ALAMOSA, Colo. (November 19, 2014) —The Adams State University Grizzlies women's basketball team lost their home opener on Wednesday night in heart breaking fashion against the visiting McMurry University Warhawks by an overtime score of 62-58. The Grizzlies have now dropped three consecutive games, falling to 0-3 with tonight's results as head coach Larry Joe Hunt and his team are still looking for their first win of the season.  McMurry University with the win moves to 1-1 on the season. Both of McMurry's games thus far have extended beyond regulation, where overtime was needed to decide the victor.
 
Adams State will now shift gears and prepare for the first ranked team in the nation, West Texas A&M University on Saturday Nov 22.
 
At the tip off of tonight's affair, Adams State looked in control of the game by mediating a calm, efficient tempo. This assisted in their offense  going on an 8-0 run in the first six minutes of regulation after Mariah Gonzales sunk a pair of free throws. The game shifted into a back and forth tug of war with lead changes for the remainder of the first half. McMurry's high flying offense, silenced by the Grizzly defense for a good chunk of the game, began to find its rhythm in part to the play of Adijatu Disu who scored six points in the first half for the War Hawks. After her offensive eruption, the McMurry offense began to stretch its legs.  Not to be outdone, Mariah Gonzales scored six points in the first half as well and led the Grizzlies in assists with one. The Grizzlies went into halftime, trailing the War Hawks, 22-21.
 
The ASU defense was key in the first half, collecting eight points off turnovers. The Grizzlies shot from the field with a 28.6 percentage rate, while McMurry shot 31 percent from the field. What truly made the difference in this game were free throws. In the first half, the Grizzly shot 4-7 from the line, translating to a 57.1 percent efficiency rate.  In the second half of the game, ASU's inability to be consistent at the free throw line ultimately doomed them.
 
The second half was just as exciting as the first. The Grizzlies opened up with a three-point basket from Desiree Anderson to recapture the lead over the War Hawks. An aggressive style of defense was on display as the Grizzlies were able to execute constant pressure in the back court to force turnovers. ASU's defensive efforts translated into 14 points off turnovers in the second half. The last four minutes of the game warranted four ties and after a successful three-point basketball from Anderson with a 1:30 left in the game the Grizzlies led by three points, 52-49. With thirty seconds in the game, McMurry's Haley Welch netted a three-point shot that tied the game at 52 apiece and sent the game into overtime.
 
With five minutes of added time, the War Hawks succeed where they failed last week in the same overtime scenario. McMurry never trailed in overtime and led by as many as four points. The final buzzer rang with ASU falling short, 62-58.
 
For the Grizzlies, Gonzales led the team in scoring with 19 points, shooting 7-17 from the field and 1-4 from beyond the arc. She also totaled two assists and two steals. Anderson also had a strong showing, scoring 12 points shooting 4-14 from the field and 3-11 from 3-point territory.
 
The Grizzlies shot 11-22 from the charity stripe for the game. In comparison McMurry shot 20-22 from the charity line converting at a solid 90.9 percent rate.
 
As previosly stated, Adams State will now prepare for West Texas A&M University on Nov. 22 at 5:00 p.m. from Plachy Hall.