by Angela Roberts
DURANGO, Colo. – Facing the league’s top defensive team in Black Hills State University, the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team dropped a Monday slate by a final score of 76-61 despite superior shooting numbers.
Fort Lewis fell to 9-15 overall and 6-12 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference while BHSU improved to 18-6 on the year and 13-5 in conference play.
The Skyhawks shot 50 percent (20-of-40) from the field, the fourth-best mark of the season, compared to a 47.2 percent (25-of-53) clip for the Yellow Jackets. Fort Lewis was equally as efficient from three, draining 10 on a 47.6 percent mark—second best this year. The difference in the game came via the turnovers where the Skyhawks committed 22, resulting in 22 points for the opposition.
Freshman Lanae Billy led all players with 25 points while going 9-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 from three. The outing was her 10th 20+ point game of the season. Freshman Kate Gallery came off the bench for eight points, followed by a seven-point, five-rebound night for graduate student Kaitlyn Bell.
Fort Lewis took an early lead when Bell connected on a rare three-pointer to make it 5-3. The Yellow Jackets answered back with a seven-point scoring run before a pair of free throws by sophomore Sadie Misner slowed the roll. Billy dropped in her first three of the night moments later to make it a one-point game, but that is as close as the quarter would get with time expiring on a 20-14 BHSU lead.
Junior Kelsey Sorenson and Billy opened the second quarter with a combined four points to close the gap again on a 20-18 score. Junior Avery Evans kept the gap at a pair with a jumper at the 7:14 mark, but another scoring burst for BHSU made it 32-22 with under four minutes remaining in the quarter. Billy converted a rebound to another nailed three, but the Yellow Jackets ran away with a 40-37 lead heading into the break.
Threes and free throws made up the opening minutes of the second half as the Yellow Jackets extended the lead to 52-30. Senior Ember Cervantes made a pair from the stripe, followed by a huge three to get the Skyhawks back on track. BHSU would not let up on the offensive front, though, and ended the quarter with a 64-41 edge.
The Skyhawks kicked off their most efficient quarter of play with a layup from sophomore Samantha Wattawa, followed by jumpers from Billy and Sorenson to cut the deficit to 66-49 with 7:39 remaining. Gallery got in on the scoring action with her first make of the night from beyond the arc, and freshman Ruby Sweeny-Spitzeck followed it up by driving for two. Gallery scored five more in the final two minutes of play to close things out in a 76-61 final.
Fort Lewis (9-15, 6-12 RMAC) will face Black Hills State University (18-6, 13-5 RMAC) again this Friday to kick off the final regular-season road trip of the season. The Skyhawks will cap it off with a Saturday game against South Dakota Mines (3-21, 3-15 RMAC).
