Scott Krettzmann
ASC Sports Information
Double-doubles from senior Kendra Coveal and junior Kelsie Kruger on Saturday propelled the Grizzly women’s basketball team to a 76-61 victory in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play over UC-Colorado Springs on the road Saturday evening.
The win, Adams State’s fourth in a row over the Mountain Lions, improves the Grizzlies to 6-2 on the season and evens their record at 1-1 in conference play. UCCS drops to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the RMAC with the loss.
Coveal, who entered the week tied for the conference lead in double-doubles, recorded her team-leading third double-double of the 2010-11 campaign and the 11th of her career with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kruger, who came up just one rebound shy of her career best with 13 in the game, all defensive, matched that number with 13 points to record her third double-double in an ASC uniform.
The Grizzlies wasted no time getting on top Saturday, as Vera Jo Bustos hit a jumper on the first shot of the game to take the lead, and before the long ASC had raced out to a 13-3 lead.
After giving up a 10-point lead in the conference opener against CSU-Pueblo on Friday, the Mountain Lions made a similar run midway through the first half. UCCS went on a 21-6 run over the next seven minutes, and with 7 minutes and 5 seconds left in the first half found itself by 24-19 over Adams State.
But Bustos, who hit six 3-pointers in the game and scored a game-high 23 points, scored nine points on three triples over the remainder of the half to allow the Grizzlies to enter the half with a 30-29 lead.
The Mountain Lions’ scored first out of the break on a jumper by Danielle Brown to regain the lead, but from there it was all Grizzlies. ASC raced out to a 10-point lead once again, capped by yet another Bustos 3-pointer, and with 14:34 left in the game a Coveal layup upped that lead to 12.
After struggling to not only get to the line but also to convert once there on Friday, the Grizzlies fared much better from the charity stripe Saturday, making good on 19 of their 22 attempts (86.4 percent). Meanwhile, ASC prevented the Mountain Lions from doing any damage at the line, committing just eight fouls in the contest, the fewest since the Grizzlies committed six against Fort Lewis on Feb. 17, 2007. UCCS was only given six attempts from the the free throw line as a result, and converted on just three (50 percent).
Kallie Jiblits brought the Mountain Lions back within seven points of Adams State with 7:03 left, but after back-to-back layups from seniors Crystal Loch (Alamosa, Colo.) and Coveal the Grizzlies lead wouldn’t dip back into single-digits again.
Lauren Wolfinger led UCCS with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, but as a team the Mountain Lions struggled hitting just 23-of-66 (34.8 percent), while the Grizzlies hit 25-of-51 (49.0 percent) from the field including 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc.
Sophomore Jamonica Hudgins was the fourth Grizzly in double-digits, scoring 11 points in the game and hit a game-high five free throws. Hudgins also tied her season-high with three steals.
In addition to her game-high 23 points, Bustos reached and surpassed a pair of milestones in the game. Her six 3-pointers raised her career total to 200, and by collecting four boards she has now raised her career total to 504 rebounds.
Next up for the Grizzlies will a test against Fort Lewis on the road in Durango, Colo. next Saturday. The Skyhawks, currently ranked No. 3 in the Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Poll, are 7-0 this season and sport a 2-0 RMAC record.
Fort Lewis opened its conference season against UCCS Friday night, scoring a 79-69 victory, and topped CSU-Pueblo on Saturday by an 82-53 final.
In the preseason RMAC poll, the Skyhawks were picked to finish in second behind the Grizzlies, but both teams received three first-place votes.
Tip-off between the Grizzlies and Skyhawks at Whalen Gymnasium is set for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11
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