the second undefeated home record in program history.
"Honestly, it hardly feels real," head coach
Katherine Auguste said. "The leadership and drive from our four seniors and the entire team working and believing, it's been such a fun season. It was such a fun week of preparation, and I'm really proud of them; they've earned this. The crowd was unbelievable as well."
CC brings its win streak to 12 straight and is 23-2 (15-1 SCAC) to end the regular season. The four seniors showed up on Senior Day.
Zoë Tomlinson,
Healy Bledsoe,
Kyle Rowland and
Laura Strenk combined for 44 points. Tomlinson led the way with 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and a steal.
It's the 20th double-double of the season for the New York native, tied for third in the nation.
Bledsoe returned to the court after missing a few games and recorded a rebound, two assists, a block and a steal. Strenk dished seven points, seven rebounds and four assists. Rowland added six points and four boards.
Junior
Kayla Mackel was second with 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
The Tigers attempted a season-high 30 three-pointers and made 10 of them. Mackel, Rowland, Strenk,
Avery Johnson and
Isa Nelson all made two.
CC exploded out of the gates, shooting 60 percent in the first quarter, and went into the second with a 25-16 lead. Tomlinson had 11 points and seven rebounds in the opening frame. In the second quarter, CC held Trinity to only four points, but the Tigers shot only 18.75 percent from the floor.
CC had a 34-20 lead at the break.
In the third, Mackel shot 66 percent from three-point range, leading the team with 10 points. CC built up the lead to as many as 18 after a buzzer-beater three-pointer by Nelson to end the quarter.
CC kept the same pace in the fourth, ballooning the lead up to a game-high 22 points with 3:47 remaining. The Tigers shot 46 percent in the final frame and didn't let the contest get within 13 points.
Tomlinson scored her final eight points, and all four seniors checked off simultaneously. An enormous ovation from the fans and family inside Reid Arena followed this.
CC heads into the SCAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed for the Blue Division and will face the winner of the University of Ozarks and Texas Lutheran in the semifinals. The Tigers made it to the tournament championship game last season but fell to Trinity.
"One game at a time," Auguste said when asked about prepping for the SCAC Tournament. "I know it sounds cliche, but we just truly doing our best in each practice leading up to each game. We're excited to earn the right to keep competing, and in the postseason, we'll kick it up a notch."
The semifinal game is set for Saturday, March 1st, at 11 am MT. The University of Dallas in Irving, Texas, will host this year's tournament.