James Williams
The Paw Print
The Adams State College Grizzlies women’s basketball team continued towards a likely home playoff game on Friday night, holding on for a 60-51 victory over the Mesa State College Mavericks at Plachy Hall.
Junior guard Crystal Loch led the Grizzlies with 15 points off the bench, while junior forward Kendra Coveal and sophomore guard Kelsie Kruger each had 14 points in the winning effort.
The Mavericks received 16 points from sophomore guard Alaina Brennan and 11 points from sophomore forward Meagan Selvidge as the only players to score in double-figures, as the team shot only 36.2 percent from the field for the game.
The Grizzlies lost to the Mavericks 53-49 in Grand Junction on Feb. 6, and the game appeared to be another close affair for most of the first half.
The Mavericks spread the floor on offense for much of the game, counteracting the post defense by the much taller Grizzlies, and in doing so took an 8-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game before Coveal and Loch sank buckets on back-to-back possessions to pull within a point with 13:15 remaining in the half.
Junior guard Jocelyn Zarling responded with a 3-pointer before Brennan converted a 3-point play to put the Mavericks up 16-9, their largest lead of the night, at the 10:06 mark of the first half.
Junior guard Vera Jo Bustos, playing off the bench after missing the last two games due to injury, countered with a 3-pointer on the other end, sparking a 12-2 run by the Grizzlies that gave them a 21-18 lead.
The Mavericks were able to tie the game at 26 with 3:07 left, but went into halftime trailing 34-29.
The Grizzlies opened the second half by opening up a 39-31 lead after a Bustos 3-pointer less than four minutes into the second frame, and were able to establish a solid lead that fluctuated between 5 points and 11 points for the remainder of the game.
The Grizzlies recorded their sixth consecutive home win, and are now 18-5 overall with a 12-4 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. With the victory, the Grizzlies hold a full game lead over the Colorado State University – Pueblo ThunderWolves for second place in the RMAC West Division standings, and have a magic number of three wins and/or three losses by the ThunderWolves to clinch a home playoff game for the first time in 18 years. The ThunderWolves’ last three games are all on the road.
The Mavericks fell to 8-15 overall and 5-11 in the RMAC with their third straight loss, all on the road.
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