ALAMOSA, COLO. (December 13^th, 2016) --- The Adams State women's basketball team could not hand the visiting Fort Lewis Skyhawks their third loss tonight as the Grizzlies fell by a score of 48-63.
 
Despite facing a team with only 2 losses, the Grizzlies were within reach for 3 and a half quarters tonight in Plachy Hall. Trailing 7-14 heading into the second quarter, the Grizzlies would find some success with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to just 1. A close contest ensued for the next 4 minutes with Fort Lewis never leading by more than 4 points. Eventually, the Skyhawks pulled away with a 10-0 run to take a comfortable 31-19 lead into the half. Nicole Broyles-Mortensen did manage to hit a layup off of a missed 3 pointer right at the half time buzzer to give the Grizzlies a little hope.
 
While the Skyhawks kept their lead for the entire third quarter, Adams would keep it within reach as they trailed 36-47 at the end of the 3. A pair of free throws from Lejla Hadzialijagic midway through the fourth cut the lead to just 7 in front of an excited crowd. Unfortunately, the crowd's energy would not be enough to lift the team any further, as Fort Lewis opened up an 11-0 run on their way to a 63-48 win.
 
Adams relied heavily on their bench who produced 21 of the team's 48 points. DeShea Wilkes, Maddy Merschel, and Lejla Hadzialijagic all recorded 9 points and combined for 3 blocks and 5 steals defensively. The Skyhawk's Alyssa Yocky posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Briana Clah and Shelby Patterson also reached double digits in points with 15 and 12 respectively.
 
The Grizzlies drop to 1-7 on the year and are still looking for a win against an RMAC opponent. The team will play Westminster on Friday at 1:00pm in Plachy Hall.     
  
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