The unbeaten Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team hit the road for a regular season game for the first time this season Friday night, and the result was no different than the previous contests.
The Skyhawks (3-0) used a dominant third quarter to run away from Texas-Permian Basin 69-54.
Astrea Reed was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and led Fort Lewis with 14 points. Dallas Dickerson’s efficient 5-for-7 from the field led to 11 points while Mary Rambo and Kate Bayes added nice each.
“It was a back-and-forth first half, but we played everybody and I think we wore them down,” Fort Lewis head coach Jason Flores said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We missed a lot of easy looks in the first half but got a much better rhythm going in the second half when we worked the ball inside to outside.”
The Skyhawks struggled from the floor in the first half, shooting only 23 percent, but they stepped up their game at the other end of the floor and beat the opponents on the glass.
FLC’s defense forced 16 first-half turnovers and cleaned up on the offensive boards. The Skyhawks had 12 second-chance points in the first half and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds.
With a 28-24 halftime lead, Fort Lewis came out like gang busters in the second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Kylie Santos and Michelle Turner to start the third quarter set the tone.
The Falcons answered with a 6-0 run that cut the deficit to 34-32, but that was as close as Texas-Permian Basin would get to the unbeaten Skyhawks.
Fort Lewis answered back with a run that blew the game wide open. The Skyhawks finished the third quarter on a 13-3 run that turned into a 20-3 run as FLC kept the pressure on in the fourth quarter.
“We really started using our size advantage in the second half,” Flores said. “It was a great defensive effort, and it was nice to see that finally translate to some easy baskets.”
The size advantage and the smothering Skyhawks defense continued to do damage until the final whistle. Fort Lewis led in rebounding 47-33, dominated scoring in the paint with a 38-22 advantage and converted defense into offense with 18 points off turnovers.
The perfect start for Fort Lewis will be on the line at 4 p.m. Saturday against No. 23 Lubbock Christian.
“This will be a good test for us,” Flores said. “They’ve already beaten up on a couple of (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) teams, so it’s a huge game early in the season for us, and we’ll see how we stack up.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
