The Western State women’s basketball team had no answer for the Fort Lewis College defense during Saturday’s game in Gunnison.
The Skyhawks (6-2, 2-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) led by one point after trailing for much of the first quarter, but a rare defensive feat in the second gave Fort Lewis some breathing room that lasted until the final buzzer. The Skyhawks held the Mountaineers scoreless for the first 9 minutes, 26 seconds of the second quarter and allowed only three points on one field goal in the frame. The defensive effort built a lead FLC would never relinquish, as the Skyhawks cruised to a 56-39 win.
Briana Clah and Kayla Herrera led Fort Lewis with 13 points. Kaitlyn Romero added nine points, and Shelby Patterson had eight. Clah was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the win.
“It’s always tough playing the second straight night on the road, especially this time after an emotional loss (Friday),” Fort Lewis head coach Jason Flores said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald, referencing Friday’s narrow loss at Colorado Mesa. “We missed a lot of shots we usually make around the basket, but the defense was awesome. Our offensive struggles didn’t matter much because the defense was that good.”
The Mountaineers (2-6, 1-3 RMAC) led for a short time in the opening quarter, but the struggle offensively was too much to overcome. The home team couldn’t get anything to fall from the perimeter, and had no luck challenging Fort Lewis in the paint. Skyhawks’ interior players Ande Lampert and Natalie Stilwell combined to collect nine of the team’s 11 blocked shots. The stingy performance on the defensive end forced Western State into shooting a meager 22 percent from the field for the entire game.
“We had a great gameplan to force their post players into some tough spots,” Flores said.
With the home team struggling, FLC built the lead to double digits and never looked back as Clah and company buried the opponents at the foul line.
“Briana has been our steadiest player scoring wise,” Flores said. “She’s just getting better and better.”
Fort Lewis will play another road game at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Adams State.
jfries@durangoherald.com
