Katrina Chandler willed the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team after a miserable first quarter that saw the Skyhawks go into the locker room at halftime down 37-28. When she left the game, Sydney Candelaria finished the job.
In its first game since a 12-day holiday break, the Skyhawks came out slow and made only 4-of-17 shots in the opening 10 minutes of Friday’s home game against Metro State University of Denver. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners shot 50% in the first quarter and raced out to a 25-12 lead.
But, behind 10 third-quarter points from Chandler that ignited the Skyhawks, FLC (9-2, 5-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) erased the halftime deficit and took a 53-49 lead into the fourth quarter. In a 61-61 game with 10.1 seconds to play, Candelaria got the ball and drove to the basket and finished a left-handed layup with five seconds to play to give the Skyhawks a massive 63-61 victory.
“They didn’t give up and they fought and they persevered,” FLC head coach Orlando Griego said of his team. “We were in a slump, and then one possession at a time, they fought, fought fought. We got the lead, and we did a really good job executing and keeping the lead. At the end, we put it into Sydney’s hands, and she won us the game.
“It’s great on their part. These girls work really hard, and we’re excited for 2020. We’re playing pretty good basketball right now.”
SYDNEY CANDELARIA WITH THE GAME WINNING SHOT! Skyhawks win 63-61! #GOSkyhawks pic.twitter.com/Wo4tawWFsm
— Fort Lewis Skyhawks (@FLCSkyhawks) January 4, 2020
It was a fun game for women’s basketball fans in Southwest Colorado, as FLC’s Chandler, a Durango High School alumna, and Metro State’s Morgan Lewis, a former Pagosa Springs High School standout, went toe-to-toe in the first half with nine points each. But it was Chandler who would spark FLC time and time again, as she finished with a career high 21 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Lewis contributed 11 points and eight rebounds to the Roadrunners (3-8, 3-3 RMAC) to add to the 15 points and nine rebounds from Jaela Richardson.
Griego said he challenged Chandler during the holiday break to be more aggressive offensively, and she responded with a 7-of-14 shooting performance along with a 6-of-6 showing at the foul line.
“They gave us a gap going under. Coach says all the time to make them pay if they’re gonna go under screens,” Chandler said. “That was the mindset coming in. If they were gonna go under screens, we were gonna make them pay.”
Candelaria would finish with 12 points and six rebounds for FLC. With the ball set to be inbounded across halfcourt on the ride side of the basket, Griego drew up the game-winning play for his left-handed attacker. Candelaria was surprised to see so much driving space to her strong side of the hoop, even with the designed play, and she made sure not to miss.
“I just didn’t think,” Candelaria said. “Coach just drew up a play. Kayla (Herrera-Flores) came up to me before and told me to do what I do best. I just took it to the basket with confidence and finished.”
It was the play of Chandler that brought FLC back within 49-46 with 3:11 to go in the third quarter. A 3-point basket from Candelaria would tie the game at 49 with 2:20 to play, and Chandler would give FLC a lead at 51-49 with a tough layup only 20 seconds later. Two free throws from Candelaria would give the Skyhawks a 53-49 lead after three quarters, as the Skyhawks were in the midst of a 15-0 scoring run.
After both teams struggled to make a shot the opening 90 seconds of the third quarter, it was FLC freshman forward Jordan Vasquez who got a trademark offensive rebound and putback layup to give FLC a 55-49 advantage.
Chandler would foul out with 3:04 to play, though. So it was up to the rest of the Skyhawks to finish with a 59-57 lead down the stretch.
“It’s real tough, but I have faith in everyone who is gonna step onto the court,” Chandler said.
A Mariah Schroeder jump shot for Metro State would tie the game at 59-59 with under 2 minutes to go. Schroeder would get to the foul line with 42.3 seconds to play and made 1-of-2 to make it 60-59 Roadrunners.
It was a rebound by Vasquez on Schroeder’s missed free throw that got FLC the ball back, and Vasquez would make a contested layup on the other end to give FLC a 61-60 lead with 24.7 seconds to go.
After some tough FLC defense, Richardson came down with a loose ball and got to the free-throw line. She went 1-of-2 to tie the game at 61-61, and a Vasquez rebound gave FLC the ball back with 10.1 seconds to go and a chance at the winning shot. Candelaria didn’t miss it, and a last-second 3 from the Roadrunners went too strong off the top of the backboard to send Griego and the Skyhawks spilling onto the court in celebration.
Vasquez finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for FLC with six big second-half rebounds.
“They were really aggressive, so I wanted to be just as aggressive,” Vasquez said. “They were super tough, really strong, really physical, maybe dirty at times, but it’s OK. We can play that. They were a tough team, and I wanted to match their energy and effort.”
Now, FLC will host Chadron State (3-12, 1-5 RMAC) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday before a road trip to the Front Range.
“We’re showing we can play anybody,” Candelaria said. “We can beat anybody. Even with our first half, we can still come back and win. We work so hard. We work way too hard not to win games like that.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
