Box Score

WAYNE, Neb. — No. 10 Metro State blew open a close game in the final nine minutes to defeat No. 12 Fort Lewis 60-42 in the second round of the NCAA Division II women's basketball playoffs tonight in Rice Auditorium.

The Roadrunners ousted the Skyhawks by limiting Fort Lewis to its lowest offensive output in five years. In fact, the 42 points matched the lowest total in head coach Mark Kellogg's seven years at Fort Lewis — a 55-42 loss to Colorado State-Pueblo on Feb. 15, 2007.

“Obviously, it's a tough loss. It's a tough way to go out when we just couldn't make any shots,” said Kellogg, whose team shot just 30.4 percent from the field (17 of 56) and 21.1 percent from behind the arc (four of 19). “I thought we battled with them. We held them to 60 points and maybe that gave us a chance to stay in the game. We battled them defensively.

“We cut the lead to three in the second half, and then just couldn't get over that hump,” said Kellogg. “We just couldn't get it going offensively and we just didn't make shots.”

The Roadrunners led 31-23 at the half, but every time the Skyhawks would have a mini-run to cut into the lead, Metro State would answer. A three-pointer by Katerina Garcia 2:23 into the second stanza sliced the lead to 32-29, but then Metro State went on a 9-1 run of its own over the next six minutes. Erika Richards' two free throws with 8:48 remaining got the deficit to a workable five points at 41-36, but the Roadrunners countered by scoring on three of their next four possessions to built the lead back up to 11 with 7:06 remaining at 47-36. Fort Lewis would score just six more points down the stretch.

“They just had easier buckets,” Kellogg said of the Roadrunners, who won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season titles by a single game over FLC the past two years, only to see the Skyhawks rally for RMAC Shootout championships both seasons.

“They made us work too hard and we weren't making contested shots,” he added. “You tip your hat to Metro. That's a great team. We just have trouble figuring out ways to score against them.”

Garcia, who went 3-of-5 from behind the arc, was the lone Skyhawk to finish in double figures with 12 points.

Fort Lewis was limited to a season-low four assists. Garcia, who came into the game flirting with the school record for most assists in a single season, had no helpers. Her 129 assists in 2011-12 are second to Abby Jackson's 136 in 2009-10 — yet Jackson appeared in eight more games because of FLC's deep run to the national championship game.

“It was so uncharacteristic of us,” said Kellogg. “We just didn't share the ball like we do normally and didn't make shots. That's what it comes down to this time of the year.”

Metro State's Jasmine Cervantes led all scorers with 18 points and matched FLC's team output with four assists. Kristin Valencia had 10 points and nine rebounds.

Fort Lewis, which shattered the school record for free throw efficiency in one season by shooting 75.6 percent from the charity stripe (495 of 655) in 2011-12, failed to get to the foul line with any regularity against Metro State. The Skyhawks only took six free throws in the game, making four.

The Roadrunners, on the other hand, went to the line often and made the most of their chances. Metro State shot 77.8 percent from the line (14 of 18) — a 10-point difference that tilted the deceivingly large margin of victory, if not the ultimate outcome, in their favor.

The Skyhawks won the rebounding battle 35-34, with 17 of those caroms coming on the offensive end. The extra chances meant FLC had more seven more field goal attempts than the Roadrunners. But Metro State was workmanlike, if not overly efficient, from the field, shooting 44.9 percent (22 of 49).

The loss meant the end to the careers of FLC's five seniors — Stephanie Beeman, Mary Rose Paiz, Jenna Santistevan, Dana Schreibvogel, and Jamie Simmons. All but Simmons, who joined the team last fall, played four seasons in a Skyhawk uniform. The quartet of Beeman, Paiz, Santistevan, and Schreibvogel finished their careers with an overall record of 117-20 (.854) and a near-perfect home court mark of 57-1 (.983) in Whalen Gymnasium. Fort Lewis won two RMAC regular season titles (2008-09, 2009-10), two RMAC Shootout crowns (2010-11, 2011-12), and advanced to the NCAA playoffs all four years during their careers — highlighted by a trip to the 2010 NCAA Division II championship game. The Skyhawks were also ranked in the USA TODAY ESPN Top 25 each week during their four years at Fort Lewis.

“We lose five seniors and I love them all to death,” said Kellogg. “They gave us everything — they gave us their heart and soul for four years. And Simmons couldn't have worked out better in her one year here. I love them like my own kids. It's a tough way for those kids to go out. They all had great careers here and are leaving a great legacy behind.

“We hope the younger kids hurt as bad (as the senior) and want to be back and understand how hard they have to work,” he added.

Metro State advances to the Central Region championship game at 6 p.m. (MDT) Monday, where they'll face the nation's top-ranked team in Wayne State. The Wildcats defeated No. 20 Augustana (S.D.), their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference nemesis, 63-40 tonight.