Fort Lewis women’s basketball coach Taylor Harris talked in the locker room after the game about how two years ago, and even a year ago, this was a game the Skyhawks might not have won.
Well, it appeared early in the fourth quarter Fort Lewis was on its way to another loss. New Mexico Highlands’ Delani Harris converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to give the Cowgirls a 50-46 lead with 7:11 left in the game. The Skyhawks had lost momentum and the 11-point lead they held in the third quarter.
But behind sophomore forward Kate Gallery, Fort Lewis showed maturity and poise down the stretch, despite sophomore guard Lanae Billy fouling out late in the fourth. Gallery went 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the last 40 seconds, as the Skyhawks pulled away and won 64-57 Friday night at Whalen Gymnasium.
“That was fun,” Harris said “Basketball is truly a game of ups and downs, highs and lows, riding the waves. Our first and third quarters were kind of low waves. Then when we had to finish out a half strong, we did a great job in the second quarter, and then in the fourth quarter.”
Fort Lewis improved to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after shooting 38% overall and 33% from 3-point range. New Mexico Highlands fell to 3-4 (2-1 in RMAC play) after shooting 26% from the field and 23% from 3-point range.
Gallery had a career-high 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the field, 3 of 7 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. Gallery also had six rebounds.
Billy was limited to only 19 minutes, as she dealt with foul trouble throughout the game. She still managed to score 13 points on 4 of 8 shooting overall, including 1 of 2 from beyond the arc and 4 of 4 from the charity stripe.
The Skyhawks did well inside with the duo of senior forward Kelsey Sorenson and junior forward Samantha Wattawa. Sorenson returned after a five-game absence and contributed nine points, eight rebounds and four assists. Wattawa had her first double-double with 12 points on 5 of 11 shooting and 10 rebounds.
“It definitely helps because I feel like it opens us up on the outside when Kelsey’s in because a lot of people are focused on her … and that opens us up on the wings,” Wattawa said.
Vanessa Herrera led New Mexico Highlands with 15 points on 5 of 12 shooting from 3-point range. Juliana Aragon and Delani Harris had 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Fort Lewis got off to a horrible start on the scoring end in the first quarter. Herrera hit two 3-pointers and helped give the Cowgirls an 8-0 lead five minutes in.
A Wattawa put-back helped get Fort Lewis on the scoreboard. Junior guard Sadie Misner hit her first 3-pointer of the season to shrink the Cowgirls’ advantage to 10-8 to end the quarter.
The style of the game quickly changed, as the Skyhawks put together one of their best quarters of the season.
Gallery hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Sorenson got to the free-throw line and freshman guard Trista Hoobler hit a 3-pointer off the bench to give Fort Lewis a 26-19 lead with two minutes left before halftime.
The cherry on top happened when Billy came in for the last offensive possession and hit a contested, step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Skyhawks a 30-19 lead at half. Fort Lewis scored 22 points in the second half on 70% shooting.
However, the Cowgirls wrangled in the Skyhawks with two early 3-pointers by Herrera in the third quarter. Fort Lewis had trouble stopping penetration in the third quarter, and New Mexico Highlands got to the free-throw line. Harris switched up the defenses, but the Cowgirls took a 43-42 lead into the fourth after a layup with 11 seconds left.
After leading 50-46 early in the fourth, the Gallery show resumed as she made a beautiful spinning shot to the basket, followed by a 3-pointer to put the Skyhawks up 51-50.
The two teams switched leads numerous times before Wattawa got behind the defense for a layup to give Fort Lewis a 55-54 lead with 3:51 left.
Billy and Sorenson then drew fouls and increased the lead to 58-54.
Aragon made two free throws for New Mexico Highlands to make it a 58-57 contest, but Sorenson scored a huge basket inside to give the Skyhawks a 60-57 lead with 1:02 left. The Cowgirls then couldn’t convert, and Gallery sank her free throws to seal the win.
Fort Lewis is back in action Saturday at home against CSU Pueblo, starting at 4 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
