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Metro steals one on road, prepares for conference tournament
Bratton's game-high 20 points leads Metro to 7th-straight win
By Heather Embrey
hembrey@mscd.edu

Photo by Amie Cribley • acribley@mscd.edu Metro point guard Megan Johnson, right, uses her off-arm to find some room on Mines guard Emily Przekwas, left, in the Roadrunners’ 66-63 conference win. Johnson only scored four points on the night, but two came with one second left from the free-throw line.

Seven seems to be the women’s basketball team’s lucky number. Metro took a win over the Colorado School of Mines Feb. 24, pushing their winning streak to seven with a conference victory, defeating the Orediggers 66-63 at Volk Gymnasium in Golden.

Metro took the court with energy and confidence that night. Head coach Dave Murphy did an excellent job of putting the right players in the starting role as guard Ashley Mickens, forward Cassondra Bratton, guard Megan Johnson and forwards Megan Sinclair and Anne-Marie Torp led the team to a tight victory. Bratton was Metro’s leading scorer in the Mines game with 20 points, 9-of-11 from the free-throw line, and four rebounds. Bratton seemed to take it upon herself to help put the Roadrunners in a position to win.

“Our team doesn’t get the credit we deserve. We don’t play to win, we play to show what a great team we are and that we can compete with anyone,” Bratton said.

The game seemed lethargic until the last five minutes of the first half, when Metro caught a second wind and ended the first half on a 15-9 run giving them a 39-33 lead.

Metro struggled well into the second half as they allowed Mines to find their scoring touch. The Roadrunners held on at 47-41, but the Orediggers went on a 14-2 run to grab the lead with seven minutes left to play.

Things looked bleak for Metro as Mines took the lead and the crowd turned ugly. A few Metro supporters had had enough bad calls from referees and began taunting.

“Go back to Foot Locker where you belong!” shouted one irate fan.

Tensions were high as Mines had the game in hand with three minutes left, leading 61-57. But they found out that Metro would not go quietly.

With under a minute remaining in the game, Mines committed consecutive fouls that sent guards Mickens and Paige Powers to the line. Both were clutch as they shot 4-4 from the line, giving Metro a one-point lead with five seconds to go.

Clinging to a 64-63 lead, Metro took another foul that put Megan Johnson on the line. Johnson put the icing on the cake sinking the last two free throws.

When asked how Mickens dealt with the pressure of the game on her shoulders, she reflected back to Feb. 2 when she missed a crucial free throw against Nebraska-Kearney that may have cost her team a victory. It was the last time Metro dropped a game.

“I didn’t want to be the reason we lost,” Mickens said. “I just took a deep breath and focused on the goal. Since the Nebraska-Kearney game, I made it my mission to make every free-throw shot possible. During practices we shot free throws more than anything else, and I think that’s what helped me during the game.”

Powers was the other Roadrunner with the immense pressure of last minute free throws that led to the big conference win. She was intent on winning the game and had a different strategy on her shots.

“I have been in that situation before where my free throws would have won or lost a game, but I knew I needed to come through for my team,” Powers said.

But as the game came to a close, the Metro faithful, including President Stephen Jordan, got on their feet and started chanting “defense” over the very quiet Mines fans.

The Roadrunners finished their regular season with a 22-5 overall record and a 15-4 record in conference play. Metro clinched the third seed in the RMAC tournament and will host the same Colorado School of Mines team Feb. 28 at the Auraria Events Center.