Friday night’s battle between Fort Lewis College and Colorado Mesa featured two rivals with identical 5-1 records. It was only proper that the game went down to the final possession to decide a winner.
Fort Lewis led by eight points in the second half, but a late fourth quarter drought and some last minute breaks that went the Mavericks’ way were enough to lead Colorado Mesa to a 58-54 win. Shelby Patterson led the way for the Skyhawks with 11 points. Kayla Herrera had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Briana Clah pitched in 10 points in the tough loss.
“We got the short end of the stick with some calls and breaks down the stretch that didn’t go our way, but that’s life on the road,” Fort Lewis head coach Jason Flores said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We had what we wanted in the last possession, and didn’t get the call we were hoping for.”
The Skyhawks led for a hefty majority of the contest, but a late run allowed the Mavericks to take a two-point lead with 21 seconds remaining.
On the last FLC possession, Clah drove to the basket and was fouled as she went up for the game-tying layup. However, the officials felt that she wasn’t attempting a shot and gave the ball to FLC under their own basket. The ensuing inbounds pass was thrown out of bounds, and appeared to deflect off a Mavericks player, but the referees gave the ball to the home team and Colorado Mesa put the game away.
“It was a tough pill to swallow, but we’ll take it down,” Flores said. “If we get a few more stops, make more free throws and execute a bit better down the stretch, we’d have won. We’ll be fine, though, because this team has resolve and, overall, I like what I see.”
Fort Lewis (5-2, 1-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) trailed by five in the opening quarter, but Kaitlyn Romero scored the final five points of the frame which brought the Skyhawks back to tie it at 18. The stretch of play kicked off a 16-4 run that gave the Skyhawks a seven-point lead in the second quarter and led to a 31-27 lead at the half.
FLC kept the momentum going in the third quarter and build an eight-point lead before the Mavericks caught fire.
Colorado Mesa (6-1, 3-0 RMAC) went on a 12-2 run to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter before the frantic final frame.
Breanna Adams of Mesa led all scorers with 16 points.
Fort Lewis will have to bounce back in a hurry as the Skyhawks are scheduled to play a 5 p.m. game at Western State Saturday.
jfries@durangoherald.com
