When Regis all-league center Kaylie Rader was sidelined with an injury in the third quarter of Friday’s game against Fort Lewis, the Skyhawks were up four points and ready to go in for the kill. Instead, it was the Rangers that took command.
Rader had 11 points and was leading her team in scoring at the time of the injury, but the loss was a blessing in disguise for the Rangers. No. 25 Regis followed up with an inspired run and avenged one of its two losses on the season by beating the Skyhawks 79-74.
Fort Lewis guard Shelby Patterson had a career-high 22 points in the loss. Majestie Robinson led the Rangers with 18 points, and Karlyn Johnson had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“The biggest and best part of this team and these girls is the fact that we all stay together and keep composure through adversity,” Regis head coach Molly Marrin said. “It is the No. 1 strength of our team and it has been all season.”
Neither team faced much adversity early on and there was absolutely no feeling-out period to start the second matchup in three weeks between the two teams. Fort Lewis won the first battle 58-49 at Regis, but the Rangers were up to the task from the get-go Friday.
Regis guard Mary Sigler had 10 points in a well-played first quarter that saw the teams combine to shoot 61 percent. The offense was so efficient at both ends, FLC had shot 100 percent through the game’s opening seven minutes but still trailed.
It didn’t stay that way for long, however, as the Skyhawks used an 8-0 stretch in the second quarter to take the lead and took a one-point advantage to the locker room at halftime.
The Skyhawks (13-5, 8-5 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) built a six-point lead at one point in the second half, and were up four midway through the quarter when Rader got hurt.
“We were just starting to execute what we had planned when she got hurt,” Fort Lewis head coach Jason Flores said. “She’s a good player, but as crazy as it sounds, it was almost a benefit to them. They put in a girl who just grabbed some huge offensive rebounds and that just gave them the second chances they needed.”
The spark plug substitute for the Rangers (14-2, 9-2 RMAC) was Shelby Espinosa, who pulled down eight rebounds in limited playing time. She was critical to Regis holding a 40-26 rebounding edge and 16-6 advantage in second-chance points.
The inspired Rangers went on a 9-2 run shortly after the loss of their interior force, and threw a full-court press at the Skyhawks for good measure.
The press forced FLC into making some uncharacteristic turnovers, and the couple that were turned into Rangers points made a difference in the end, as it was a two-point game with just over a minute remaining. Regis got some big baskets and converted from the foul line down the stretch to seal the deal.
Patterson was 15-for-18 from the free throw line, which led to her team-leading and career-high 22 points.
“I’ve played with a few of those girls and I just felt like I had to prove something out there,” Patterson said.
Alyssa Yocky had 17 points for Fort Lewis and Briana Clah added 15 in the loss.
The Skyhawks will try to get back in the win column at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at home against Chadron State.
jfries@durangoherald.com
