Fort Lewis College was ready for a big-time basketball game, but the Skyhawks got a street fight.
The Regis Rangers played a physical brand of women’s basketball, and the No. 15 Skyhawks countered with a full-court pressure defense that took the Rangers out of rhythm. Despite a five-minute stretch in the fourth quarter without scoring a point, the Skyhawks leaned on freshman sensation Vivian Gray in the final two minutes to earn a hard-fought 54-48 home win Saturday night in Whalen Gymnasium in Durango.
“Tonight was more of a street fight, that’s alright,” FLC head coach Jason Flores said. “It’s college basketball. (Regis) is an NCAA tournament team from last year, and they’re gonna be near the top of the conference when it’s all said and done fighting for a top-four spot. For us, it was a matter of find a way to win, whatever it takes, however it takes.
“We got Viv the ball toward the end. It was great, unselfish, she had the advantage and she scored it and led us with 21. That’s what it’s all about.”
The first quarter was as frantic as they come in women’s basketball with physical play unchecked by the referees. The calls were going one way, and FLC players continually were hit hard going up for layups without a whistle while Regis was allowed to push off and several times got away with traveling violations.
Midway through the second quarter, the contest turned into a basketball game instead of a scrum. FLC (13-1, 7-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) turned a 12-10 deficit after one quarter into a 23-21 halftime lead.
Regis (5-7, 4-3 RMAC) got within 40-39 going into the fourth quarter, but back-to-back buckets from Gray gave the Skyhawks a five-point advantage with nine minutes to play, and Astrea Reed gave FLC its largest lead of the game at 46-39 with a pair of free throws minutes later. But Regis answered, as Majestie Robinson hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws when FLC went on a scoreless streak from the 7:53 mark of the fourth quarter down to under 2:30 to play before Gray came through with a tough layup under heavy pressure to end the drought.
Regis had a chance with 1 minute left and got off three shots thanks to two consecutive offensive rebounds, but the final 3-point try from Mary Sigler rimmed out and Gray recorded a rebound that was tipped to Reed. Still, Regis had one more chance, but a Sigler 3 attempt was blocked by Gray to ice the game.
Of FLC’s 54 points, 42 were scored either in the paint or at the free-throw line, as FLC went 14-of-18 from the line. The Skyhawks went 0-of-8 from behind the 3-point line and struggled all night to shoot from outside. Still, FLC was the tougher team in the paint when it mattered most.
“It’s tough, definitely tough,” Gray said of the physical play in the paint all night. “I think they fouled a lot more than they got called for in my opinion, but just staying composed, keeping your cool and working hard.”
Gray scored a game-high 21 points and was credited with two rebounds, though she had several more. She added five steals and two blocks and had very active hands in the fourth quarter to create Regis turnovers.
Reed finished with nine points for Fort Lewis on only 1-of-12 shooting from the field, but she went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line and played all-conference caliber defense against Robinson, who finished with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
Reed came out of the locker room at halftime with an intense look on her face as she stared down Robinson, and the intensity she brought to the floor flowed through the rest of the Skyhawks.
“If things aren’t falling for us or a specific person, it doesn’t matter, we need to find a way to win,” Reed said. “That comes through effort. We really needed to come through at the end of the game, and we did. We made things happen, little pieces, box outs, layups, free throws, the little things that can win a game.”
FLC held Regis to 16-of-52 shooting from the field for a percentage of 30.8. The Skyhawks shot 10 percent better on 20-of-49 shooting. The box score showed FLC down 41-28 in rebounding, and much of that disparity came as Regis got kind bounces on the offensive glass. The Rangers had 17 offensive rebounds.
“You gotta win in different ways,” Flores said. “Astrea was 1-of-12, and that’s not gonna be her. She’s a good player. She talked about it, and we need everyone else to then contribute. She was 1-of-12, but if you watch the defensive effort and watch her hit clutch free throws, there’s other aspects of the game she went to to help us win, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Briana Clah had eight points and three rebounds for FLC, and Jordan Carter had six points, two rebounds and a steal in only six minutes of action.
Alyssa Yocky returned to the floor for only the second time this season as she returns from offseason ankle surgery. The All-RMAC selection from a year ago was strong defensively in 18 minutes of action but was tentative on the offensive end. She had two points and six rebounds.
Flores thanked a strong crowd inside Whalen Gymnasium. The community support was strong, and the environment was tense as fans were on the edge of their seat. With students gone on winter break, Flores credited the community support for a great showing.
FLC has won eight in a row and is 9-0 at home this year and will host Metro State at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The Skyhawks are one game back in the loss column from CSU-Pueblo for the conference lead after falling to the ThunderWolves in the RMAC opener earlier this year.
“The more you win games, the more relevant they become,” Flores said. “It’s to the point where we’re gonna get everyone’s best shot. It’s natural when you look at records. They’re gonna come after us, and we have to have a punch back. The players have done a great job. We’re 13-1, 7-1 heading into this whole stretch of the second half of the season. How can you not be excited?”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
