RMAC Shootout Championship: CSU-Pueblo 61, No. 4 Fort
Lewis 60
PUEBLO, Colo. - For the third consecutive season, CSU-Pueblo
defied the odds to capture the RMAC Shootout championship, becoming
just the third team in conference history to three-peat.
But this one was different. For many reasons.
In defeating its designated playoff foe in Fort Lewis, the
fourth-ranked team in the nation and likely host of next week's
NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament, of which CSU-Pueblo
earned an automatic bid with Saturday's 61-60 win, the Pack showed
amazing perseverence in overcoming adversity with the 2010 RMAC
Championship.
The ThunderWolves entered the 2010 RMAC Shootout without its top
scorer in Rachel Espinoza (Jr., Pueblo, Colo.), a
first-team all-RMAC selection this season who was lost in the first
two minutes of the Pack's RMAC quarterfinal win over Fort
Lewis. Instead of rolling over, the Pack rallied and allowed
others to rise to the top to lead the team, first past Colorado
Christian in the RMAC semifinals and then Fort Lewis Saturday
night.
Against Fort Lewis, the star for the ThunderWolves was
Katrina Selsor (Fr., Glenwood Springs, Colo.), who
somehow managed to top her 19-point, 15-rebound performance against
Colorado Christian Friday night with a career-high 28-point effort
Saturday. She was unstoppable, going 12-for-15 from the
field, and making the big plays the ThunderWolves needed down the
stretch.
With 2:29 remaining in the game, CSU-Pueblo had a 59-51 lead,
but Fort Lewis managed to go on an 8-0 run to seize the lead,
60-59, with 32 seconds remaining.
With one possession left and trailing by one, Selsor took the
call, going coast-to-coast to sink a layup with three seconds left,
icing the Pack's 61-60 victory.
Though the shot secured the Pack's third title, and the fourth
for CSU-Pueblo head coach Kip Drown, he said this one stands out.
"What this group accomplished is special, with all the adversity
they faced, and it's going to hold a special place with me for a
long time," Drown said.
Selsor nabbed RMAC Shootout MVP honors, and was joined on the
all-Shootout squad by Caitlyn Jewell (Sr., Pagosa Springs,
Colo.), who had eight points and five rebounds on the
night, and Kami Dahlberg (Sr., Peyton, Colo.), who
scored three big three-pointers in the first half, part of her 11
points overall, that have the Pack nearly a double-digit advantage
it would maintain for the greater part of the game.
Next on the Pack's docket is the Central Regional Tournament,
which will likely be held in Durango, Colo. at Fort Lewis
College. The ThunderWolves will find out their first-round
opponent Sunday night when the NCAA announces seedings for the
field of 64 in the Division II National Tournament.
