The Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team didn’t have the best start at home against Chadron State on Thursday, but their defense finished the job with a convincing 67-46 win.
After FLC was down 14-9 at the end of the first quarter, the Skyhawks’ defense was fantastic, forcing turnovers and tough shots for Chadron State all night. FLC’s offense wasn’t fantastic, but it had enough good spurts to pull away in the second half for a crucial Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win.
“Knowing what’s at stake, knowing that we have to win at home, we want to win our next four games,” FLC head coach Lauren Zuniga said. “It always starts with the next game. Having a bounce back and proving to ourselves what we’re capable of. We did a great job defensively on the scouts, so I’m very proud of us for that.”
FLC improved to 15-10 overall and 8-9 in the RMAC after it shot 40% from the field, 31% from the field and 72% from the free-throw line. The win snapped a two-game losing streak and put the Skyhawks in eighth place in the conference standings, the final spot in the conference tournament.
Junior guard Natalie Guanella led the Skyhawks with 16 points on 6-6 shooting from the field and 4-5 from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Katie Lamb added 13 points for FLC.
“She's always aggressive,” Zuniga said about Guanella. “She always tries to do the right thing. She always plays hard, and she reaped the rewards of that tonight.”
Chadron State dropped to 1-21 overall and 1-16 in the RMAC after it shot 33% from the field, 27% from 3-point range and 67% from the free-throw line. Audrey Quintana led the Eagles with 14 points on 6-10 shooting from the field, 1-4 from 3-point range and 1-2 from the free-throw line.
The Skyhawks’ offensive struggles from last week continued over to start the first quarter. FLC was playing solid defense, but couldn’t hit a shot from anywhere on the court. It also didn’t help that the Skyhawks had seven turnovers in the first as they trailed 14-9 going into the second quarter.
“I didn't love our shot selection,” Zuniga said. “Not that they weren't open looks, but maybe not the ones that we wanted, second-guessing some stuff. I did like our intensity and like the way we were pushing the ball offensively, but it took a minute for us to kind of settle in to what they were running defensively and what we were looking for.”
FLC really got things going to start the second quarter, scoring 12 points in the first four minutes. The Skyhawks moved the ball, with freshman guard Josie Davis and senior forward Ashten Martinez hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to retake the lead. FLC also created turnovers with some nice weak-side rotations into the paint. Two free throws by junior Makaya Porter, followed by a drive and score on the next possession, gave FLC a 25-18 lead with 3:50 left in the half.
The Eagles really struggled to score at the end of the second quarter. When it wasn’t turning the ball over, Chadron State unsuccessfully tried to get good post touches and looks as the Skyhawks did a good job walling up on defense. Chadron State scored one point over the last 6:30 of the second quarter as FLC led 31-19 at the half.
“Chadron does a good job of doing some high ball screen stuff and really looking to skip it or get it into the post,” Zuniga said. “We really wanted to try and disrupt the ball handlers and make them make hard decisions, tough passes. Our rotations were really good
Both teams did a good job of finishing in the paint early in the third quarter, but FLC was better. Lamb had an acrobatic scoop shot with a ton of spin that hit nothing but net plus the foul, putting FLC up 42-26 with five minutes left in the third.
FLC slowly built its lead as the third quarter ended. The Skyhawks were still focused on getting into the paint on offense, but Lamb knocked down a corner 3-pointer to give FLC a 49-30 lead entering the fourth.
The game was over by the start of the fourth quarter, with how well FLC was defending. The Skyhawks continued to create turnovers and pad their lead, making it look like they were a combination of Tony Bennett and Bob Huggins’ best defensive teams.
FLC stays at home for senior day against South Dakota Mines on Saturday at 1 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
