James Williams
South Coloradan
The Adams State College Grizzlies women’s basketball team rallied late to complete a 2-0 weekend on the road, defeating the Metro State College Roadrunners on Saturday night at the Auraria Events Center in Denver.
Neither team was able to break out in the first half, with the largest lead of six points belonging to the Grizzlies early in the half, but the Roadrunners came on late to close the half with only a two point deficit, 26-24.
The second half began in much the same way the first half, with neither team gaining more than a one possession lead until the Grizzlies went off for an 8-0 run that gave them a 45-40 lead with 8:44 remaining in the game. It was capped off by a pair of free throws by junior guard Vera Jo Bustos following a foul on the put back layup attempt after a miss by sophomore forward Kelsie Kruger.
The Roadrunners followed the Grizzlies’ run with a 9-1 streak of their own to take a 51-48 lead on layup by freshman forward Jalyssa Caesar. Caesar was the only scorer for the Roadrunners in double figures, contributing 14 points off the bench in only 21 minutes of playing time.
The Grizzlies responded on a clutch three pointer by Kruger that tied the game at 51 with 1:58 remaining. Senior guard Misti Solomon capitalized on a turnover by Caesar and took it in for a layup to break the tie and give the Grizzlies a 53-51 lead with 1:10 remaining.
The Roadrunners took a timeout, and after the designed play faltered at the hands of senior forward Rae Bean, sophomore guard Alyssa Benson secured the rebound and was successful on the put back layup to tie the game at 53.
The Grizzlies followed the made layup with a timeout of their own, and following the timeout got the ball to Bustos, who came through in the clutch like she has so many times before during her career at ASC, sinking the game-winning 15-foot jumper with only 26 seconds remaining on the clock.
The Grizzlies added three points from the charity stripe, sealing the victory and adding to their school record winning streak in the process.
The Grizzlies had three players score in double figures for the game, as Solomon and junior guard Paige Ricker both scored 12 points. Bustos finished the game with 11 points.
The Grizzlies shot a solid 45.8 percent from the field, and for the second straight game outrebounded their opponent by double digits, with the margin in this game being 10 rebounds.
The Roadrunners fell to 4-2 overall on the season and evened their RMAC record to 1-1 after an astonishing 75-65 victory on Friday night over the nation’s third ranked Fort Lewis Skyhawks.
The Grizzlies improved to 7-1 on the season with the victory, and are now 2-0 in RMAC conference play. Their seven game win streak is the longest in ASC’s NCAA Division II era history.
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