ALAMOSA, Colo. - For the second night in a row, Adams State Women's Basketball came up just short of an upset bid as the team fell 60-56 to rival Western Colorado. The loss puts the Grizzlies record at 1-14 overall and 1-10 in the RMAC.

The Mountaineers (12-3, 8-3 RMAC) got some help at the free throw line late in the game and finished 18-24 (75%) for the night to secure the road win. The Grizzlies took 11 fewer shots at the charity strip and finished 9-13 for 69.2%.

The game got off to a slow start as the Mountaineers led 6-5 at the midway point of the opening quarter. Marshell Hollins hit a layup and drew contact for the foul to complete the and-1 opportunity. The Grizzlies led 5-4 with 5:32 to play but the Mountaineers had an answer.

Western Colorado found some offensive rhythm and closed out the the second half of the first quarter outscoring Adams State 11-3 to take a 15-8 lead into the second.Western Colorado held a 15-5 edge with 62 seconds left in the first before Zakiya Beckles hit a three to keep the deficit in single digits for Adams State.

Beckles three near the end of the first quarter sparked a 9-0 run that extended into the second for the Grizzlies. Beckles was the majority contributor scoring seven of the nine points to cut the Grizzlies deficit to one, 15-14.

The Mountaineers one again responded to the Grizzlies surge with an 11-2 run to go back up 10, 26-16, with 3:12 left in the first half. Maddie Dorris hit a jumper with just of two minutes on the clock to make it an eight-point game as neither team scored again before the break.

Coming out of halftime, both teams found their groove on offense as the Grizzlies and Mountaineers combined for 40 third quarter points. Their scoring output in the third quarter alone nearly matched the first half scoring of 44 combined points. 

Through the first five minutes each team nearly matched each other shot for shot. The Mountaineers managed to stay in front the whole time but the Grizzlies kept the game in reach. Midway through the quarter it was 37-31 in favor of the visitors.

Western Colorado managed to string together a 7-0 scoring run to give themselves a double figure lead, 44-31. After scoring 13 points in the first five minutes of the third, Adams State only managed in five points in the final five minutes.

Despite the late struggles in the third quarter, the Grizzlies bounced back in the fourth scoring 20 points and holding the Mountaineers to just 12 to nearly mount the comeback. The Mountaineers hit a jumper to grab their largest lead of 14 points, 50-36, but it did not hold up for long.

Following the made shot in the first 12 seconds of the fourth, the Grizzlies outscored the Mountaineers 11-2 to cut the lead to just five points, 52-47, at the midway point of the quarter.

A pair of three-pointers from Brooke Neal were pivotal in helping the Grizzlies surge back into the game. A three-point play from Hollins and two made free throws from Lowendie Laporal made up the rest of the run for the Grizzlies.

The Mountaineers looked to stay in front by two possessions but a Ki'asha Harris layup along with hard contact drew the foul for the three-point play. With 4:33 left in the game, the Grizzlies trailed by just two points, 52-50.

Western Colorado answered with a deep three and a fastbreak layup off a steal to go back up five, 55-50. Neal immediately countered with a layup as well before free throws determined the outcome.

The Grizzlies had chances as they went to the line three times in the final three minutes of the game but went just 2-6 in that span as the Mountaineers held on for the four-point victory. The other two points for the Grizzlies came on a Beckles layup.

Hollins and Neal led the Grizzlies offense with 13 points apiece on the night. Both players hit five shots in the game as Hollins went 5-6, while Neal was 5-8. Neal also had a game-high four assists and was a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc. Beckles chipped in nine points off the bench on 4-6 shooting.

Three Mountaineers finished with double-digit points.Samantha Coleman led the way with 14 on a 3-6 shooting with all three made shots coming from three-point range. She was also 5-6 at the free throw line. Tammarrah Gothard added 11 points and had five boards to go along with four assists. Kattie Najvar also scored 11 points off the bench on a 5-7 shooting performance and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.

The Grizzlies will hit the road for their next four games. They get the trip started on Friday, Jan. 25 at Colorado Christian.