Box Score GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Amy Nelson (Richmond, Utah/Sky View H.S.) had 17 points and 11 rebounds to help Metro State hold off St. Mary's (Texas) 58-55 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Central Region tournament. The Roadrunners improved to 21-9 overall, while SMU fell to 22-7.

MSU Denver earned the No. 6 seed in the region and SMU was the No. 3 seed.

Nelson hit 5-of-6 at the line as she recorded her fourth double-double of the season. She was joined in double-figures scoring by Kristin Valencia (Moriarty, N.M./Moriarty H.S.) (14 points) and Emily Wood (Louisville, Colo./Monarch H.S.) (10). Valencia also had eight rebounds and four assists, while Wood made 2-of-5 from the outside.

Metro State shot 40.4 percent from the floor and made 12-of-15 (.800) at the line in the game, while holding the Rattlers to just 35.6 percent shooting.

The Roadrunners dug themselves into a hole early, trailing 9-2 less than three minutes in. A 10-0 run put MSU Denver back in the lead with 11 minutes to go in the first half. The Roadrunners closed the first half on a 10-0 run behind eight points from Nelson to lead 28-20 at the break.

SMU came back and led by one point several times during the second half. With MSU Denver trailing 54-53 with 4:07 left, two free throws from Valencia put the Roadrunners back in front for good. A 3-pointer by Cassie Lambrecht (Colorado Springs/Golden H.S.)--her only field goal of the game--put the Roadrunners ahead 58-54 with 1:49 to play. MSU Denver held SMU without a field goal in the final four minutes, going 0-for-6 during that stretch to close out the game.

The Roadrunners will face the winner of Midwestern State and Tarleton State at 5 p.m. on Saturday.