Fort Lewis’ offense looked lost early on Saturday, as sophomore Lanae Billy was cold and senior forward Kelsey Sorenson sat for a good chunk of the first half with foul trouble.
But sophomore forward Kate Gallery found herself and the Skyhawks offense in the third quarter. Gallery had 15 third-quarter points to propel Fort Lewis to a 58-52 win over Westminster at Whalen Gymnasium.
Fort Lewis (7-4, 4-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) shot 35% from the field and 27% from 3-point range.
“It was a good game,” associate head coach Kylie Lorenzen said. “There was a lot of adversity that we faced, it showed the growth as a team. I don't think we would have won that game if it was early November. But going through the adversity and handling it, I don't think our girls had any doubt in their minds that we weren't going to win, that game was huge.”
Gallery finished with 19 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the field and 3 of 6 shooting from downtown, along with eight rebounds. Sorenson finished with 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting before leaving the game with a head injury in the fourth quarter.
Westminster (2-9, 0-5 in the RMAC) shot 32% from the field and 29% from 3-point range. Elizabeth Means and Jaycee Lichtie each scored 15 points for the Griffins.
The game got off to an unusual start with two administrative technical fouls before tipoff.
Both teams started off cold before Avery Evans drove to the basket and got fouled. She made one free throw before junior guard Sadie Misner got a rebound and Sorenson scored inside for a 3-2 lead. Westminster got its first basket off some poor baseline out-of- bounds defense by Fort Lewis, which led to a layup.
Sorenson then went to work inside to give the Skyhawks a 7-4 lead. She established her position inside, went to her left and finished on the left side of the rim twice.
The Griffins missed quite a few baskets inside in the opening minutes, and Billy extended the lead to 10-4 with a corner 3-pointer.
However, Westminster went on an 8-0 run. Fort Lewis had two sloppy turnovers, and the Griffins finished some baskets inside to take a 12-10 lead before Harris called a timeout with less than three minutes to go in the opening quarter.
Misner’s left-handed finish tied the game at 17, and both teams were hitting shots from midrange and getting to the basket. Means extended Westminster’s lead to 26-23 with a midrange jumper with 34 seconds left before Gallery finished the half with a spin move into the paint for a bucket with 15 seconds left, cutting Westminster’s lead to 26-25 at halftime.
Fort Lewis started aggressively to start the third, with Sorenson and Misner getting to the foul line and making their free throws. Sorenson was disruptive on the defensive end and blocked two shots over the course of a few minutes. Gallery got on the board with a 3-pointer, and Westminster called a timeout with 7:40 to go.
Gallery started heating up with another 3-pointer, after which she mouthed “boom” and then hit a reverse layup. Westminster picked up its offense and trailed 37-32 with 4:59 left in the third.
“I remember sitting on the bench right before the third quarter started and I said don't worry, they're giving you three feet don't even let them disrespect you like that, you’ve got to let it fly,” Lorenzen said to Gallery. “If you don't make the first one, you're going to make the next one. If you make the first one, then you’re going to make the next two. So she really has that awesome confidence of she's not really afraid to make mistakes and she's going to let it fly regardless.”
The Griffins tied up the game at 37-37 before Sorenson had a put-back plus the foul after a stagnant offensive possession. Westminster continued to get the ball inside against the Skyhawks’ 2-3 zone, tying the game at 39-39 with 2:36 left in the third.
But with an unusual offensive possession, Sorenson brought the ball up, drove and kicked it out to Gallery for a 3-pointer to put Fort Lewis up 42-39.
Gallery kept scoring baskets, and Misner hit a corner 3 to push the lead to 49-39 after three quarters.
Evans opened the fourth quarter with a drive and score. The Skyhawks kept their 10-point lead with a Wattawa 3-pointer and Sorenson spin move inside.
Robinson made both free throws to cut the lead to 56-50 with 2:30 left. The Skyhawks struggled to find good looks in the last few minutes of the fourth, but caused numerous turnovers. Gallery’s steal with 23 seconds left sealed the win.
Fort Lewis doesn’t play again until Friday, Jan. 5 on the road at South Dakota Mines.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
