Well-rounded scoring found the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team when it needed it most.
With star sophomore forward Jordan Vasquez in foul trouble all night and limited to four points and two rebounds in 18 minutes of action, the Skyhawks received scoring contributions from eight other players in a 57-52 road win Friday night at Colorado State University-Pueblo.
It was the third consecutive win for the Skyhawks, who improved to 4-4 overall and in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. One of those losses came in a forfeit because of COVID-19 issues.
Senior guard Bailey Osmer was the star of the game for the Skyhawks. She continued her post-holiday break surge with a career-high 17 points and four rebounds. She was 7-of-11 shooting and made 2-of-3 shots from 3-point range.
“Bailey was awesome. She stepped up and did a great job, and we love that and know she can do it on a nightly basis,” FLC head coach Orlando Griego said. “It was our entire team tonight. Nine of our 11 players scored, and that was really important as we shared the ball and all believed in each other.”
CSU-Pueblo (1-5, 1-5 RMAC) stormed back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to get within 55-50 in the final minute. After a layup from FLC senior guard Sydney Candelaria was blocked with only five seconds on the shot clock, the Skyhawks turned to Osmer on an inbounds play for the clinching shot. Osmer cut toward the basket from the top of the key, and senior guard Katrina Chandler fed her a perfect inbounds pass in rhythm for an easy layup to give FLC a comfortable 57-50 lead with 30 seconds to go.
“We designed that play knowing they would run help defense on the backside,” Griego said. “Katrina did a good job of finding Bailey, and she executed by making the basket.”
FLC shot 7-of-20 from 3-point range in the game. Alison Chanhthala found her rhythm, as she scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Chloe Warrington added a pair of 3s on five attempts.
Candelaria chipped in seven points and three steals for FLC, which forced 17 turnovers in the game. Chandler had five assists and two steals to go with two rebounds and two steals. The two senior guards played strong defense against CSU-Pueblo point guard JaNaiya Davis, who was held to four points after she entered the game averaging a team-best 14.2 points per game. Davis made up for her cold scoring night with 10 rebounds and four steals, but she did have three turnovers.
“The biggest thing was our defense on her and getting help on on-ball screens,” Griego said of the team’s defense on Davis. “We had to limit her going downhill as much as possible. She’s a good player once she gets downhill and can score in bunches. Our players did a good job of executing against her.”
Sydni Williams had a game-high 21 points for the ThunderWolves. She grabbed eight rebounds but turned the ball over six times. Aubriana Noti had a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds. She also blocked two shots but had four turnovers.
FLC won despite shooting only four free throws – compared to 18 for the home team – and being outrebounded 42-29. The Skyhawks did it by holding the ThunderWolves to 27% shooting in the first half and 35.8% for the game, a number badly damaged by a 2-for-20 mark from 3-point range.
“We know they haven’t been shooting the ball the best from the outside, so we wanted to make sure we closed out on them early and keep their players in front of us,” Griego said. “We’ve played some good rebounding teams these last few games, but we’ve hung in there with defense.”
The Skyhawks will return home to face Colorado Mesa University at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Saturday’s game against Adams State University was postponed, as the Grizzlies are dealing with COVID-19 issues.
FLC is slated to host the Mavericks (8-3, 8-3 RMAC) Friday before Westminster College (4-1, 4-1 RMAC) will visit the next day. Those games are pending the results of COVID-19 testing later in the week.
“It’s a big weekend with two really good teams in our conference who are so well respected,” Griego said. “We always look forward to that competition. If we get to play, our team is going to look forward to playing those two games.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
