The Fort Lewis women’s basketball team is struggling to score. Whether it is open shots or contested shots, the ball is not finding the nylon enough for FLC to have sustained success. Luckily for the Skyhawks, they are only two games in so there’s plenty of time to improve. FLC shot 32% from the field in its 67-48 loss at home against Eastern New Mexico on Saturday night.
There were moments of offensive production for the Skyhawks when they scored in transition or off good ball movement and cutting. FLC took the lead during the second quarter and had 21 points in that quarter. But FLC scored 18 points total in the final two quarters and couldn’t stay in the game.
“It was the same song and dance as yesterday,” FLC head coach Lauren Zuniga said. “We found a way to crawl back in the second quarter and I’m super proud of that effort. We were scoring and playing defense, and then came out from halftime and … we talked about our response, how we were going to respond today with a third quarter and we didn't have a great response.”
FLC fell to 1-1 overall after it also shot 24% from 3-point range and 78% from the free-throw line.
Eastern New Mexico improved to 2-0 overall after it shot 47% from the field, 47% from 3-point range and 88% from the free-throw line.
Junior guard Deniece Ryan led the Skyhawks with 10 points on 5-10 shooting from the field. Senior forward Darla Hernandez had nine points and six rebounds for FLC.
The Greyhounds were led by Kaitlyn Edmondson’s 18 points off the bench on 7-9 shooting from the field, 4-4 from the free-throw line and eight rebounds.
Eastern New Mexico got off to an early 9-3 lead thanks to some strong play inside. The Greyhounds looked to get lots of post-touches early on. FLC’s deficit could’ve been larger but Eastern New Mexico missed some putbacks inside.
FLC struggled to get into its offensive sets and turned the ball over a few times in the first six minutes of the first quarter. A steal by the Greyhounds and a finish made it 13-3 with 3:16 to go in the first quarter. Zuniga called a timeout after the Skyhawks looked a little too passive when they weren’t turning it over.
The Skyhawks’ guards finally penetrated. Ryan and freshman guard Katie Lamb hit floaters in the lane at the end of the first quarter but FLC still trailed 17-9 after one quarter.
FLC started the second quarter by creating offense with its defense. Senior guard Livia Knapp hit a 3-pointer and then had a steal. This led to a Ryan layup and a 19-14 deficit with 7:51 left in the second quarter.
Ryan did a great job getting penetration and she finished with an off-balance floater. Two technical free throws by Gallery gave FLC its first lead 20-19 with 6:35 left in the first half. The Greyhounds’ head coach was furious after a missed carry call and continued to let the refs hear about it.
“We want to see her do it more,” Zuniga said about Ryan’s driving ability. “We know that Denise is probably going to be the fastest guard in the conference. I don't know if Denise knows that. We talked about this in the locker room, everybody knowing their own competitive advantage, what they're great at and try to flourish within our offense.”
FLC started executing better half-court offense in the middle of the second quarter. Players were cutting better and cutters were being hit. Junior forward Samantha Wattawa came in after not playing the day before. She was active defensively and hit a 3-pointer to put FLC up 28-24 with 2:38 left in the half.
Eastern New Mexico went into halftime up 31-30 after a quick 5-0 run.
The Greyhounds had some sloppy moments to start the third quarter but crashed the glass well to keep its lead. Eastern New Mexico’s Ishuana Hunter drove to the hole for a 38-32 lead with 4:30 left in the third quarter. Zuniga called a timeout after Eastern New Mexico got to the hole again and led 44-35 with three minutes left.
FLC’s offense struggled mightily in the third quarter. The Skyhawks didn’t have anyone who could step up and carry the offense while the sets weren’t working. FLC’s defense faltered as Eastern New Mexico had high percentage looks from the inside and the perimeter. The Greyhounds led 55-39 after three quarters.
The Skyhawks’ offensive struggles continued in the fourth. Both of FLC’s starting guards Knapp and Ryan are small and struggled at times to finish inside. Eastern New Mexico did a good job of creating advantages through switches, getting its bigs posted up on either Ryan or Knapp.
Eastern New Mexico continued to score and had its largest lead of 67-43 after a 3-pointer with 2:31 to go.
“Defense is always just going to be effort,” Zuniga said. “Obviously, there’s some schematics to it and technique but if you want to play defense, you can be great at defense. Our mindset maybe isn't quite there yet.”
FLC hits the road to face Colorado Mesa in Salt Lake City on Friday at 3 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
