No two home games have meant more to the Skyhawks than the two they’ll play this weekend.
“There’s no doubt about it,” Fort Lewis College women’s basketball head coach Jason Flores said. “We still play all four of the top teams in the rankings and everyone ahead of us in the standings is coming up. It’s so crazy; we’re a game out of third and a game out of eighth.”
Only six games remain in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular-season schedule, and the FLC Skyhawks (12-8, 9-7 RMAC) sit in seventh place in the standings. Only eight teams make the season-ending RMAC Shootout, and FLC has as tough of an upcoming schedule as anyone, including games against CSU-Pueblo and UC-Colorado Springs at 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, respectively.
CSU-Pueblo (12-8, 10-6) defeated UC-Colorado Springs (18-4, 13-3) last Saturday in Pueblo to jump into third place in the RMAC. UC-Colorado Springs fell out of first and sits a half-game back of first place Colorado Mesa.
FLC faced both teams on the road in the first week of the conference season in early December, and the Skyhawks lost both contests.
“It’s hard to look toward those last games. All of the teams are a bit different now from where they were then,” Flores said.
A young Skyhawks team has suffered several setback losses as well as spirit lifting wins this season. After a weekend sweep against the New Mexico teams last weekend, Flores is confident the inexperienced group is rounding into form at the right time.
“We knew coming into the season it would be tough,” said Flores, who saw his three leading scorers from last season graduate. “We had to rely on our post players with the most experience we had. We knew the perimeter players would have to be able to come around and play in big games.
“It took a while, but there’s no substitute for experience. We’ve gotten battle tested throughout the year, players have settled into their roles naturally.”
FLC’s strength all season has been scoring inside and playing solid defense. The Skyhawks are first in the RMAC allowing opponent’s to shoot only 34.7 percent from the field per game.
Turnovers have been a big key. When the Skyhawks turn it over fewer than 20 times, they’ve been competitive in every game.
Junior forward Mary Brinton from Pagosa Springs has led FLC with 14.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Kaile Magazzeni, a senior forward, also is fifth in the RMAC with 1.5 blocked shots per game, and she has averaged 8.8 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game.
Defense and strong play in the paint also has helped CSU-Pueblo this season. Katie Nehf is third in the RMAC with 7.4 rebounds per game, and the ThunderWolves have the No. 1 scoring defense at 58.3 points per game.
“They have pretty good size and length that makes things tough,” Flores said of CSU-Pueblo. “They have a disciplined style they don’t get away from. It’s going to be a good defensive game.”
Flores believes both teams will try to expose a few mismatches. He likes what his team can do in the paint defending Nehf, and he believes slowing down Dee Arrieta, a good shooter who averages 11 points per game, will be a key.
“We may have a quickness advantage in some spots, and they may have size in some other spots,” Flores said. “It’s going to be a very tough game.”
Turning around to play the UC-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions the next night is no easy task. The Mountain Lions play a much faster style of game, averaging a league-best 77.8 points per game.
Abby Kirchoff, the preseason player of the year, leads UC-Colorado Springs in scoring with 21 points per game on 41.5 percent shooting on 3-pointers and 41.3 percent overall. She also makes more than 90 percent of her free throws and sinks 2.8 3s per game.
But it is the play of Brittany Hernandez that gives teams fits. Statistically, she resembles what FLC’s Alex Herrera does in the men’s game with averages of 18.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. She is the top rebounder in the conference and is third in scoring. She also leads the conference in shooting percentage (51.8) and blocked shots per game (2.1).
Hernandez also is coming off a one-game suspension last weekend after being involved in an on-court fight a week earlier against New Mexico Highlands.
“She’s a good player having a great year. She’ll be motivated coming off suspension last weekend when they lost to Pueblo in a tough game,” Flores said. “They play a different style than Pueblo, and they’ll look to put up a bunch of points. It’s tough playing them right after Pueblo.”
What will it take to win two big home games against such mighty foes? Limiting turnover and getting big contributions from experienced players, Flores said.
“We can’t give talented teams extra possessions. Taking care of the ball is the key to the game,” Flores said. “We’ve gotten big contributions from girls in our rotations, but in big games you need your normal go-to vets to be in the game and to have good games.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
