ALAMOSA, Colorado — In a Thursday night game, the Grizzlies continue their outstanding streak by winning their 8th straight game to move their record to 19-5(13-1 RMAC). With their 8th straight win the Grizzlies extended their lead for 2nd-place to 2.5 games with the regular season conference season wrapping up with just 6 more games to go.
In tonight's game, the Grizzlies won by a final score of 91-68 by outscoring Fort Lewis College in every single quarter except the fourth quarter. In the first three quarters the Grizzlies outscored Fort Lewis, 28-18 in the first quarter, 18-12 in the second quarter, and 27-15 in the third quarter to take a 28 point lead going into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, Fort Lewis did show some fight outscoring the Grizzlies by a final score of 23-18. Ultimately, it made no difference with the Grizzlies holding their 28-point lead going into the fourth quarter. By the end of the night the final lead for the Grizzlies was 23-points giving them a dominating home win to move their home record to 9-1 on the season.
Diving into the team statistics, the Grizzlies truly dominated on both sides of the ball by finishing the night shooting 58.7% from the floor, and 40% from the 3-point line, while also holding Fort Lewis to 68 points and 34.1% from the floor. Along with finishing with a below 35% shooting percentage for the game, the Grizzlies also forced 21 Fort Lewis turnovers, which included 14 steals by the Grizzlies. With this true dominance on defense and a stellar shooting night, the Grizzlies took control of tonight's game early and never let Fort Lewis have any hope of coming back in the game.
Individually for the Grizzlies they were led by Elaina Watson, Taejhuan Hill, Kiiyani Anitielu, and Jada Price. All four women scored double-digits on the night, with Watson leading the way with 21 points, on 10-14 shooting. Following close behind was Hill who finished the night with 19 points while also collecting 8 rebounds and 2 assists for an all-around great performance. Individually for Anitielu, she finished the night with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists which led the Grizzlies, while Price finished the night with a double-double collecting 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the team in rebounds. Elsewhere for the Grizzlies they had three women finish the night just below 10 points with 8 on the night. This included Ashiian Hunter, Brooklyn Long, and Mia Ervin who finished the night perfectly, making all four of the shots she attempted on the night. Overall, it was a great performance by every single Grizzly who stepped on the court.
Following tonight's game, the Grizzlies will have a week off before their next game when they will take on Western Colorado University. The game will be next Thursday, February 12th, at 5:30 PM MST. The game will be held at the home of Western Colorado in Gunnison, Colorado, as the Grizzlies will look to continue their outstanding play, winning their ninth straight game.
