Fort Lewis College played Colorado Christian and Regis only two weeks ago. After another long road trip the next week to Utah, head coach Jason Flores said it doesn’t feel that recent.
“After being on the road, coming back for a few days and going on the road again, it seems a lot longer,” Flores said. “You know you can’t do everything you did the last time and expect nobody to make adjustments. They’ll make adjustments. This week in practice, we know we’re going to give them different looks, as well.”
FLC (9-12, 5-10 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) will host Colorado Christian at 5:30 p.m. Friday and Regis at the same time Saturday.
Only 13 days earlier in Lakewood, FLC fell to Colorado Christian (9-12, 7-8 RMAC) 70-66, as Sarah McGinley scored 27 points and Jordan Baer added 16 points, including the game-winning hook shot. Baer is second best in the RMAC in scoring at 17.8 points per game with a 53.6 shooting percentage, also second best in the RMAC. McGinley ranks eighth at 14.1 per game, and she is the top 3-point shooter in the conference with 55 makes and a 45.8 success rate.
In the previous game, the Skyhawks were led by 14 points each from Jordan Carter and Kayla Herrera along with 12 points and 10 rebounds from Alyssa Yocky, who was named the defensive player of the week after her efforts against Regis and the Cougars.
“We did a poor job defensively on (McGinley),” Flores said. “That’s an understatement. She’s a good player, and she did hit a lot of tough shots. We need to mix up what we’re doing on her and not let her get in the same comfort zone like she got into last game.
“(Baer) is proven at almost 18 points per game. She’s athletic, plays hard and smart. She’s a mismatch problem. From watching the last game, we were in the right positions but just were lacking that extra pep in our step. I think we can defend a bit better.”
The Skyhawks had toppled Regis (10-10, 6-9 RMAC) only one night earlier in Denver, as Herrera went for 17 points and six rebounds in the 66-49 victory. Yocky added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Aubre Fortner had nine key points off the bench.
Regis was led by Whitney Jacob’s 15 points and nine rebounds and another 13 points from Alex Nelson.
“Regis is always dangerous with multiple weapons,” Flores said. “We did a good job defensively on them last time and need to re-create that. It’s always a good game with them, and it’s been like that for years.”
Yocky has led FLC in scoring at 11.5 points per game, while Herrera has averaged 10.9. Yocky is fourth in the RMAC with eight rebounds per contest, and Herrera has averaged 5.1.
The Skyhawks will play five of their final seven games at home. Saturday’s contest is a white-out game, as the first 1,300 fans through the doors will receive a white shirt.
“It’s going to be great basketball,” Flores said. “Whiteout games are always fun, and we always get a good crowd for that. It’s a marriage between basketball and our town, and a good one. We enjoy the fans coming out and representing them whoever we play against. Hopefully we can play well for them and show our appreciation. We’ve gotten better at the end of the year, which is great. Now, we’ll just see if we can take another step.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
