LAS VEGAS, NEV. - Susquehanna women's basketball hit the west coast for winter break this weekend as they headed to Las Vegas to open their stay at the D3hoops.com Classic against Colorado College. This coast-to-coast matchup marked the first-ever meeting between both programs, with the Tigers improving their record to 8-1 with a 74-45 win. The River Hawks are 5-4 as they play the morning game local time Sunday when they face off against another Tigers team in Wittenberg at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET. 

Julia Pinckert and Grace Meehan led Susquehanna with ten points apiece, along with Pinckert leading the team with six rebounds. Despite their high scoring total that opened with a 23-6 lead after the first quarter, Colorado only had two double-digit scorers in Zoë Tomlinson and Kayla Mackel. Tomlinson delivered a double-double with 26 points and 18 rebounds on 10-of-18 shooting and 6-of-9 on free throws, while Mackel was second in each respective category with 14 points and eight boards. Both sides fared almost similarly in the 3-point column, with the River Hawks making 4-of-21, led by two from Meehan, while the Tigers connected on 5-of-19, two from Mackel and another pair from Isa Nelson in an eight-point day. Susquehanna finished the day shooting 27.7 percent (18-65) with seven points from Zoei Maffei and another six from Annie Greek, while Colorado fared 41.8 percent shooting (28-67), dropping in 44 points in the paint and 20 second-chance points off of 21 offensive rebounds. Tomlinson's big day on the boards contributed to the Tigers' 61-28 lead in rebounds, including a 40-20 lead defensively on the boards. The River Hawks held the advantage in bench points, 24-15, thanks to their four players producing off the pine. Lauren Klein and Greta Servitto each totaled four points to add to this total alongside Meehan and Greek, with Meehan seeing a team-best 32 minutes on the floor.

The Susquehanna-Colorado College game was the first of a five-game slate for Saturday's portion of the D3hoops.com Classic from South Point Arena. CC finished last year as the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) runners up, producing a 20-8 record. Wittenberg, currently 7-2, gets its first taste of action at the classic Sunday when they take on Susquehanna, then play again Monday evening against Cal Lutheran. Wittenberg finished last season reaching the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Semifinals with a 19-7 record. Both sides squared off once before in 2017 when the Tigers took a 78-69 win over the River Hawks.