There aren’t many local sports teams playing in Durango over the next week, but there are still plenty of storylines to watch as Fort Lewis College gets deeper into conference play and the high school edge closer to league play.
The Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team is still undefeated in conference play, and the Skyhawks hit the road to try and stay undefeated. The women’s basketball team looks to improve on a 1-1 home record last week.
In high school sports, Ignacio High School and Durango High School girls wrestling will head to Bayfield to compete in the La Plata Tri after traveling all over the state for tournaments so far this season.
Here’s the local sports schedule for the upcoming week:
Thursday: Women’s basketball at South Dakota Mines at 5:30 p.m.
Notes: The Skyhawks are 10-4 overall after their 72-53 win at home against Westminster on Saturday. It’s only the second time in the last five seasons that FLC has had at least 10 wins. The Skyhawks are looking to make the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament for the first time since 2017-2018.
FLC senior guard Deniece Ryan is expected to miss the rest of the season due to an injury. Ryan is expected to get a medical redshirt to keep a year of eligibility. She averaged 11 points per game last season and earned All-RMAC Honorable Mention.
South Dakota Mines is 6-8 overall, 4-2 in the RMAC and are 2-3 in its last five games. The Hardrockers have one of the top scorers in the RMAC in Savea Mansfield, who’s averaging 19.1 PPG.
The Hardrockers are a decent 3-point shooting team, ranking fourth in the RMAC at 32%. South Dakota Mines also is a good free-throw shooting team, ranking third in the conference at 77%.
Men’s basketball at South Dakota Mines at 7:30 p.m.
Notes: The Skyhawks are 6-0 in the RMAC and 8-5 overall after going 2-0 last weekend at home. After a dominant 26-point victory on Thursday against Western Colorado, FLC survived an overtime game against Westminster in which the Skyhawks missed 44 field goals, 15 free throws and had a negative assist-to-turnover ratio.
One of the reasons FLC was able to stay undefeated was because of redshirt sophomore guard Stewart Erhart. The Alaska native won RMAC Offensive Player of the Week and RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the first Skyhawk to win both awards in the same week since Marquel Beasley in 2018-2019. Erhart averaged 22 points in last week’s games, along with seven steals per game.
South Dakota Mines is 7-7 overall and 4-2 in the RMAC. The Hardrockers had their five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday with their 88-72 loss at Colorado School of Mines.
The Hardrockers’ Jason Lee is the third-leading scorer in the RMAC, averaging 18.9 PPG.
Saturday: Women’s basketball at Black Hills State at 1 p.m.
Men’s basketball at Black Hills State at 3 p.m.
Thursday: Bayfield, Durango, Ignacio girls wrestling at La Plata Tri at Bayfield High School
Friday: Durango, Bayfield, Ignacio boys, girls wrestling at Clash at the Coliseum in Aztec
Durango Alpine skiing at Aspen
Durango girls swimming and diving at Montrose at 5 p.m.
Durango girls basketball at Grand Junction Central at 5:30 p.m.
Durango boys basketball at Grand Junction Central at 7 p.m.
Durango ice hockey vs. Caprock Academy
Bayfield girls basketball at Alamosa at 5:30 p.m.
Bayfield boys basketball at Alamosa at 7 p.m.
Saturday: Durango girls swimming and diving at Montrose at 10 a.m.
Durango girls basketball at Palisade at noon
Bayfield girls basketball vs. Centauri at noon
Durango ice hockey vs. Caprock Academy at 12:30 p.m.
Ignacio girls basketball vs. Pagosa Springs at 1 p.m.
Durango boys basketball at Palisade at 1:30 p.m.
Bayfield boys basketball vs. Centauri at 2 p.m.
Ignacio boys basketball vs. Pagosa Springs at 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday: Ignacio girls basketball at Montezuma-Cortez at 4:30 p.m.
Ignacio boys basketball at Montezuma-Cortez at 6 p.m.
