Friday night’s win took a furious comeback. Saturday, the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team never trailed.
The Skyhawks dominated from the jump en route to a 83-66 home win Saturday night against Chadron State inside Whalen Gymnasium in Durango.
“We wanted to speed up the game, come out really strong, really aggressive and make sure they had to respond to our energy and effort,” FLC head coach Orlando Griego said. “Our girls did a really good job of that.”
At 10-2 overall and 6-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, FLC is one game behind first-place Colorado Mesa University for first place in the conference. The Mavericks remained unbeaten in conference play with a 65-64 win Saturday at Black Hills State, the lone team to beat FLC in the RMAC so far this season.
“It feels great,” the first-year head coach said of his team’s start. “What’s most exciting is these girls have really worked their butts off. They work every single day, getting better, encouraging one another and are great teammates. Credit to them for coming in and working extremely hard. Obviously, it’s paying off as of right now. We’re going to continue with that.”
One night after she scored a career-high 21 points, FLC junior point guard Katrina Chandler continued her hot offensive start to 2020 with another 19 points, including 10 in the first quarter. She also finished with five assists, four rebounds and two steals to only one turnover.
“I like to get up and down and create for other people,” Chandler said. “(Griego) has always said, ‘I need you to score and need you to have seven assists and only one turnover.’ If I can feed these guys the ball, then I’m happy.”
Freshman forward Jordan Vasquez had another big game for FLC, as the former Farmington Scorpions star had a new career-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds and a block.
“She came in, and she was really strong. There was no question she was going to be strong and prepared because of her work ethic,” FLC junior forward Jordan Carter said of Vasquez’s sensational start to her career.
FLC stormed out to a 24-11 first quarter lead, as it held Chadron State (3-13, 1-6 RMAC) to 4-of-17 (23.5%) shooting in the first quarter. Turnovers would be key in the game, as FLC gave it away only five times through three quarters before finishing with 10 total. Chadron State had 18 turnovers. The Skyhawks had a 27-6 advantage in points off turnovers to add to a 48-20 edge in paint scoring.
The Skyhawks’ bench also outperformed the Eagles to give FLC a 39-19 scoring advantage amongst its non-starters. Second-chance points were another area the Skyhawks dominated, as 16 offensive rebounds led to 16 points for FLC. Chadron State had only two second-chance points.
“If you go and attack and go try to get the rebound, it’s always a great way to get the ball in the hoop or a second chance for the team,” Vasquez said.
Though FLC maintained a double-digit lead most of the game, the Eagles were a spirited bunch throughout and refused to go away. The FLC lead was cut to 63-54 with 7 minutes, 30 seconds to play, but Carter put any comeback hopes for the Eagles to bed when she converted a layup through a foul only eight seconds later. She missed the free throw, but Vasquez collected an offensive rebound, and Chandler would make a lengthy jump shot to make it a four-point trip for FLC and push the lead to 67-54. By the five-minute mark of the quarter, the FLC lead was 71-54.
Carter finished with 15 points for FLC, while Alyssa Adams and Sydney Candelaria each had eight.
Chadron State was led by Taryn Foxen, who scored 22 points and had seven rebounds, though she turned it over five times. Melisa Kadic added 18 points and five rebounds with three assists to three turnovers.
FLC will look to keep pace with Colorado Mesa and Westminster College with a key road trip next week with games Friday and Saturday at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Colorado School of Mines.
“Our coaching staff will get these girls ready, and I know these girls will be ready to play,” Griego said. “Obviously, we haven’t had very many road games, but it’s really fun for us to get on the road together, continue bonding with one another, keep it light and then go compete for two games and try to stay in that top tier in the RMAC.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
