The opening game of the women’s basketball season couldn’t have gone any better for head coach Jason Flores and the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks at the Eastern New Mexico Challenge.
FLC started shaky against Texas-Permian Basin and trailed 28-19 at halftime, but the team came together to mount a massive second half comeback en route to a 56-50 win.
Junior transfer Briana Clah led the Skyhawks (1-0) with 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds to go along with five assists. Sophomore Alyssa Yocky scored 12 points and also pulled down seven rebounds. Redshirt freshman Kayla Herrera registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
“If I was to write up a script for how I’d want that first game to go, this would have been it,” Skyhawks head coach Jason Flores said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We started off pretty bad, but I loved the fight I saw. They came together at halftime and figured it out. It sounds funny, but I think we grew up a lot in that second half.”
If a 16-3 run to start the second half is any indication of growth, Flores is right on the money. The Skyhawks came out soaring and quickly overcame the double-digit deficit to claim a 33-31 lead midway through the third quarter.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the urgency we played with when we needed to grind,” Flores said. “There were a couple adjustments at halftime, but it really came down to the girls finding a flow and playing better basketball.”
FLC extended its advantage and, although it was a one-possession game at times, the Skyhawks never relinquished the lead. After the halftime regroup, FLC outscored the opponent 37-22 in the second half.
Senior Ande Lampert had nine points and 10 rebounds for the Skyhawks, and junior guard Shelby Patterson added seven points and six rebounds.
Niva Taito led Texas-Permian Basin (0-1) with 14 points.
Fort Lewis will try to make it a 2-0 start at 1 p.m. Saturday against Eastern New Mexico.
jfries@durangoherald.com
