The Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team used a first-half offensive barrage Monday night to extend its perfect start to the season.
The Skyhawks (3-0) combined to make five 3-pointers and Natalie Stilwell was 7-for-7 off the bench in a dominant first half for Fort Lewis at Western New Mexico. FLC led at halftime 48-22, and cruised to a 72-54 win.
Stilwell led FLC with 16 points. Alyssa Yocky had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kayla Herrera added 11 points while Briana Clah poured in 10 and led the Skyhawks with seven assists.
“This is a tough place to play and we’ve been on the road for five days, so I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Skyhawks head coach Jason Flores said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We got into a rhythm early and moved the ball so well that we were getting wide open looks. These girls can make shots and they just took the air out of the building.”
On the team’s third game in four nights to start the season, fatigue and soreness would be expected from the Fort Lewis, but that wasn’t the case. The Skyhawks came out soaring.
FLC deflated the home crowd by scoring 29 points in the first quarter on a sizzling 10-for-14 performance from the field. In the second quarter, the Skyhawks held the previously undefeated Mustangs (2-1) to just nine points.
Though the home team tried to mount a second half comeback, and actually cut the deficit to single digits, FLC regained its composure and finished the game the way it started - with Fort Lewis dominance.
The Skyhawks finished the job with a 12-3 run in the final minutes that secured the win, and a 3-0 start with all wins coming on the road.
“There’s still a lot of learning we have to do, and we saw that at times in the second half,” Flores said. “We had a hard time with their pressure and we have some things to clean up. It’s obviously better to learn those things in wins than losses and overall we’re very happy with what we’ve seen so far.”
Fort Lewis opens its home schedule at Whalen Gymnasium with a 5:30 p.m. Saturday matchup against Northern New Mexico.
jfries@durangoherald.com
