There’s no snow in the forecast, but Friday night will be a white out.
The No. 20 Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team will host unbeaten Colorado Mesa University for the Skyhawks’ white-out game at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Whalen Gymnasium.
“I think there’s going to be some good excitement. After two weeks on the road, we’re ready to be home,” FLC head coach Jason Flores said. “I think our team feeds off the energy and the home crowd. It’s always better to be at home, that’s for sure, and we’re just excited to be back and playing in front of our home crowd.”
Since Flores became head coach at FLC for the 2012-13 season, the Skyhawks have gone 52-15 at Whalen Gym.
FLC will enter the game 6-1 overall and 1-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. The Skyhawks lost to Colorado State University-Pueblo and beat New Mexico Highlands University to open conference play last weekend.
The Skyhawks haven’t had much trouble scoring the ball this season, as they have averaged 72.4 points per game with a plethora of players capable of scoring in double figures.
Six different Skyhawks have cracked double digits this season, and a different player has led the team in scoring in four of their seven games.
Flores said it’ll be interesting to see how the Mavericks try to defend the Skyhawks.
“We’re having to get better against teams trying to zone us, but Mesa typically has never been a zone team, so if they do it’ll be a little out of character for what they do normally,” he said. “I’m anticipating them matching up with us.”
The Mavericks come into the game with an 8-0 record, their best start since 2013-14, including a 2-0 mark in RMAC play, behind a potent offense that has hurt teams in the paint and on the perimeter.
This season, close to 38 percent of Mesa’s points have come in the paint, and the Mavericks have scored 24 points or more in the paint in seven of their eight games. Anchoring Mesa’s inside attack has been Ma’ata Epenisa, who has averaged 12.5 points per game.
Mesa’s ability to get inside opens up its shooters on the perimeter. The Mavericks are the top 3-point shooting team in the RMAC. They lead the conference in made 3s with 67 and hold the highest shooting percentage from long range at 37 percent.
“They’ve got good balance and some really good shooters,” Flores said of the Mavericks, who have averaged 8.4 made 3-pointers per game. “They run a lot of sets and try to hit you early and have you chasing a lot. They balance that with Ma’ata, who’s a good player inside and she’s really improved. They’re well balanced and force you to guard multiple things, and that’s the challenge for us.”
The two biggest threats from deep are Jaylyn Duran and Erin Reichle, who are first and second in the RMAC in 3-pointers made. Duran has hit 25 3s and has averaged 14.1 points per game while Reichle has made 19 and has averaged 14.0 points per game.
As dangerous as Mesa’s offense can be, FLC’s defense appears up for the challenge.
The Skyhawks rank third in the conference in scoring defense, having allowed 54.6 points per game, as well as No. 2 in defensive field goal percentage at 31 percent while it as held opponents to 25 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point line. They also rank second in the RMAC with 3.7 blocks per game.
Leading FLC’s defense has been Vivian Gray and Kayla Herrera. Gray leads the conference with 2.1 blocked shots per game, and Herrara ranks second in the RMAC in steals per game at 2.0. The two have also combined to win the RMAC defensive player of the week award in each of the three weeks this season. Herrera won the award after the opening week and Gray has won the last two weeks.
kschneider@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who:
Colorado Mesa University at Fort Lewis College
What:
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women’s basketball
When:
5:30 p.m. Friday
Where:
Whalen Gymnasium, Durango
Listen:
KIUP 930 AM, 97.3, 106.3 FM
Twitter:
@karltschneider
