Grizzlies defeat Western State (2-5-10)

James Williams
The Paw Print

The Adams State Grizzlies women’s basketball team fell behind by 13 points early on Friday night on the road against the arch-rival Western State College Mountaineers, but mounted a strong comeback en route to a comfortable 75-61 victory.

The Grizzlies found foul trouble early in the game, as both junior forward Kendra Coveal and sophomore forward Kelsie Kruger picked up two fouls in the opening minutes of the game. The Mountaineers took full advantage of the foul trouble and opened up a 16-3 across the game’s first seven minutes before junior guard Crystal Loch added a layup to stop the run by the Mountaineers.

Junior guard Paige Ricker came on from the bench and contributed in a big way, sparking an 18-4 run by the Grizzlies in response to their early deficit, allowing the Grizzlies to take a 21-20 lead with 5:02 remaining in the first half following a three pointer by senior guard Misti Solomon. Ricker, who only had 13 points in her previous seven games, scored 10 points in the first half, as strong play from the Grizzlies’ bench enabled them to overcome early foul trouble and fight their way back into the game.

The rivals played an up-and-down finish to the first half, and the Grizzlies took a 35-34 lead into the break because of a made jumper by Solomon with four seconds left on the clock.

The second half opened slowly, with the Grizzlies maintaining a one point lead in the opening minutes. Ricker added a three pointer to open the floodgates, as the Grizzlies started to heat up from the field to stretch their lead to 20 points with only 5:39 to go in the game, a lead that would prove to be the nail in the coffin for the Mountaineers.

Junior guard Vera Jo Bustos, who once again led the Grizzlies in the scoring column, scored 24 points for the second consecutive game. Ricker finished the game with a career-high 15 points on a stellar 6-of-8 shooting, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in only 16 minutes of playing time. In addition, Ricker committed only one turnover and hauled in a team-high six rebounds. Solomon also scored in double figures, tallying 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

The Mountaineers had four players score in double figures, led by the reigning RMAC West Division Player of the Week, senior guard Amber Murray with 13 points. Katie Hall, Kristen Forbes, and Brooke Pendergraft all contributed 10 points each.

The Grizzlies shot incredibly well for the game, knocking down 50 percent of their attempts from the field, and 60 percent of their attempts from downtown. The Mountaineers managed only 32.8 percent from the field and a dismal 14.3 percent from three point territory.

The Grizzlies, ranked third in the NCAA Division II Central Regional poll for the second consecutive week, improved their record to 16-3 overall and 10-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference heading into Saturday night’s game against Mesa State. The Mountaineers fell to 8-12 overall and evened their record at 6-6 in the RMAC.

In a post-game radio interview, Grizzly coach Kelly Kruger praised his bench for responding to the early foul trouble and bringing the Grizzlies back into the game.

“We got a big lift off the bench from Paige (Ricker) and some good minutes from Crystal Loch, Ruchelle McCracken, and Marissa Peterson. She (Ricker) played really composed and the kids off the bench did a great job.”