Home > Sport

Metro falls in mountain-sized upset
Free throw in waning seconds sends Metro to second RMAC loss
By Eric Lansing
lansing@mscd.edu

Photo by Jeremy Billis • jbillis@mscd.edu Metro guard Ashley Mickens, left, looks for the open lane on Emporia State guard Tegan Stuart, right. Metro pulled off the huge upset against No. 1 ranked Emporia State Dec. 2 at the Auraria Events Center.

The women’s basketball team is pretty good. In fact, it is so good that it is currently 14th in the country after defeating the No. 8 and the No. 1 teams in the country on consecutive nights.

The last time the Roadrunners were nationally ranked was the 1997-98 season, so this is uncharted water for the current women’s basketball team, which now becomes the hunted instead of the hunter.

“We haven’t been nationally ranked since before my time,” head coach Dave Murphy said. “It is foreign territory to us, and we have to learn to walk with a target on our backs. We have to come and play with our A-game for 40 minutes.”

Unfortunately, in the team’s 58-57 loss to the Western State Mountaineers (5-7, 3-1 in the RMAC) on Jan. 4 in Gunnison, Colo., 40 minutes were three seconds too long.

The ’Runners jumped out to a 17-10 lead in the first half with Megan Sinclair’s six points and two steals, while Cassondra Bratton added three points, a rebound and a steal. But Western State ended the half on an 18-10 run to carry a one-point lead into halftime.

Guard Chelsea Wilkins scored eight points in the run, and forward Stephanie Warnke nailed a 3-point shot with one second left in the first half to give Western State a 28-27 lead.

The second half was a battle in itself as the teams went point-for-point with eight ties and nine lead changes until the final lead change that favored Western State at the free throw line.

With 55 seconds left in the game, Metro’s Ashley Mickens made a layup and was fouled by Western State’s Chelsea Wilkins to tie the game at 57. Mickens missed the ensuing free throw, and the Mountaineers grabbed the rebound with 31 seconds remaining.

Western State held the ball in order to take the last shot, and with three seconds left, Mickens committed a foul that sent Taryn Brennan to the line. Brennan missed the first free throw but went on to make the second, giving the Mountaineers a 58-57 lead.

Mickens threw up a final second shot, but it fell short, and the Mountaineers pulled off the upset.

“It looked like they just won the national championship,” Murphy said. “They were so excited over one win, which means every team is coming at us like we are their Super Bowl.”

Metro guard Paige Powers, whose minutes have been limited due to her recovery from shoulder surgery, played 15 minutes and scored four points on 2-of-5 shooting. Powers was named to the Preseason All-RMAC and All-East Division teams and was the team’s scoring leader last season.

When asked if Powers was needed for this team to get back on the winning track, Murphy said every player makes a contribution and that no one is required to be a hero. He added that every player on his team makes plays toward the team goal of winning, and no one player is more important than the other.

Metro’s two RMAC losses put them third in the RMAC standings behind 5-0 Nebraska-Kearney and 3-0 Regis. But Murphy isn’t too concerned and has faith in his team’s ability to bounce back.

“We like this part of the year to improve our team,” Murphy said about the slow start in RMAC play. “We are disappointed, but we are optimistic that we will gain momentum. It is like driving a car. Sometimes we got to put on the brake, but then we got to get back on the gas pedal and build back on that momentum.”

The loss brings the Roadrunners’ record to 10-3 and 3-2 in the RMAC. Metro looks to rebound from their loss when they take on New Mexico Highlands on Jan. 12 and Western New Mexico on Jan. 13, both at the Auraria Events Center.