Metro 65 – Fort Lewis 75

The Metro women’s basketball team dug an early hole they could never escape from in the semi-final of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout March 5 against No. 4 Fort Lewis College.

The ’Runners were one of two teams to beat the 29-win Skyhawks, when they defeated them 75-65 earlier in the season.

It was a great start for Metro as they went up 6-0 and held FLC to 0-7 from the floor in the first four minutes.

From left: guards Jasmine Cervantes, Alyssa Benson, Erin Doherty and Leandra Sands provide cheers of support for the team during the first half of the RMAC Shootout semifinals against No. 4 ranked Fort Lewis March 5 at the Colorado State Fairgrounds Event Center in Pueblo. Photo by Cora Kemp • special to The Metropolitan

Fort Lewis controlled the rest of the half as they shot 50 percent from the field and forced Metro into 16 turnovers. When Metro did break the Fort Lewis press they missed several layups underneath the hoop, including four in the first half alone.

“You just can’t do that against good teams, you play the No. 4 team in the country and you break the press,” Head Coach Linda Lappe said.

It was a different team that came out of the Colorado State Fair Events Center locker room for the second half. Metro started with a 15-5 run in the first five minutes. Freshman guard Emily Wood scored 13 of the 15 points in the run including three layups and a 3-pointer.

“At halftime we said that we wanted to attack and get to the rim and my teammates gave me passes and got me to the rim” Wood said.

The deficit was down to six with 15 minutes remaining, but the ladies would not get closer as sophomore Jasmine Cervantes would foul FLC’s Lauren McCulloch on a 3-pointer and she drained all three foul shots. Metro shot 47 percent from the field in the second half. RMAC Player of the Year and FLC guard Allison Rosel was limited to eight points and six rebounds for the night. Fort Lewis shot 33 percent from outside and was outrebounded by Metro, 39-28.

The loss ended Metro’s season as they finished 17-12. Metro guard Kristin Valencia was named RMAC East Defensive Player of the Year and named to the east first team.

“I think the future is really bright, we had a lot of young players get some valuable experience and that’s going to help them going into next year,” Lappe said.