Fort Lewis College looked to have a marquee win to go into winter break before Black Hills State’s Morgan Ham served up a cold defeat to the Skyhawks.
Ham scored 19 points in the second half including 10 in the fourth quarter to help fuel the Yellow Jackets to a 23-12 advantage in the final 10 minutes. That secured a 65-55 win for No. 18 Black Hills State.
It was a tough loss to swallow for FLC.
“If we could have just put the pressure on, finished a few things, really put the pressure on them, I would love to see what would have happened from there, but we didn’t,” FLC head coach Jason Flores said. “We’re gonna be fine. We’ll bounce back, I know that for sure.
“It’s a hard learning curve. We haven’t had the experience. We gotta grow up quicker, that’s really it. But I love these guys, they’re gonna do it, work through it and play their tails off and be OK.”
FLC held Ham to only four points in the first half, but she was a difference maker when it mattered most. She shot 7-of-13 from the field and made 7-of-8 free throws.
The game was tied 50-50 after Sydney Candelaria had a steal and fastbreak layup for FLC. Ham put the game away moments later. She scored a layup through a foul from FLC forward Aubre Fortner and converted the three-point play at the foul line. The next trip down the floor, she caught a pass at the top of the 3-point arc and stepped into a rhythm 3-pointer that was nothing but net. That gave Black Hills a 62-52 lead with a minute to play.
“She’s a good player, No. 1,” Flores said of Ham. “She’s a threat inside, outside. I think we allowed momentum to switch in the game. When you’re playing with momentum, things come a bit easier. That was on us. Our defense was hanging in there, getting stops, and then we turned it over or were missing. If those things get flipped, if we make some easy shots, then we probably stay in the lead and then defense is a little more locked in.”
One night after FLC played mesmerizing team defense in a 62-44 win against South Dakota Mines, the Skyhawks held the Yellow Jackets to a 38.5 percent shooting effort in the first half. But Black Hills shot 53.8 percent in the fourth quarter, FLC went cold at 31.3 percent.
The Skyhawks played the last two games without MorningRose Tobey, who is out with an injury, and many Skyhawks battled illness. That was especially evident with Jordan Carter, a key piece to the team’s offense who was held to only two points and four rebounds in 21 minutes Sunday.
Candelaria led FLC with 14 points and three steals before she fouled out.
“(Saturday), we played 40 minutes really hard but, tonight, we did it in the first half, but we have to play hard for 40 minutes straight,” Candelaria said. “There’s times we play really tough and then we fall apart. It has to be consistently playing tough.”
Kayla Herrera added 11 points, five rebounds and three steals. Alyssa Yocky finished with nine points and six rebounds. She also had four steals but was only 3-of-11 shooting and missed a pair of easy layups.
Black Hills, the top 3-point shooting team in the RMAC, made 10-of-19 from long range and outrebounded the Skyhawks 38-32.
FLC was able to limit the mighty Yellow Jackets thanks to forcing 21 turnovers that led to 22 points.
While FLC hung tough with one of the top teams in the conference, it was a bitter defeat for the players before break.
“The whole first half we felt like we were on a roll,” Herrera said. “Then, we’ve got this thing where we kind of look at each other and some of us start to fall apart. We need to start coming together more and remember how good we are and be really confident because we are a good team.”
FLC will be off until Dec. 27 and will have a chance to practice for a few days before it will host Northern New Mexico at 1 p.m. Dec. 31. FLC already beat Northern New Mexico 92-46 at home Nov. 14.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
