Six days after giving up 17 offensive rebounds to Regis, Fort Lewis College must slow down a top offensive rebounding team in the conference.
No. 14 Fort Lewis College will host Metro State University-Denver in a marquee Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women’s basketball game at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Whalen Gymnasium in Durango.
FLC (13-1, 7-1 RMAC) is close behind Colorado State University-Pueblo (9-4, 7-0 RMAC) for first place in the conference and is fresh off a key 54-48 win against Regis (5-7, 4-3 RMAC).
Now, Metro State (9-4, 5-2 RMAC) is set to visit in a matchup of two of the top three teams in the league.
“We’re normally a much better rebounding team,” FLC head coach Jason Flores said of last week’s offensive rebounds allowed to Regis. “Giving up 17 offensive rebounds was a focus for us this week. We could have really controlled that game by just that one stat in itself and giving them less possessions. Metro is a top team in offensive rebounds, so there’s a lesson to be learned from last week.”
Fort Lewis has traditionally been better rebounding and is tops in the RMAC at allowing only 32.5 rebounds per game to opponents. Metro State will bring the second-ranked team in rebounding in the conference with an average of 43.2 per game with 14.1 per game on the offensive glass.
FLC’s effort on boxing out will have to start with Georgia Ohrdorf, a 6-foot senior forward from Australia who is second in the conference with 34 offensive rebounds to help her total rebound average of 6.7 per game. Ohrdorf also leads the Roadrunners with 13.4 points per game.
“She’s been their backbone for a couple of years,” Flores said of Ohrdorf. “She’s hard-playing, has good size and a lot of experience.”
Metro State also boasts strong shooters with Emily Hartegan leading the way. She has averaged 10.9 points per game and thrives in mid-range. Guard Jaelynn Smith leads the RMAC with an average of 5.2 assists per game, and she has scored an average of 10.1.
Behind J’Nae Squires-Horton’s 10.4 points per game, the Roadrunners boast four players who average double-digit scoring.
“There’s a reason why they’ve only lost two in conference and beat Colorado Mesa at Mesa,” Flores said.
“That’s a good win. This will be an exciting game against a good team. It’s challenging, but it’s fun at the same time.”
The Skyhawks will enter with the third-highest scoring average in the conference and the top scoring defense. FLC has averaged 67.5 points per game this year, while it has allowed only 49.1.
The team is led by freshman Vivian Gray, who has averaged 17.2 points per game, shooting 48 percent from the field, which ranks third in the conference. She also ranks in the top 10 in the RMAC with 7.2 rebounds per game.
FLC went cold shooting against Regis but got the job done on the interior and free-throw line. Flores expects the offense to find a bit more rhythm against Metro State.
“We never got in a good rhythm offensively and turned down a lot of decent shots,” Flores said. “It wasn’t for the wrong reason but trying to find a better shot. But we need people to score out of good rhythm taking shots.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
