A slow second quarter for the Fort Lewis College women's basketball team proved to be the difference in a 72-59 loss in a nonconference matchup Wednesday with Western Colorado University. Redshirt senior Sydney Candelaria put up a career-high 27 points in the loss to lead all players.
Fort Lewis fell to 0-3 on the year while Western Colorado improved to 2-1 overall.
The Skyhawks shot 45.1% (23-of-51) from the field to mark a season-best. The Mountaineers, however, bested FLC from the field, posting a 52.1% (25-of-48) mark.
Threes were a deciding factor in the contest as Western knocked down 11 to just four for the Skyhawks. Both teams had 27 rebounds.
Candelaria’s 27 points led the way, while redshirt juniors Alyssa Adams and Brooke McGee followed with 10 apiece. Candelaria paced the team with six rebounds, followed by five for McGee. Candelaria dished out four helpers and ran away with three steals – both leading the way.
“Sydney played with a lot of confidence tonight and did a great job of spacing the floor to allow her to attack the basket,” said head coach Taylor Harris.
McGee got the evening started by putting up the first five points of the game. Western came back with seven- to go up 7-5 with 6:35 on the clock. Adams and Candelaria followed with a pair of layups to give FLC a 9-7 advantage. The quarter saw four more ties down the stretch with a Mountaineer 3-pointer tying the game at 16-16 heading into the second quarter.
The Skyhawks reclaimed the lead to begin the second quarter off a layup from Candelaria. From there, the Mountaineers went on an eight-point run to see a 25-18 edge with seven minutes remaining in the half. FLC chipped away at the lead, pulling within one point at 26-25 after a 3-pointer from redshirt sophomore Tayla Nez. Western then hit a trio of threes to take a 37-27 advantage with 1:43 to go and went into the break leading 41-29.
Candelaria and redshirt freshman Claudia Vidal teamed up for four points out of the locker room to pull FLC to within eight points. The Mountaineers rebuilt a commanding lead with a scoring run before a layup from Candelaria cut Western’s lead to 47-35 with seven minutes on the clock. The Skyhawks continued to feed the hot hand, finding Candelaria for six more points to make the score 57-42 with 3:33 to go. Freshman Piper Terry got in on the action, dropping in a layup for her first points as a Skyhawk. The teams traded points through the final minutes of the quarter, but FLC trailed 62-48 heading into the fourth.
Three Skyhawks picked up points in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Down o 67-54 with 6:16 remaining, Candelaria found her 27th point of the outing with a layup to bring the score to 67-56. McGee knocked down a three with under four minutes to cut the lead to 67-59, but the Mountaineers scored the last five points to run away with a 72-59 win.
Fort Lewis will return home for a Sunday matinee versus Northern New Mexico College at 1 p.m. The game will be recognized as the school's Nike N7 game.
