ALAMOSA, Colo. - Adams State Women's Basketball came up just short in its final home game of the season, falling to the Westminster College Griffins 64-62. This loss brings the Grizzlies record to 2-21 overall and 2-17 in the RMAC.

The Grizzlies went toe-to-toe with the Griffins (19-4, 17-2 RMAC) but a late foul call that went in the visiting team's favor sent them to the line for two free throws that help them seal the game and spoil Senior Day.

Prior to the game's tip-off, Adams State honored its three seniors for their contributions to the women's basketball program in Brooke Neal, Madison Merschel, and Ki'asha Harris. 

The Grizzlies came out hot keeping pace with the Griffins early. Ki'asha Harris kicked off the scoring for Adams State with a layup early in the first. Harris followed up with a blocked shot on the other end which set up a Stephanie Ruiz three to make it 5-5 a minute and a half in.

Both teams traded baskets before Adams State strung together a pair of baskets to go up by four. Westminster College responded with 5 straight points to go up by one with 3:30 to go in the first.

Adams State went on an 8-2 run to close out the quarter and give them seven-point lead. A Danielle Jimenez three sparked the run and brought the Grizzlies to a 21-14 lead at the end of the first.

The Griffins opened the second with a layup only for the Grizzlies to respond with a lay up of their own by way of Madison Merschel. Brooke Neal the responded to a Griffins layup with one of her own. Four minutes in to the second, the Grizzlies held a five-point lead with a score of 25-20.

The Grizzlies then slowed down scoring with the Griffins going on a 9-0 run for the next three minutes putting the Griffins up by four. Neal stopped the run putting in a layup and Harris adding one more before half to make the score 31-29 in favor of WC.

At the half, Brooke Neal led the Grizzlies in the scoring department with six points. Jimenez and Ruiz each added five points. Olivia Elliss led all scorers with 17 points at the half for Westminster College going 8-9 from the field. Westminster College pulled down 11 offensive rebounds in the first half grabbing 26 total.

Westminster opened up the second half play with six straight points. A Neal three stopped the streak and cut the lead to five three minutes into play. It didn't take long for Westminster College to continue scoring. The Griffins extended the lead to 13 before the Grizzlies began their to come back.

Closing out the third quarter, the Griffins held a 12 point lead, 50-38.

The Grizzlies did not go away, making the fourth quarter an exciting one. Brooke Neal began with a layup followed by a Ki'asha Harris layup plus the and-one attempt to cut the Griffin lead to single digits.

The Grizzlies continued their run with Neal hitting a pair of free throws followed by a Zakiya Beckles three to cut the game to four. With 7:43 left in the game the score read 52-48 Griffins.

Westminster College turned around and scored a quick four points to extend the lead to eight, but a Stephanie Ruiz three slowed the Griffins scoring. A pair of layups by Harris and Ruiz brought the lead to two.

After a stop on the defensive side, Neal was fouled and drain both free throws to tie the game up at 60 with :47 left on the clock.

The Griffins went 2/2 from the free throw line with :31 seconds left in the game. After a Grizzlies timeout, Brooke Neal put up a jumper that was just off with :15 second left only to have Zakiya Beckles grab the board and put it in to tie the game up with :11 seconds left.

Back on defense, Neal was called for a late foul with :02 left in the game. That put Olivia Elliss on the line who made both from the line. With no timeouts left, the Grizzlies were not able to get a shot off and ultimately fell 64-62.  

The Grizzlies had players in double-digits with Brooke Neal leading the way with 15 points on 4-13 shooting, 1-4 from deep, and a perfect 6-6 at the free throw line. Harris put in 12 on 4-6 FG and 4-5 FT. Beckles put in 10 on 4-9 from the floor and 2-4 from three. Ruiz scored 10 points on 4-9 from the floor and 2-4 from deep. Beckles also added four steals for the Grizzlies. As a team, the Grizzlies shot 38.4% from the floor going 22-57. From three, Adams State went 7-20 totaling 35%. The Grizzlies went 11-15 from the line shooting 73.3%.

For the Griffins, Olivia Elliss recorded a double-double with 31 points and 10 boards. The team went 25-58 from the field shooting 43.1%. From deep, the Griffins went 2-12 totaling 16.7%. From the line, the Griffins went 12-15, shooting 80%.

Adams State is back in action next weekend as they travel to Western Colorado and Colorado Mesa. They take on Western Colorado Friday, Feb. 22 and Colorado Mesa Saturday, Feb. 23. Both games are set for 5:30 p.m. tip-offs.