Lopers Fall to Old RMAC Foe, 63-58

Senior guard Elania Watson hit a left wing three with 1:28 remaining and Adams State took advantage of 24 turnovers to down Nebraska Kearney, 63-58, Saturday evening in Hays, Kan.

These games are part of a MIAA/RMAC Crossover Tournament. On Friday, the Lopers (4-1) bested Metro State, 74-66, while the Grizzlies (3-2) fell to tourney host Fort Hays State, 77-52. The Tigers faced Metro on Saturday night.

Adams is coming off a 25-9 season in which it made the second round of the NCAA Tournament (South Central Regional). Picked fourth in the RMAC preseason coaches' poll, ASU used a balanced offensive attack and scored 21 points off those turnovers to record its second all-time win over UNK in 24 chances.

In a game with 10 ties and 11 lead changes the Grizzlies used a 20-12 third quarter to take control. Senior guard Angelline Nageak hit three triples in the quarter with freshman forward Taejhuan Hill scoring nine as well. UNK got a bucket from freshman reserve Alex Flattery (Sioux City, Ia.) right before the buzzer to trail 49-42 heading to the fourth.

That's when graduate wing Meg Burns (Ankeny, Ia.) got hot. After Flattery hit a triple to begin the quarter, Burns scored UNK's next 11 points. She followed a layup with three triples that tied the game at 56 all with 4:27 remaining. While Flattery then gave the Lopers a brief lead, ASU tied things up for the final time on two free throws at the 2:16 mark.

Not surprisingly, UNK went back to the well, but Burns missed a left wing three at 1:56. The Grizzlies saw Watson hit her triple and then ASU followed another Burns miss with a mid-range jumper by graduate guard Brooke Rodgers. In the final 41 seconds, UNK missed three more shots and committed its final turnover.

Among Adams starters, Hill had a double double (16 points, 12 rebounds), Nageak had 14 points thanks to that big third with Watson at 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Finally, Rodgers led the Grizzly bench with six rebounds, five assists and four points.

Finishing plus 13 on the glass and shooting 32% like ASU did, the Lopers were led by Burns (21 points and Mullen senior wing Samantha Moore (11 rebounds, nine points, two assists, one steal). Burns went 5 of 9 from behind the arc with 10 of Moore's caroms coming on the defensive end. Finally, Flattery had a productive 16 minutes coming off the bench; nine points on 4 of 5 shooting.

The Lopers visit Wayne State Wednesday night.  This is the first meeting with the Wildcats (1-1) since Nov. 2019.