Grizzly Women Picked to Win RMAC

Eric Flores
The Paw Print

The Adams State College women’s basketball squad has been picked the win the 2010-2011 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) championship in the preseason coaches’ poll that was released by conference officials earlier this week.
The Grizzlies, who are coming off their best season while playing NCAA Division-II (1992-Present) and their first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II National Tournament, received six first-place votes and had a total of 25 points.
Fort Lewis College, who advanced to the National Championship game last season but lost in the title game, also received six first-place votes, however, received 29 total points and finished in second place.
Adams State senior point guard Vera Jo Bustos was named as the RMAC Preseason Player of the Year. Senior Kendra Coveal joined her on the RMAC Preseason All-Conference team.
Bustos was a first team All-RMAC selection as a sophomore and junior, was named the RMAC West Division Player of the Year for the 2008-09 season, and was the league’s Freshman of the Year in 2007-08. Bustos has averaged 15.6 points and 5.7 points per game during her career, and is just 97 points away from becoming the Grizzlies all-time leading points scorer in the Division II era (since 1992).  She is also a returning Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-American.
Coveal, a guard/forward, was second among Grizzlies in scoring during the 2009-10 season, averaging 11.9 points per game, and led the team with 7.7 rebounds per game, earning her Second Team All-RMAC West accolades. A three-year starter for ASC, Coveal has played in 85 games while making 64 starts.
The Grizzlies open their regular season up in Hawaii on Saturday, Nov. 13. Their first home game will be on Nov. 19 against Northern New Mexico.