ALAMOSA, Colo.  Western Colorado pulled itself back from a 14-point third-quarter deficit to inch within four points of host Adams State University midway through the fourth quarter, but the Grizzlies fought off the rally by the Mountaineers to eventually earn a 61-49 Rocky Mountain Athletics Conference women's basketball victory Saturday in Plachy Hall.

Courtney Humbarger scored a career-high 13 points for Western while equaling a career-best in rebounds with 9 in the loss.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Adams State def. Western Colorado, 61-49
Records: Western Colorado 10-14 (8-11 RMAC), Adams State 12-13 (10-10)
Location: Plachy Hall, Alamosa, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Western had trailed by 14, 40-26, at the five-minute mark of the third quarter, but only by 10 at the period's end.
• A Samantha Coleman 3-pointer from the top of the arc would bring the deficit into single digits, 44-35, early in the fourth quarter.
• Adams pushed the lead back to 11 soon after but Katie Dalton was fouled when hitting a short jumper from in the paint and sank the and-one free throw to cut the Grizzlies' margin to eight.
• Dalton snared a defensive rebound on Adams' next possession and popped in another jumper that cut the ASU lead to just six, the closest the Mountaineers had been sin the first minute of the third period.
• Ky Buell picked up a steal on Adams' next time down the court, and the turnover turned into a pair of free throws by Brooklyn Seymour that drew Western to within four, 46-42, nearing the halfway point of the final quarter.
• A Laura Gutierrez 3-pointer would halt the Mountaineer momentum, and Adams would hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch while also coming away with five defensive rebounds to help ice the victory.

COURT NOTES

• Dalton won the opening tip for Western and completed the possession with the first basket of the game, the Mountaineers' only lead of the contest. Adams would answer with an 11-0 run.
• Neither team had a very successful second quarter as the teams combined for only 17 points, and suffered through a 5 minute, 12 second scoring drought early in the period.
• Turnovers bit the Mountaineers again against Adams. The Grizzlies scored 32 points off 26 Western turnovers in the game. In Adams' January 21 victory in Gunnison, the Mountaineers also had trouble with the Grizzlies' press and defensive pressure, turning it over 29 times in that loss.
• The Adams State season sweep was its first over the Mountaineers since the 2015-16 season and broke a string of nine consecutive wins by Western in the annual series.
• Dalton finished the contest Saturday with a game-high 16 points, while Adams State was led by Kaitlyn Bell's 15 points.
• Humbarger's nine boards spurred Western to a 35-25 edge in rebounding. And the Mountaineer defense allowed the Grizzlies to come away with just three offensive rebounds.

UP NEXT

• Western heads into a Monday matinee at home in Paul Wright Gym, facing Black Hills State University in an RMAC contest.
• Adams State is on the road Friday for a league game at Colorado School of Mines.