Metro's weekend warriors

Roadrunners win by combined 78 points in back-to-back games

By Matt Gunn
gunnma@mscd.edu

If NCAA Division II rankings were determined by margin of victory alone, the Metro women's basketball team's 78 combined points over Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Christian University would place them at the top.

The Roadrunners' intelligent defense, combined with a relentless transition offense led to two of their biggest Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference wins this season, an 88-36 blowout of the Orediggers, and a 72-46 victory over the Cougars.

And Metro was able to get everyone involved in the games.

"Regardless of what time of year it is, when opportunity knocks, you've got to go forward," head coach Dave Murphy said. "You've got to have some courage for your kids, and you've got to have the guts to play them."

Against the Orediggers, freshman Stacey Cox led all scorers with a career-high 21 points.

Three other Roadrunners scored in double digits, including sophomore Megan Johnson, junior Rianna Harris and sophomore Danielle Ellerington. Johnson went 5-6 from beyond the arc, and the Roadrunners scored 45 points off three-pointers.

Freshman Erica Valenzuela's inside presence accounted for 10 rebounds, and she also forced a number of jump balls throughout the game.

Metro went on a 19-6 run in the first 10 minutes of play. Mines' tactic of slowing the pace was ineffective, as the Roadrunner defense continued to press. Metro went into the locker room at halftime with a 41-22 lead.

The Roadrunners didn't let up in the second half. The Orediggers couldn't find an answer for Metro's big offense. Mines' top scorer was forward Angela Pearson with eight points, while guard Julie Marshall got her teammates involved with 11 assists.

The Orediggers' biggest defensive threat, 6-foot-3-inch center Ashley Gronewoller fouled out midway through the second half. By that point Metro was leading by a 38-point margin of 67-29, and there were a lot of smiles on the 'Runners' side of the court.

"I was having a good time and letting it flow with my team," Cox said. "It was really fun."

At the end of the game Metro forced 29 turnovers, accounting for 41 points.

The Roadrunners' aggressive play continued against the Colorado Christian Cougars the next night.

In the 72-46 blowout, sophomore guard Paige Powers saw her first significant playing time after sitting out three games with a shoulder injury.

"I feel good to finally play," Powers said. "It's not fun sitting on the bench in street clothes, so I feel good."

In 18 minutes, Powers worked to get her shot back, and accounted for 13 Metro points.

Once again, Cox led the Roadrunner offense with 20 points. Cox began the game by hitting six-straight shots from beyond the arc.

Coach Murphy attributed the success to good preparation.

"Well, it depends on match-ups," Murphy said. "We guessed what the match-up would be tonight and we got lucky.

"It was an opportunity where we're telling our perimeter kids to look and see what the match-ups would be like and be aggressive, and Stacey got the message."

The Roadrunners' matchups led to a dominating performance. Metro outscored Colorado Christian 24-10 in the paint, and the Roadrunner bench outscored the Cougars 26-3.

Another important statistic for Metro was the19-4 advantage in second chance points, a number that shows that the Roadrunners attacked the boards aggressively after missed shots.

Both games gave the Roadrunners an opportunity to prepare for rival Regis University on Jan. 24. Going into the game, both teams were 9-0 against the RMAC. They split regular season meetings last year, and Metro ultimately beat Regis for the RMAC Championship.

"We've just got to be prepared mentally, and know what they're going to run," Powers said after the Colorado Christian game. "It's Regis and we're both undefeated, so we're excited."