Ball hawk defense turns in victory for Pack

Ball hawk defense turns in victory for Pack

PUEBLO, Colo. - The ThunderWolves relied on a season high 16 steals and a double-digit scoring night from four players to snag a 70-58 victory over Colorado Christian Thursday night.

After a sluggish start, tied at five, the ThunderWolves embarked on an 18-2 run that effectively doomed the Cougars' chances. Despite a spirited run at the close of the first half that saw Christian outscore the Pack 11-2, the ThunderWolves held a 33-22 advantage at halftime that was never really in doubt.

The ThunderWolves got a career-high 19 points from Sarah Staggs, who was a stellar 8-for-12 from the field and put together the best game of her career.

"I was really impressed with the way Sarah played tonight," Pack coach Kip Drown said. "She's stepping up and her confidence is just going through the ceiling. I'm really pleased with how her game is coming together."

The ThunderWolves slightly out-rebounded the Cougars 37-35, but most of the defensive damage was done on the post with an aggressive, ball-pressure defense. As a team, the Pack got 16 steals to Christian's nine, helping to force 25 turnovers. Individually, Michelle Ambuul and Linsday Black registered four steals each and Rachel Espinoza got five - career-highs for all three.

"We had been working on solidifying our post game, and we have been able to get a lot of turnovers and help get our offense going," Drown said. "It's becoming quite a weapon for us and it's causing quite a bit of problems for our opponents."

The win moves the Pack to 2-1 in RMAC play and 7-2 overall. Currently, the ThunderWolves are firmly in third place in the RMAC West Division, trailing Fort Lewis and Adams State, each of which started the season 2-0 in conference games.