When McKenzee Gertz and Abby Walz committed to play basketball at Colorado College, they believed that one day they would help lead the Tigers to the Championship game of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

This afternoon, their dream of playing in the SCAC Championship game became a reality.

Gertz and Walz combined for 29 points, eight rebounds and four crucial steals as CC advanced to the SCAC Championship game for the first time in program history with a 70-56 victory over Texas Lutheran University at Reid Arena.

"I'm so proud of this team," head coach Katherine Menendez said. "They believed that we could compete for an SCAC championship and worked incredibly hard to make that opportunity a reality. Our seniors set the tone for the game today with their tempo in transition and aggressive nature in the half court. Both gave us great minutes defensively, too. The all-around presence that Mac and Abby brought to the floor today was fantastic."

Colorado College will face the winner of Sunday's game between No. 5 seed Austin College or No. 1 Trinity University. If the 'Roos defeat Trinity, CC will host the championship game next weekend at Reid Arena. If Trinity wins, Colorado College will travel to San Antonio.

Gertz led the Tigers with 16 points, six rebounds and two steals.

Walz scored seven of her career-high 13 points and dished out a pair of assists during the first quarter when the Tigers raced to a 24-7 lead. CC extended its lead to 25 points when sophomore forward Tedy Reed hit a three-pointer with 1:25 remaining before halftime.

Colorado College led 42-18 after Gertz completed a three-point play a little more than a minute into the second half, but the Bulldogs battled back on the strength of a 15-3 run to cut their deficit to 10 points with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter.

Sophomore forward Talia Cloud hit a three-pointer from the right wing to give the Tigers a 48-35 lead, then Gertz and Reed scored inside the final minute to extend CC's cushion 52-36 after 30 minutes.

Colorado College led 56-38 with a little more than seven minutes to play, but a 13-5 surge had TLU back within 10 points with 3:21 still to play.  

On CC's next possession Walz drove the lane to score on a layup, and then 15 seconds later her steal at the other end resulted in a basket by Rosie Braley. Those four points in a span 29 seconds put an end to Texas Lutheran's hope for a comeback victory.

Sophomore guard Anna Fanelli posted game highs of 11 rebounds and seven assists, and added seven points for the Tigers.

"Anna endured tremendous defensive pressure the entire contest and handled it beautifully while still managing to have seven assists," Menendez said. "Her rebounding gave us a huge boost as well.
 
"Tedy, Talia and Anna hit big shots at important moments today, and that was huge for our momentum."   
   
   
Colorado College Standouts
Talia Cloud scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds.
Rosie Braley pulled down eight rebounds, scored five points and had three assists.
 
Texas Lutheran Standouts
Jayla Santa Maria scored a game-high 20 points.
Morgan Rodriguez scored 17 points and grabbed three rebounds.
 
Notes
Colorado College improved to 7-2.
Texas Lutheran finished its season at 5-4.
 
Next for the Tigers
Colorado College plays in its first SCAC Championship game next weekend against either Austin College at home or at Trinity.