The Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team wrapped up its road trip Saturday by falling 77-46 to Westminster College in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.
Redshirt senior Sydney Candelaria paced the team with 17 points to go along with three rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Kelsey Sorenson followed with 11 points and three rebounds.
The Griffins went up by eight points before a three-point play from Sorenson took the score to 12-7. From there, Westminster exploded for a 9-0 scoring run, which extended the lead to 21-7 with 1:44 remaining in the first quarter. Sorenson chipped in another three points down the stretch, but the Skyhawks trailed 22-10 heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter featured sharp shooting from the perimeter as the home team extended the lead to 24 points on another scoring run. It would be Sorenson again, this time driving for a layup to slow the building momentum with seven minutes to play. Freshman Piper Terry notched her first points of the day at the 4:44 mark, but the Fort Lewis offense went quiet for the remainder of the half and was outscored 22-5 in the second quarter.
Candelaria dropped in four points to cut into the sizable deficit to start the third quarter. Redshirt freshman Ava Strange nailed a three and followed it up with back-to-back layups for a 58-28 score. The teams traded points down the stretch, but a pair of threes for the Griffins had the score at 66-32 after three quarters.
The Skyhawks wouldn’t score until the clock hit seven minutes in the fourth, this time the basket came courtesy of redshirt freshman Iva Drobnjak to move the score to 73-34. Fort Lewis would go on a 10-2 scoring run over the ensuing six minutes to push the score to 75-44, but the late effort wouldn't be enough.
Fort Lewis (2-16, 1-11 RMAC) will next play New Mexico Highlands University and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs at home on Friday and Saturday.
