Colorado College played a near perfect first quarter, but was unable to maintain that level of play during the final 30 minutes and watched as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University overcame a 23-point deficit to escape Reid Arena with a 68-51 victory in a non-conference game on Thursday night.

The Tigers connected on 10 of their first 12 shots, including five in a row from behind the arc, and cruised to a 29-6 lead a little more than six minutes into the contest.

McKenzee Gertz accounted for all of her 16 points in the first quarter on 6-for-6 shooting, including four from behind the arc. However, a pair of incidental fouls sent the sophomore winger to the bench 25 seconds into the second quarter and CC was never the same.

After sophomore guard Jordan Meltzer dialed long distance to give Colorado College a 36-18 cushion with seven minutes remaining in the first half, the Eagles scored the next five points to close to within 46-23 midway through the second quarter.

Back-to-back triples from senior guard Casey Torbet extended CC's to 42-23, but Embry-Riddle scored the final nine points of half to cut its deficit to 42-32 after 20 minutes.

The Eagles pulled to within two points when Jenna Knudson knocked down a jumper four minutes into the third quarter, however the Tiger defense stepped up and helped the home team maintain a three-point lead with 10 minutes to play.

Unfortunately, Colorado College missed its first six shots of the fourth quarter and Embry-Riddle seized the opportunity to grab control of the game with 18 consecutive points.

The Eagles made 15 of 20 free throws, while CC was just 7-for-9 from the line.

Torbet finished with 16 points and matched her season high of seven assists for the Tigers. She became the 21st player in program history to record 900 points.

Sophomore guard Jade Odom grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and added three assists for Colorado College, which slipped to 3-3.

Jazlyn Maletino led Embry-Riddle with 16 points.

Melissa Pfeifer hauled down 18 rebounds and scored nine points for the Eagles, who improved to 6-1.

CC opens Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, Dec. 4, when the Tigers play host to Johnson & Wales University at 5:30 p.m.