Déją vu in Plachy as Bulldogs edge Grizzlies, 86-84, in Monday rematch

ALAMOSA - A rematch of Sunday night's Adams State JV women's basketball against Clarendon (Texas) College produced an eerily similar result on Monday night, as Tay Merriman (Inglewood, Calif.) and Alyssa Smith (Longmont, Colo.) each had double-doubles, but the Grizzlies were once again unable to overcome a 3-point happy Bulldogs squad in an 86-84 final.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs topped ASC 88-85, hitting 12 3-point tries. Clarendon took 15 fewer triples Monday, but still managed to sink 11. The loss dropped the ASC women's JV team to 0-4 this season, while Clarendon improved to 7-3.

The Bulldogs hit their first three tries from beyond the arc of the game and were out to a fast 11-3 lead after just two minutes of play. The lead was maintained for most of the first half, during which the Bulldogs hit 7-of-25 3-pointers, allowing the visitors to take a 44-35 lead into the half.

It didn't take long after the break for the Grizzlies to erase most of that deficit, as the Grizzlies started the second half on an 11-3 run. Smith, who scored a game-high 25 points and also had 12 rebounds, scored 16 in the second which included a run of seven straight for the Grizzlies to start the half.

With 17 minutes and 33 seconds left in the game, ASC had trimmed the Bulldogs lead to 47-46, and a Kelly Hillick (Colorado Springs, Colo.) layup gave the Grizzlies their first lead of the ballgame at with 14:11 remaining. A Shelby Janz (Cortez, Colo.) gave the Grizzlies their largest lead of the night. 53-51, but Clarendon quickly regained control./

Merriman, who also posted a double-double on Sunday, repeated the feat with 16 points and 13 boards, while sophomore Autumn Boyer (South Sioux City, Neb.) also hit double-figures again with 12 points and led the Grizzlies with five steals.

The Bulldogs expanded their lead to as many as seven points with 3:51 to go, but the Grizzlies still had some fight.

Down six, the Grizzlies scored five straight, including Smith's final four of the night, capped by a LiErin Wilson (Silverton, Colo.) free throw that the Grizzlies down by just one, 84-83, with 41 seconds on the clock.

But after Merriman fouled out, Alexa Welch hit the ensuing two free throws to put Clarendon back up by three.

Wilson returned to the free throw line to shoot a pair with 1.8 seconds left on the clock and hit the first, but the Grizzlies were unable to come up with a rebound for a game-tying shot attempt as Wilson's second free toss missed the rim, giving the ball to the Bulldogs.

The Grizzlies shot 41.1 percent (30-of-73) for the game compared to just 34.9 percent (29-of-83) for the visitors, but Adams State was only able to connect from long range twice in 13 attempts from beyond the arc.

The Grizzlies will continue their four-game homestand on Sunday, December 5 when Garden City (Kan.) CC comes to town for a 1:30 p.m. match-up.

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