DURANGO, Colo.—Adams State sophomore Laura Gutierrez had a career night as the Grizzlies overcame a 17-point deficit to force not one, not two, but three overtimes here inside Whalen Gymnasium. Despite the heroic effortS by the Grizzlies, they fell 88-85.

Gutierrez set new career highs in field goals (10-of-21), three-pointers made (7-of-13), and points in the game as she was the Grizzlies' leading scorer with 27 points. In the two-game series with the Skyhawks, Gutierrez finished with 45 points going 17-of-39 from the field and 11-of-25 from beyond the arch with three rebounds, one assist, and four steals.

The Grizzlies, who are now 3-8 on the season, saw double-digit performances from freshman Angeline Nageak, who was disqualified in the fourth quarter, and freshman Elaina Watson, as both scored 14 points. As a team, the Grizzlies cashed in on 16 treys as they went 16-of-42 (38.1 percent) from beyond the arch.

The Skyhawks, who are 5-9 on the season, were led by Jordan Vasquez, who scored 29 points in the win.

Adams State outscored FLC 15-8 in the final quarter including a clutch three-pointer from junior Stephanie Ruiz to tie the game before the two teams traded buckets in the three overtimes. The overtime periods saw both teams jump out to leads and the opposing shooters tie the game up. In all game-clinching scenarios by the Grizzlies and Skyhawks, neither team appeared to want to end the game.

Adams State and Fort Lewis battled in the first quarter, but they allowed the Skyhawks to go on a 7-0 run and eventually led 16-8. The Grizzlies cashed in on four three-pointers and closed the gap to 18-14 at the end of the first.

The second quarter was just as tightly contested as the Grizzlies pulled within one at 23-22 but Fort Lewis charged back and had a 7-0 run to make the score 33-24, a nine-point advantage. The run was snapped by Laura Gutierrez, who hit her fourth trey of the first half. The Skyhawks saw the lead grow back to ten before taking a 43-36 lead into the break.

The momentum did not shift in the way of the Grizzlies to start the second half the Skyhawks rattled off a 10-0 run to take a 17-point advantage, 53-36, forcing Head Coach Jaime Green to call a timeout. The Grizzlies showed grit as they were able to cut the lead to just seven, 57-50, at the end of the fourth thanks in part to four treys by Adams State.

Just like the previous quarters, the Skyhawks continued to pull away, however, three-pointers proved to be money and the Grizzlies continued to cash in. The lead was down to just four points, 65-61 with just 3:39 remaining. With all the momentum Adams State continued to cut into the lead and made the score 65-63. The Grizzlies had three straight opportunities on one possession but couldn't score before ultimately tying the game at 65 with 1:04 remaining.

The Grizzlies will get very little time to ponder this game as they will be back in action in less than 22 hours as they are in Gunnison to take on the No. 21 Western Colorado Mountaineers, who defeated CSU Pueblo on Friday night 62-57.