CHADRON — February 13, 2016 — After losing a 70-68 heart-breaker to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs on a three-pointer with two seconds left in overtime on Friday night, the Chadron State College women's team overcame a 15-point second half deficit and defeated Metro State of Denver 50-47 at home Saturday night.

CSC coach Tim Connealy said the Eagles didn't play as well offensively against Metro State as they had the previous night, but commended his team's strong defensive effort and the ability to make some shots down the stretch that sealed the verdict.

Chadron State made just three of 24 field goal attempts in the first half and trailed 22-15 at intermission.  Metro hits its first five shots to open the third quarter, building a 32-17 lead.

But the momentum definitely swung to the Eagles' favor the remainder of the period. They caught fire, making eight of nine field goal shots, including three treys, to tie the score at 36 entering the final stanza.

Chadron State also tallied the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take a 43-36 lead, then suddenly lost its touch and missed 10 straight field goal tries in the next four minutes, but still held a one-point lead.

An old-fashioned 3-point play by Erin Graham with just over two minutes remaining broke the Eagles' scoring drought and center Maka Daysh scored on a putback following missed a 3-point shot. 

Metro State responded with a pair of free throws and a layup, to cut CSC's lead to 48-47 with 32 seconds remaining.  But the Roadrunners missed a free throw, Daysh grabbed the rebound and after Metro fouled to stop the clock, Graham made both free shots to secure the win.

The Eagles made just 28.3 percent (15-53) of its field goal shots, but sank 15 of 20 free throws and had only nine turnovers, half their season average. Metro shot 35.7 percent (20-56) from the field and was five of eight from the line.

Daysh led CSC with 15 points and 11 rebounds, giving her 11 double-doubles for the season, and Graham contributed 13 points and eight rebounds.

The Eagles got a big boost from senior Emma Block, who hit a pair of 3-pointers during the Eagles' third quarter surge.  She had missed the previous three games with a badly sprained ankle, but insisted on suiting up Saturday night because her parents had come from Denmark to see her play her final game in Chadron.  

Both Hannah Stipanovich and Georgia Ohrdorf scored 13 points to lead Metro, now 11-14 overall and 9-10 in the RMAC with just three regular season games to play. The Eagles are 8-15 and 8-11.