Fresh off final exams, the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team has one last test to complete before the holiday break.
Adams State University will visit the Skyhawks at 5:30 p.m. Saturday inside Whalen Gymnasium in Durango. FLC will look to bounce back from its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference loss of the season last Saturday at Black Hills State and go into 2020 with a positive feeling.
“We’re feeling really good,” FLC head coach Orlando Griego said. “We really wanted to make sure that our girls finished off the semester on a high note with their finals, and then we also got to practice. Everyone is healthy, feeling really good, and we’ve had a good week of practice. We’re ready to go.
“We’ve had early success because our girls have worked really hard the entire 2019. They’ve wanted to be better and win, and it’s a credit to them. It would be nice to end 2019 on a high note and go into 2020 with a lot of momentum and excitement with two more home games coming up after break.”
FLC (7-2, 3-1 RMAC) saw its six-game win streak snapped by the Yellow Jackets. Saturday will provide a good chance to get on track against a Grizzlies team that will enter the game 1-9 overall and 1-3 in RMAC play.
It’s also a chance for FLC assistant coach Cydney McHenry to coach against her alma mater and a squad she spent time on the sideline with after her playing days.
“She knows their tendencies, has worked with them, so she’s doing the scout,” Griego said of McHenry going against Adams State. “Yeah, she’s pretty familiar with who they brought in, what they’re doing. It helps us a bit.”
The Skyhawks boast the top-scoring offense in the RMAC at 72.7 points per game and have held opponents to only 57.6, the third-best mark in the conference. Adams State is last in the RMAC in scoring at only 45.8 points per game and has allowed a fourth-worst 70.1 to its opponents.
FLC is led in scoring by junior forward Jordan Carter at 11.4 points per game. She also has grabbed 7.5 rebounds per game. Freshman forward Jordan Vasquez has scored 10.2 points per game, and she has a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game. Her rebounding is an anomaly, as she has 43 offensive rebounds and 27 on the defensive end.
The Skyhawks have balanced scoring, with junior guard Sydney Candelaria at 9.3 points per game and junior guard Katrina Chandler at 8.9 points and senior forward Kayla Herrera-Flores at 8.9 per game.
The Grizzlies do not have a single woman averaging double-digit scoring per game. Zakiya Beckles leads the squad with 9.7 points per contest, and Laura Gutierrez is second at 8.7. Marshell Hollins is the team’s top rebounder at 4.2 per game to go with 6.8 points.
“Gutierrez is a freshman coming in playing well right now and getting a lot of minutes. Also Beckles, she’s a senior – both are playing at a high level,” Griego said.
“Our focus is going to be on making sure we’re there when they catch the ball and have our great help-side defense, so when they attack the lane, we stop the ball and limit their opportunities to score.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
RMAC
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Women’s Basketball
Note: WBCA ranking in parentheses
TEAM OVERALL RMAC
Westminster (12) 10-1 5-0
Colorado Mesa 9-2 5-0
Western Colorado 6-3 4-1
Fort Lewis 7-2 3-1
Dixie State 8-3 3-2
Black Hills State 6-4 3-2
Colorado Christian 3-8 3-2
Colorado Mines 5-4 2-2
Metro State-Denver 3-7 2-2
S.D. Mines 4-5 2-3
CSU-Pueblo 3-7 2-3
Chadron State 3-10 1-3
Adams State 1-9 1-3
Regis 3-8 1-4
UCCS 1-9 0-4
New Mexico Highlands 1-9 0-5
