Kayla Herrera went on a personal 6-0 run to start the second quarter for the second consecutive night. This time, it didn’t spark the rest of the Skyhawks.
Colorado School of Mines controlled rebounds on both end of the floor in a 60-47 road win Saturday night inside Whalen Gymnasium in Durango. The Orediggers (8-6, 5-4 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) made life difficult on FLC’s offense all night to finish a key weekend road sweep of Adams State and the Skyhawks (7-8, 3-6 RMAC).
The Orediggers out-rebounded FLC 45-33 in the game.
“It was big in the first quarter,” FLC head coach Jason Flores said of the rebounds. “I think that turned the momentum of the game right into their favor. Then in the third quarter, it came back. We knew and talked about it, and it showed right back up again.
“Credit Mines, they played really well. They were just intent on being great defensively and beating us on the boards every single possession.”
After FLC trailed 19-10 after one quarter, Herrera got the team back in the game. But FLC could only get as close as a tie the rest of the way and trailed 28-23 at halftime.
Second-chance points added up for the Orediggers in the third quarter, though, as Mines scored seven off offensive rebounds in the 10 minutes.
The Skyhawks trailed 45-32 after a dismal third quarter in which it turned the ball over five times and gave up six offensive rebounds.
FLC tried to storm back in the fourth quarter. Alyssa Yocky converted a traditional three-point play to cut the deficit to 49-41 with 7:17 to play. Though the Skyhawks’ defensive intensity picked up, FLC couldn’t find enough offense to muster a comeback.
“It’s hard because Mines has a lot of girls that can do it all,” Yocky said. “They’re a threat from outside and a threat from inside. ... It was hard to keep track and matchup with players because everyone was versatile, everyone could score in a different way. We had to play them straight up, and I think we struggled with that a bit. When we did, we had a struggled getting in position for rebounds.”
The Skyhawks shot only 31 percent in the loss, including a 2-of-19 showing from 3-point range. Mines made 5-of-18 from 3.
“It was too many 3s, but not a lot of those were good shots,” Flores said. “It’s really because we were stagnant offensively. We were scared to draw fouls or be daring enough to make a hard drive. Our post players were fading away all night long.
Herrera led FLC with a game-high 18 points. She was the lone FLC player in double figures. Yocky added nine points and eight rebounds.
“I wish more of my teammates would have been involved,” Herrera said. “Yeah, I had 18 points, but I wish I would have had more assists, try to help the team in other ways.”
Denali Pinto scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, both team highs for the Orediggers. Raven Herrera added 14 points and six rebounds and hit two consecutive 3s in the third quarter to stretch the lead. Anna Kollmorgen went only 1-of-9 shooting but finished with 10 points thanks to making 8-of-10 at the foul line. She added six rebounds.
The Skyhawks will stay home next weekend for games against elite conference foes Western State Colorado University (10-3, 6-3 RMAC) and soon-to-be top-25 ranked Colorado Mesa University (12-1, 9-0 RMAC).
“The little things of effort, playing hard and communicating, those little pieces,” Flores said of what his team needs to do to be successful. “We’re on a roller coaster this year. We do it, we win a game. ... The Sooner we figure that out, the sooner we put together good stretches of basketball.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
