DURANGO, Colo. – The rare Tuesday night trip over Wolf Creek Pass is always treacherous, however, for the Adams State University women's basketball team the toughest spot they were in was an 11-point deficit. The Grizzlies outscored the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks 31-18 in the fourth quarter for a narrow five-point win, 76-71, here on Bob Hoffman Court inside Whalen Gymnasium.
The Grizzlies were held scoreless for the first 6:47 of the game thanks to the stifling defense by the Skyhawks. The Grizzlies scored nine points in the next 3:17 as they went 7-of-8 from the free throw line and had one field goal on 13 attempts and trailed 13-9.
The Grizzlies were outscored in the second quarter 14-10 as they were 5-of-16 from the field but 0-of-6 in the quarter, and 0-of-12 in the half, from beyond the arch. They trailed the Skyhawks by eight, 27-19, at the break.
The Grizzlies cashed in on 10-of-20 shots from the field and had three treys to keep pace with Fort Lewis, who cashed in on 26 points as well.
In the fourth quarter the Grizzlies went to the free throw line 18 times, cashing in on 14 of them as they scored 31 points.
In the game, Adams State hit 24-of-65 (36.9 percent) from the field, 4-of-22 (18.2) from beyond the arch but shined from the line by hitting 24-of-30 (80 percent) from the free throw line.
Nyeniea John had a career night as she scored 19 points with 11 of those points coming from the free throw line as she was 11-of-14. She was strong all over the court with six rebounds and two steals.
Sharmayne Finley scored 14 points,
Kiiyani Anitielu scored 14 points and
Elaina Watson scored ten points.
With the win the Grizzlies remain in fourth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) standings with an 11-6 conference mark and a 15-8 overall mark. The win is the third straight. The Grizzlies remain in action on Friday when they travel to Gunnison to warm up Paul Wright Gym with a RMAC tilt against the Western Colorado University Mountaineers. Tip off is set for 5:00 p.m.
