Women end game on 16-5 scoring run

Metro 59 – UCCS 47

Metro 55 – Mines 51

Winning five straight games is a great feeling for any team.

The Metro women’s basketball team won their fifth consecutive game during the first round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout when they defeated Colorado School of Mines 55-51 in Golden. The first round win came after the ’Runners defeated UC-Colorado Springs 59-47 Feb. 26 at the Auraria Event Center.

Metro began sluggish and found themselves down for most of the game.

From left, Metro guards Brandi Valencia, Chelsea Williamson, Kristin Valencia and Candice Kohn jog off the court after the Roadrunners' 59-47 victory over the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Feb. 26 at Auraria Event Center. Photo by Matt Gypin

“We started out slow, and were down big, by about 10,” Head Coach Linda Lappe said. “We couldn’t get anything going and we were lucky to be down by 10.”

The ’Runners were able to hang with Mines for most the game, but every time they cut the lead, the Orediggers would jump back out. Metro went on a 14-2 run near the end of the second half, and finally took a lead with about one minute remaining.

“[They] never gave up and were able to pull through at the end of the game,” Lappe said.

Lappe said the defense played better in the second half, and the strong defensive presence forced 22 Mines turnovers. “[We] played extremely hard and forced Mines into turnovers. It is promising to beat a great team like Mines when we didn’t play our best,” Lappe said.

The Roadrunners also won against UCCS Feb. 27 playing a strong first half, but had some scoring troubles.

“We were pretty sluggish offensively, [but] the D was good,” Lappe said about the first half.

The ‘Runners went into halftime with a four-point lead, and opened the second half with an 8-2 run. Several missed shots and turnovers by Metro allowed UCCS to stay close for most of the second, but they only held the lead once after the break.

Metro dominated the final seven minutes and finished on an 18-6 run. Metro shot just 36.7 percent from the floor, but held the Lions to a 22.2 shooting percentage in the second half (27.3 percent for the game). Freshman guard Brandi Valencia scored a team-high 14 points, while her sister Kristin scored eight points and grabbed 10 boards. Playing in their final regular season game, seniors Chelsea Williamson and Leandra Sands scored eight points each.

The team will play in the semifinal game against Fort Lewis, March 5 in Pueblo. The women haven’t won the RMAC Championship since 2005.