Bustos named MVP for second straight week

Kruger also tabbed for Chuck Stephens Classic All-Tourney Team

Vera Jo Bustos (left), named as the MVP, and Kelsie Kruger (right) were both picked to the Chuck Stephens Classic All-Tournament team.

PUEBLO, Colo.— After breaking Adams State College’s NCAA Division II era (1992-93/Present) records for career and single-game scoring, Grizzly senior Vera Jo Bustos (Las Vegas, N.M.) has been named as the MVP of the Chuck Stephens Classic, hosted by Colorado State University-Pueblo here in Massari Arena here on Friday and Saturday.

Bustos, who was also named as the MVP at last week’s Adams State Bankers Classic, was also joined on the all-tournament team by junior teammate Kelsie Kruger (Alamosa, Colo.) as the Grizzlies won their fourth and fifth straight games while claiming the unofficial tournament title with a 2-0 weekend mark.

On Friday, Bustos nailed eight three pointers and tallied a career-high 36 points, one more than her former mark of 35 set Dec. 21, 2008 at Nebraska-Kearney as the Grizzlies posted an 82-79 overtime win over Drury (Mo.).  The eight three pointers, which came on just 13 attempts, were also two more than any other Grizzly in available single-game (1997-98/Present) history.

Bustos scored the first six and eight of the Grizzlies’ 12 overtime points in that win and finished the evening 10-for-18 from the field while also adding two steals.

Needing just four points to tie Meagan Hoffman’s former Division II era school mark of 1,378 career points, Bustos then tallied 10 more in the Grizzlies’ comfortable 80-56 Saturday night win over NCAA Division III Dubuque (Iowa) and now has 1,384 career points.  She also added four assists and four rebounds in the Saturday night triumph and averaged a tournament-best 23.0 points per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field.

Meanwhile, Kruger tallied a career-high 21 points on a solid 9-for-13 shooting effort in Saturday night’s victory.  She also added seven rebounds and finished the weekend averaging 12.5 points and a team-best eight rebounds per game after posting nine boards in Friday night’s victory.

The Grizzlies, now 5-1 overall, were the only tournament team to finish the weekend unbeaten as Drury (Mo.) came back to claim a 68-56 win over the host ThunderWolves in the tournament finale on Saturday.  CSU-Pueblo had defeated Dubuque, 70-60, on Friday.

Also named to this weekend’s all tournament team were Molly Whiting of Dubuque, Kassie Walker and Ja’Nell Jones of Drury and Kendall Babler of CSU-Pueblo.

Bustos was also named as the tournament MVP at the 2009 Adams State Bankers Classic and the Hyatt Place Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by UC-Colorado Springs, a week later. 

Kruger was also on both all-tournament teams last season.

Related Item: Chuck Stephens Classic Tournament Webpage