The Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team is on a roll heading into senior night.
The fourth-place Skyhawks (19-6, 14-6 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) have won six of their last seven games coming into a Tuesday senior night matchup against a struggling Adams State (2-21, 1-19 RMAC) squad. After the game, Fort Lewis will honor its lone senior, Ande Lampert, who has been critical to the team’s success on and off the court this season.
“Ande has been around this program for four years now and her value to this team isn’t just about basketball,” Fort Lewis head coach Jason Flores said. “She’s such a level-headed person and that’s been really important with a relatively new team this year. She’s been great on the court for us and has been really a key to our recent defensive performances. What I’ll really miss, though, is how great of a person she is.”
Since losing to the nation’s third-ranked team at the time, CSU-Pueblo, Lampert and FLC have put together three very impressive performances. The Skyhawks dominated Western State in a 67-36 win that saw the FLC defense allow zero points in the second quarter and FLC held the opponents scoreless for almost a full half of basketball. They followed up with two double-digit wins against Colorado Mesa and Colorado Mines.
In Friday’s 72-60 win against the Orediggers, FLC’s Kayla Herrera went off to tie a career-high with 27 points, but it’s been someone different almost every night for the Skyhawks. Briana Clah leads the team in scoring with 14.1 points per game. Alyssa Yocky leads in rebounding with 6.6 per game and Lampert anchors the defense on the interior with 1.5 blocks per game.
“When you look at how good this team has become and what we expect to be a great team next year, I feel like I’ll leave the program in a better place,” Lampert said. “We’ve had a lot of different players come through, but defense has been one constant and that’s something I’m proud of. Coach Flores always preaches hard work and defense and over the years, every team that comes here knows they’re going to have to earn every basket.”
The Skyhawks are third in the RMAC in team defense allowing 59.5 points per game. They are fifth in offense at 69.2 points per game. In the last meeting with the Grizzlies, Clah’s 15 points led the Skyhawks to a 63-48 victory. The Skyhawks will try to limit Adams State leading scorer Cydney McHenry. McHenry averages 9.9 points per game and has scored in double figures in six of the team’s last eight games.
“They’re a tough team to prepare for because they play an extended zone and do some unorthodox things,” Flores said. “We had a lot of turnovers in the first game with them and they can do that to us again if we’re not careful.”
Fort Lewis and Adams State will tip at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Lampert will be honored after the game.
jfries@durangoherald.com
