Though Wednesday night’s game was an exhibition, the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team treated the matchup with Northern New Mexico as though it meant much more.
The Skyhawks (2-0) dominated the action from the opening tip and used a 15-0 first-quarter run to build a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in a 103-54 blowout of Northern New Mexico (1-2), an NAIA school.
Mary Rambo, Simone Ruedin and Alyssa Yocky led Fort Lewis with 13 points each. Emily McCue, a Durango High School alumna, was one rebound short of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
“We have a big weekend coming up,” said Fort Lewis head coach Jason Flores. “I wanted to make sure nobody played 20 minutes and we shared the ball.”
Yocky’s 20 minutes were the most on the team.
The Skyhawks played team basketball and had 26 assists.
The Eagles had trouble matching up with the Skyhawks’ front line, and FLC took advantage of the height differential.
Ande Lampert, McCue, Rambo, Victoria Trowbridge and Yocky dominated the boards and a 37-15 first half rebounding edge for Fort Lewis paved the way to a 50-22 halftime lead.
Fort Lewis had no interest in allowing the Eagles back in the game. The Skyhawks began turning defensive rebounds into a dominant transition game that led to a number of easy baskets.
“I like to get out and run,” Rambo said. “We worked hard to beat them down the floor, and the guards did a great job of getting us the ball.”
FLC’s 20-6 run to open the second half put the game well out of reach. The transition game was so effective in the second half that Fort Lewis shot an impressive 71 percent from the field, most of which were easy fast break buckets.
The height advantage was the major difference. The Skyhawks won the rebounding battle 57-28 and controlled the interior throughout the contest with 52 points in the paint to the Eagles’ 12.
“Sometimes you can’t look at the score,” Yocky said. “You just have to try and perfect the fundamentals and do what we do best.”
Fort Lewis will hit the road and face much stiffer competition this weekend in Texas at the Lubbock Christian tournament. The Skyhawks will open play against Texas-Permian Basin at 4 p.m. Friday before facing host Lubbock Christian at 6 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re playing the teams that finished first and second in the Heartland Conference last year,” Flores said. “It’s going to be big for region points, and we’ll get to see how we stack up with some of the better teams in the region.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
