In a tough Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, maximum effort and intensity are a must if teams want to compete on the road, and Fort Lewis College’s women’s basketball wasn’t up to the task in Friday’s 68-54 loss at CSU-Pueblo.
The ThunderWolves (9-1, 4-0 RMAC) used a dominant 25-point fourth quarter en route to their ninth consecutive win to stay perfect at the top of the RMAC standings. CSU-Pueblo guard Tuileisu Anderson led all scorers with 21 points.
Three Skyhawks finished in double figures, with Astrea Reed’s 15 points leading the pack. Kylie Santos had 12 points and Dallas Dickerson finished with 11 off the bench.
“They took the fight to us, and they deserved to win,” Fort Lewis head coach Jason Flores said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “They were more aggressive, and they had more will to win than we did. That is extremely disappointing.”
Fort Lewis led for much of the first half behind hot shooting off the bench from Dickerson and Alyssa Yocky. With starters Mary Rambo and Kate Bayes both in foul trouble, the 14 combined points from Dickerson and Yocky were huge in the first half.
Even without the presence in the paint of their starters, the Skyhawks were still able to build a six point first-half lead. Near the end of the half, however, the ThunderWolves went on a late 9-0 run to briefly take the lead.
It didn’t last long, as Reed’s steal and buzzer-beating 3-pointer from just inside half court gave Fort Lewis a 26-25 lead and took back some much needed momentum heading into the locker room.
“Our bench kept us in it there for awhile, and, even though we were winning at halftime, it was fool’s gold,” Flores said. “We weren’t doing the things it takes to win, and we have to be smarter about getting in foul trouble.”
The foul trouble and lack of presence down low killed Fort Lewis. The ThunderWolves won the points in the paint battle with a decisive 32-8 advantage.
The momentum gained didn’t carry over to the second half, as the ThunderWolves came out of the locker room with more energy than they showed at the start.
Specifically, it was Anderson who took matters into her own hands.
Anderson scorched the Skyhawks for 16 second-half points, and the visitors had no answer. When the ThunderWolves took control, they ran away with it.
Ashley Piper and Lauren Heyn each had 16 points for the ThunderWolves in the win.
“We needed to make it more difficult on (Anderson) and we just didn’t do it,” Flores said. “It seemed like when they picked up the intensity, we got back on our heels. We’ve got to do better.”
Fort Lewis (6-3, 2-2 RMAC) will aim to do better at 5 p.m. Saturday when they take on Western State (3-3, 1-3 RMAC) in Gunnison.
jfries@durangoherald.com
