Redshirt senior Sydney Candelaria reached the career milestone of 1,000 points in the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball 66-41 road loss to Colorado Mesa University on Friday night.
“Sydney is a tremendous player, but above all a great teammate and wonderful woman,” said head coach Taylor Harris. “I would give anything to have one more season with her. She took a chance on me in her decision to come back for one more year, and I know our whole team echoes my statement that we are so thankful to have this year with her. She is building a legacy here, and her impact will be felt for years.”
Fort Lewis shot 22.2% (12 of 54) from the field and 13% (3 of 23) from three-point range compared with 44.4% (24 of 54) from the field and 43.5% (10 of 23) from three for Colorado Mesa. The Mavericks out-rebounded the Skyhawks 42-31 on the night.
Fort Lewis dropped to 2-15 overall and 1-10 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with the loss. Colorado Mesa improved to 13-4 and 8-4.
Candelaria led the Skyhawks with 21 points to go along with six rebounds and three steals. Redshirt sophomore Kelsey Sorenson had seven points and six rebounds. Redshirt junior Alyssa Adams chipped in six points and two rebounds.
Sorenson got the Skyhawks on the board with a tough layup, and the Mavericks responded with a six-point run to go ahead 9-2, forcing a Fort Lewis timeout. The teams exchanged turnovers out of the timeout, and Brooke McGee took advantage of the possession by drilling a three from the corner for a 9-5 score. Fort Lewis tied the game at 9-9, but the Mavericks managed to go ahead 12-9 with two minutes on the clock and extended the lead to 17-9 heading into the second quarter.
The Mavericks’ run continued into the second quarter of play with a five-point run, lifting the lead to 22-11. Candelaria halted the run with a layup, bringing things to 22-13 and making the senior the newest member of the 1,000-point scoring club. Despite the renewed energy of a pair of made shots, the Mavericks remained stoic to keep the lead at double figures heading into the final two minutes of the half. Sharp shooting from beyond the arc allowed for the lead to separate further, seeing the score at 33-18 as time expired.
Candelaria carried over her early success into the third quarter by nailing a deep three for a 35-22 score with 8:31 on the clock. Colorado Mesa answered with dominance, going up 42-24 with five minutes remaining in the quarter. Adams executed a spinning layup to halt a Mavericks run and bring things to 44-26. Colorado Mesa enjoyed a 9-2 scoring run over the final minutes of the quarter to carry a 53-28 lead into the final quarter.
It took two minutes for either side to score in the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks got there to extend the lead to 27 points. Candelaria chipped into the deficit with a three-point play, seeing the score shift to 57-31 with six minutes remaining. Sorenson made her presence known late in the quarter with a smooth layup to bring the score to 63-35 with 2:26 remaining.
Candelaria continued to draw fouls at a rate that has become familiar to Skyhawks fans this season and drained both shots for a 64-39 score with just over a minute to play. Fort Lewis put up a late three, but the shot rattled off the rim for a 66-41 final score.
“Playing in a tough environment against a great team like Mesa is very challenging. We have to give them credit. We played hard and gave a great effort by throwing all we had at them,” Harris said. “We just have to continue staying together and building the culture we want the be part of. We have a late night ahead of us traveling to Salt Lake City to play another top team in the league.”
Up next, Fort Lewis travels to Westminster College (10-5, 9-2 RMAC) for a 5 p.m. tipoff Saturday in Salt Lake City, Utah.
