With all-star Shay Powers leading the way, the Chadron State women’s basketball team threatened to win both of its home games last weekend, but the Eagles had to settle for a split when the second game slipped away from them in the final two minutes.
With Powers making 11 of 12 field goals shots and five of six free throws, good for 27 points, and also grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds, the Lady Eagles downed Fort Lewis 66-61 on Friday night.
The Eagles also scored 66 points in the second game, but Adams State came from behind to win it 74-66 and prevent the sweep. Powers also led the hosts Saturday night, making nine of 12 field goals while scoring 19 points and claiming a game-high nine rebounds.
Her 20-24 performance from the field raised the Longmont, Colo., sophomore’s shooting percentage to 56.5% (121-214) for the season. Needless to say, she was target of special defensive strategy in both games, but her quickness, deft ballhandling and silky touch usually prevailed.
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Particularly in the first game, the Eagles got lots of help from redshirt freshman point guard Kyra Tanabe, who scored 18 points and handed out nine assists, most of them to Powers in the paint for her variety of layups.
Powers scored 23 of her 27 points in the second and fourth quarters against Fort Lewis. She had just two points in the first quarter. That’s when Tanabe sank a pair of 3-pointers and teammates Kadyn Comer and Emily Archter each hit a trey as the home team jumped out to a 19-8 lead.
Powers tallied 10 points in the second period when the Eagles increased their lead to 35-19. The Skyhawks shot just 26% percent in the first half, making only seven of 27 field goal attempts. CSC was 11 of 25 for 44% in the opening half.
However, Chadron State’s 16-point intermission margin almost wasn’t enough. The visitors slapped a full-court press on the Eagles, forcing an array of turnovers that helped the Skyhawks outscore CSC 18-9 in the third quarter. That sliced the once-healthy lead to just seven points—44-37—when the frame ended.
Things got even tighter in the fourth. Twice the Eagles were ahead by only two points, but they never lost the lead completely, thanks largely to Powers’ 13 fourth-quarter points. The last time the margin was only two was after Fort Lewis freshman Lanae Billy hit three foul shots in a row with 36 seconds remaining to make it 62-60.
Both teams made one and missed one from the line in the next 20 seconds before Tanabe iced the verdict by hitting both charity shots with eight seconds left.
Free throws were plentiful down in the fourth. Fort Lewis went 14-of-18 at the line and the Eagles were seven-of-10.
Billy was the game’s leading scorer with 29 points. She was 11-of-16 on free throws, but hit only two of 18 three-point attempts. Kelsey Sorenson, a 6-foot-junior, added 17 points for the Skyhawks, 13 of them in the fourth quarter.
Led by Powers’ near-perfect shooting, the Eagles shot 45% from the field, compared to Fort Lewis’s 27.4%, and out-rebounded the Colorado team 48-31. However, Chadron State turned the ball over 29 times, 17 of them in the second half. Fort Lewis had 15 turnovers.
The Saturday night clash was a nip-and-tuck affair that included 10 ties and 10 lead changes before the Adams State women scored 13 of the final 15 points for their 74-66 triumph.
CSC led 64-61 with just over two minutes remaining, when the Grizzlies clawed their way to the win Their leading scorer, Kiiyani Anitielu, a 5-7 freshman who finished with 18 points, was a ringleader down the stretch. She began the rally by cashing in an old-fashioned 3-point play that tied the score at 64 and made all four of her free throws as time was winding down.
The Eagles had a 49-47 lead going into the fourth period. Both teams shot 50% from the field during that frame, but Adams State made eight baskets, one more than the Eagles. Both sank two 3-pointers, but the Grizzlies made all eight of their free throws and Chadron State was just one of seven at the line in the quarter to spell much of the difference.
Adams State also got 14 points from Angelline Nageak and 10 from Harmanie Dominquez. Besides Powers’ 19 points, Samiyah Worrell added 14 and Kyra Tanabe 12 for CSC. The Eagles also finally got some help from 6-3 Awoti Akoi, who had 10 points. She didn’t score in the first game, but grabbed six rebounds.
Saturday’s win improved Adams State’s record to 12-5 overall and 8-3 in the RMAC. Following the weekend split, the Eagles are 3-14 and 3-8.
Chadron State 66, Fort Lewis 61
Fort Lewis—Lanae Billy 29, Kelsey Sorenson 17, Avery Evans 10, Alyssa Adams 3, Kaitlyn Bell 3. Totals: 17-62 (4-34) 23-34 61 points, 31 rebounds, 15 turnovers.
Chadron State—Shay Powers 27, Kyra Tanabe 18, Samyiah Worrell 8, Emily Archter 8, Kadyn Comer 3, Claudia Dolinger 2. Totals: 22-49 (5-18) 17-21 66 points, 48 rebounds, 29 turnovers.
Fort Lewis 8 11 18 24 ---61
Chadron State 19 16 9 22 ---66
3-pointers: FLC—Billy 2, Evans 2. CSC—Tanabe 3, Achter 1, Comer 1.
Adams State 74, Chadron State 66
Adams State—Kilyani Anitielu 18, Angeline Negeak 14, Harmainie Dominguez 10, Taylar Dossey 7, Nyeniea John 6, Darlisha Reed 6, Sharmayne Finley 6, Elaina Watson 4, Riahana Davis 3. Totals: 28-65 (3-14) 15-19 74 points, 36 rebounds, 12 turnovers.
Chadron State—Shay Powers 19, Samiyah Worrell 14, Kyra Tanabe 12, Awoti Akoi 10, Allison Olsen 6, Claudia Dollinger 2, Elle Ravenscroft 2, Emily Achter 1. Totals: 26-59 (6-18) 8-16 66 points, 38 rebounds, 16 turnovers.
Adams State 16 16 15 27 ---74
Chadron State 15 13 21 17 ---66
3-pointers: ASU—Negeak 2, Dominguez 1. CSC—Tanabe 3, Worrell 2, Olsen 1.
