Box Score

DENVER - Metro State built a nine-point halftime lead and went on to top Regis University 67-57 on Saturday at home in a battle of previously unbeaten Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams.  The Roadrunners improved to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the RMAC, while Regis fell to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in the RMAC.

Cassondra Bratton (Arvada, Colo./Pomona H.S.) poured in a season-high 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds, shooting 7-of-12 from the floor to lead all scorers.  Tawny Drexler (Golden, Colo./Golden H.S.) recorded her second double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds, including eight offensive boards.  Emily Wood (Louisville, Colo./Monarch H.S.) tied a career high with 15 points, hitting 3-of-6 from the outside.  Jasmine Cervantes (Johnstown, Colo./Berthoud H.S.) had a well-rounded stats line of 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals.

The Roadrunners forced 23 turnovers off a season-high 18 steals, led by Kristin Valencia (Moriarty, N.M./Moriarty H.S.) with seven steals, a career high for the RMAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.  Bratton, Drexler and Cervantes each had three.  Valencia also scored seven points.

Regis actually outshot Metro State, hitting 43.9 percent from the floor, compared to 39.1 percent for Metro State.  But the Roadrunners outrebounded the Rangers 38-29 and committed just 13 turnovers.  Metro State also scored 17 second chance points and 38 points in the paint.

Metro State jumped out to a 13-4 lead just over six minutes into the game and held a 26-17 lead with six minutes left in the half.  Regis scored six straight points to cut the lead to three, but a 6-0 run by the Roadrunners closed out the half and gave Metro State a 32-23 at halftime.

Valencia buried a 3-pointer with 11 minutes to go in the second half to cap a 10-0 run and give the Roadrunners a 24-point lead at 54-30.  Brandi Valencia (Moriarty, N.M./Moriarty H.S.) later hit two free throws to push the lead to 25 points at 59-34 with eight minutes left, the largest lead of the game.

Regis hit 11-of-14 free throws and hit 4-of-4 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the final 7:16 to get back into the game and cut the final margin to 10 points.

Metro State will be off until Jan. 2 when it travels to Mesa State for a 6 p.m. game.