Skyhawks women’s basketball head coach Lauren Zuniga liked her team’s shot selection over the past few games, and the shots, specifically sophomore Claudia Palacio Gámez’s, finally fell in an 81-71 home win over Colorado Christian University on Thursday.
All of Palacio Gámez’s potential turned into production on Thursday with a career-high 27 points. The 5-foot-10-inch point guard’s 3-point shot was dialed in, she found her teammates, rebounded the ball and hit her free throws.
FLC shared the ball well with 17 assists (second most this season), and FLC had one of its most balanced offensive showings with 3-point shooting and great looks near the basket. The Skyhawks never trailed and rebounded from a tough Black Hills State loss.
“I’m impressed with the entire team .... we shot the ball well and did the right things,” Zuniga said. “Every single person did something with their minutes. When you have that, you get a lot of wins.”
The Skyhawks improved to 12-5 overall and 5-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after they shot 49% from the field, 48% from 3-point range and 52% from the free-throw line.
Palacio Gámez shot 8-10 from the field, 6-7 from 3-point range, 5-6 from the free-throw line, seven rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Katie Lamb added 18 points on 6-14 from the field, 4-10 from 3-point range and 2-4 from the free-throw line.
Colorado Christian dropped to 4-13 overall and 1-8 in the RMAC after it shot 42% from the field, 29% from 3-point range and 71% from the free-throw line. Jordan Heckert led the Cougars with 18 points on 6-15 shooting from the field, 3-6 from 3-point range and 3-3 from the free-throw line.
FLC got off to a fantastic 17-2 start with 4:30 left in the first thanks to three 3-pointers from Palacio Gámez and a transition corner 3-pointer from Lamb and freshman guard Josie Davis. The Skyhawks were playing good perimeter defense against the Cougars, getting the rebounds and pushing the ball in transition to find open shooters.
“Our rotations were good; we turned them over early; we flustered them a little bit,” Zuniga said. “So I always love that. Offensively, it was one of our more cohesive games.”
Colorado Christian recovered from its poor start by finishing inside and getting to the free-throw line. Two free throws by Palacio Gámez gave FLC a 22-11 lead after the first quarter; Palacio Gámez had 11 first-quarter points.
After struggling with fouls and interior defense to start the second quarter, the Skyhawks responded with two inside finishes from junior Makaya Porter and freshman Savanna Dotray. Those two were the antithesis of what FLC had last year, with their combination of length, athleticism and finishing ability. Another strong Porter finish gave FLC a 34-19 lead with four minutes left in the half.
It was a decent finish to the first half for the Skyhawks, with some 3-pointers by Lamb, and the Skyhawks found freshman forward Alemaualii Fonoti inside for deep post touches. FLC led 44-30 at the half.
Colorado Christian had a great start to the second half, finding open shooters. A 3-pointer by Heckert cut FLC’s lead to 47-40 with 7:23 left in the third and forced Zuniga to call a timeout.
Heckert continued to score with an old-school 3-point play and two free throws, cutting FLC’s lead to 52-49 with 2:53 left in the third. FLC’s offense was a little stagnant, relying on its guards to beat their defender to the basket.
“Those third quarters just get us,” Zuniga said. “That’s one of the main reasons we lost to Black Hills ... Our word of the night was urgency. We were urgent for the first, second and fourth quarter. We were not urgent in the third quarter at all. We came out flat.”
FLC hung on to its lead at the end of the third quarter; Palacio Gàmez was on fire from 3-point range, making her fifth consecutive 3-pointer to give FLC a 61-55 lead heading into the fourth.
The Skyhawks had a great start to the fourth quarter, with Zuniga drawing up two great sets for two Davis layups. Porter got the FLC faithful on their feet with a fantastic block on a 3-point shooter. She completed the sequence by getting the ball and driving in for a lefty layup for a 67-57 lead with 7:14 left.
Colorado Christian made a run at a comeback, with some strong driving and finishing. A strong Johnson drive and finish cut the FLC lead to 73-69 with 2:20 left. FLC could’ve put the game away a lot earlier, but it looked like Helen Keller was at the free-throw line for the Skyhawks with how poorly they were shooting. Regardless, it was very fitting that Palacio Gámez put the game out of reach with a banked-in 3-pointer with less than 40 seconds left.
“I’m so happy for her because she puts in the work,” Zuniga said about Palacio Gámez. “To see your hard work pay off, that’s so much more special for her. Hopefully she can take some of that confidence and really continue to play.”
FLC stays at home on Saturday to play the University of Colorado Colorado Springs at 1 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
