RMAC Women's Basketball Release #4

Grizzlies will take 5-game winning streak on the road for start of RMAC play Friday and Saturday

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Click here to view the fourth Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) women's basketball release of the 2010-11 season. Monday's release includes RMAC/Baden  Players of the Week, league standings, a list of recent results and upcoming games, news and notes from around the league, a list of RMAC doubles-doubles and a look at the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA) Divisoin II Coaches Poll.

The Grizzlies expanded their winning streak to five games over the holiday weekend, posting a 2-0 record at the Colorado State-Pueblo Chuck Stephens Classic with wins over Drury (Mo.) University and the University of Dubuque (Iowa) on Friday and Saturday. ASC is now 5-1 on the young season, and trail just Fort Lewis (5-0) and Metro State (4-0) in the conference standings as they prepare to begin their RMAC schedule on Friday.

Senior guard Vera Jo Bustos (Las Vegas, N.M.) the RMAC's preseason player of the year, got her weekend off to a stellar start against Drury on Friday, setting a pair of ASC records for 3-pointers and for total points. Bustos hit 8-of-13 from the beyond the arc, a new available history (1997/98-present) record for the Grizzlies, and ended the game with an Adams State Divison II era (1992/93-present) record 36 points, breaking her own record of 35. Bustos' 36 points in the contest were the best single-game performance in the RMAC this season, as were her eight triples. Her 36-point performance was crucial, as the Grizzlies pulled out an 82-79 overtime thriller over the Panthers, and eight of Bustos' points came in the overtime period.

As an encore, Bustos moved to the top of the Grizzlies' D-II era career scoring list against Dubuque on Saturday, surpassing Meagan Hoffman's (2001-05) record of 1,378 with 3 minutes, 28 seconds remaining in the first half on a jumper from the free throw line. She ended the game with 10 points, increasing her career total to 1,384 points and counting. Her performances netted her Chuck Stephens Classic MVP honors, her second tournament MVP award of the season after doing the same at the Adams State Bankers Classic.

But Bustos wasn't the only player to shine for the Grizzlies over the weekend. Junior Kelsie Kruger (Alamosa, Colo.) was also named to the all-tournament team for Adams State, as she put up numbers of 25 points, 16 rebounds and three assists in two games and was the Grizzlies' leading scorer in an 80-56 win over Dubuque on Saturday.

Senior Kendra Coveal (Albuquerque, N.M.) posted her second double-double of the season on Saturday, scoring 11 and grabbing 10 caroms. Her two double-doubles is tied for the RMAC lead.

The Grizzlies have put up at least 80 points in each of their last four games, and won those games by an average of more than 21 points. Since the start of the 2004-05 season, ASC is 19-2 when reaching the 80-point mark, and have won their last 11 such games.

Adams State opens its RMAC schedule on the road this weekend, heading right back to Pueblo on Friday, Dec. 3 for a match-up with CSU-Pueblo, and travelling onward to Colorado Springs on Saturday, Dec. 4 to face the Mountain Lions of UC-Colorado Springs.

The ThunderWolves will bring a 2-1 record into Friday's game. After opening their season with a 65-48 win at Oklahoma Panhandle State, the ThunderWolves went 1-1 at their home tournament. After scoring a 70-60 victory over Dubuque on Friday, CSU-Pueblo suffered a 68-56 loss at the hands of Drury on Saturday in the tournament's final game.

The Grizzlies and CSU-Pueblo split their regular season meetings last year, as each team won on its home court, but the ThunderWolves recorded a RMAC Shootout victory over the ASC to knock the Grizzlies out of the conference tournament on March 2 at Plachy Hall. Both teams earned berths into the NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament last season and are currently listed in the "others receiving votes" category of the latest WBCA Division II poll, release Nov. 23.

On Saturday Adams State will face a UCCS squad that sports a 1-3 mark. After dropping their first three games, the Mountain Lions recorded a 70-67 victory over Emporia (Kan.) State on Nov. 27.

Fans unable to make the trek to Pueblo and Colorado Springs can still follow both the men's and women's basketball teams on their conference road trip. All games will be available via live stats; for Friday's games against CSU-Pueblo click here and for Saturday's match-ups at UC-Colorado Springs click here. All games will also be available via live radio broadcast at www.kspk.com, and can be seen live through AmericaOne (formerly B2TV). For more information about ordering single-game and season viewing passes click here.

Visit ascgrizzlies.com for the latest news and info on Adams State College Athletics.