#10 Metro State 60 #12 Fort Lewis 42
Metro State held Fort Lewis College to just 30 percent shooting as the Roadrunners defeated the Skyhawks 60-42 in the NCAA Division II Central Region Women's Basketball Tournament semi-finals played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne Saturday evening. Metro State, ranked 10th in the latest USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, advances to Monday's regional final with a 27-3 record while #12 Fort Lewis ends the year at 26-5.
Fort Lewis took an early 7-6 lead with 15:57 to play in the first half, then Metro State scored the next six straight points for a 12-7 lead and never trailed again. Metro State built an 11 point lead (26-15) late in the first half before finishing with a 31-23 advantage at intermission as the Roadrunners shot 52 percent (13 of 25) in the first half.
The Skyhawks got as close as three points early in the second half at 32-29, then Metro State went on a 9-1 run to go up 11 at 41-30. After Fort Lewis pulled within five at 41-36 with 8:48 to play, the Roadrunners pulled away down the stretch for the 60-42 win.
Jasmine Cervantes led Metro State in scoring with 18 points followed by Kristin Valencia with 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Metro State finished the game shooting 22 of 49 for 44.9 percent.
Katerina Garcia was the lone double figure scorer for Fort Lewis with 12 points while the top rebounder for the Skyhawks was Dana Schreibvogel with six boards.
