The Metro State women (9-4, 6-0) were undefeated in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference basketball entering play Saturday, and they are developing depth because of a series of injuries and the flu bug.
Paige Powers suffered a separated shoulder in a freak, noncontact practice incident and is out two to three weeks, Danielle Ellerington is sidelined by a head injury, and Jessica Grubb and Shaquania Lundy are just returning from injuries.
“When you look at adversity long enough, it’s an opportunity for other players to mature and gain game experience,” Roadrunners coach Dave Murphy said. “That’s what you want in late February, eight or 10 kids with game experience who are ready to go.”
Freshmen Stacey Cox and Megan Sinclair started in place of Powers and Ellerington in Friday’s 82-81 victory over Mesa State and played with surprising maturity, Murphy said.
Cox, a 5-foot-9 guard from Spokane, Wash., produced 11 points, four assists and two steals in 29 minutes. Sinclair, a 5-11 forward from Victoria, Australia, had six points, five rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes.
Mainstay freshman starter Jessica von Tillow scored 16 points and hauled down eight rebounds, and another freshman, Erica Valenzuela, a former Pomona High School athlete, had five assists in 19 minutes.
“They played with great poise and tremendous energy,” Murphy said. “This year our young players can step in and play immediately. A lot of players are playing a lot of minutes.”
Indeed, 10 players average at least 11.2 minutes.
Murphy predicts a full-strength team in seven to 10 days, just in time to meet crosstown rival Regis on Jan. 24. “We have a lot of motivation for Regis, but we’re excited to play everybody,” Murphy said.
Regis (14-2, 6-0) has won eight of its past nine games and cruised past Western State 60-42 on Friday. Denise Lopez, a junior from Ranum High, had an impressive stat line in 26 minutes, highlighted by seven steals and including 13 rebounds, four assists and a 3-for-4 mark from the field for nine points.
Sleeping giant?
The University of Colorado-Colorado Springs men’s program grabbed the RMAC spotlight Tuesday with its release of coach Lance Hammond and installation of RMAC Hall of Famer Doug Schakel.
Hammond, who was 1-13 this season, 2-38 overall, did not decide between resigning and being fired by Wednesday’s deadline, so it is considered a firing, according to assistant athletic director Doug Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald emphasized the decision was based solely on the team’s on-court performance.
“There’s nothing disciplinary, nothing legal,” Fitzgerald said.
Schakel, who was out of state playing in a golf school, cut short the session and will run his first practice Monday. Athletic director Stephen Kirkham directed Wednesday’s 74-60 victory over Colorado College – his 300th win – and Saturday’s game against powerhouse Nebraska-Kearney.
If Schakel agrees to coach in the long term, the moribund program – 14-79 since 2002 and 112-388 since its 1987 inception – might progress. But unless the scholarships increase, a veteran coach, a large and growing population, and new dormitories might not matter.
The Mountain Lions offer three full scholarships. By comparison, Metro State, which holds a series record of 26-0 against UCCS, offers 10.
“There’s a lot of hope but nothing official,” Fitzgerald said. “We anticipate improved scholarship money next year and a vastly improved situation the next three years.”
The money will come from several areas: fundraising, institutional sources and long-term gifts.
