Offensive struggles let the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks down for a second consecutive night, and improved defense wasn’t enough to overcome poor shooting.
The FLC women’s basketball team dropped the second game of its two-game road trip to open the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule. After losing to No. 18 UC-Colorado Springs on Friday night, FLC (3-3, 0-2 RMAC) fell 62-51 to CSU-Pueblo (4-2, 2-0 RMAC) on Saturday.
“At least we were back to giving up only 62 points on the road, and that was with fouling at the end. We would’ve held them in the 50s,” FLC head coach Jason Flores said. “I like that bounce-back effort defensively.”
FLC struggled shooting the ball from all over the floor. The Skyhawks shot 34.5 percent from the field, hit 7-of-31 3-point attempts and couldn’t make the most of free throws, going 6-of-15 from the line.
“Gosh, we had some really good looks we weren’t putting away,” Flores said. “Players are trying to find a rhythm who haven’t played a lot before.”
CSU-Pueblo was more efficient, making 34 percent of its shots, including 8-of-17 from 3. The ThunderWolves also went 20-of-32 from the free-throw line.
“Putting them on the free-throw line 32 times, that’s a stat that really hurt us,” Flores said.
Though FLC controlled scoring in the paint 22-10, the Skyhawks were outrebounded 42-38.
Michelle Turner was the lone FLC player to score in double figures, as she had 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting 3s. Dee Arrieta and Katie Nehf each had 12 for the ThunderWolves, and Ashley Piper added 10.
Kaile Magazzeni had three points and nine rebounds for FLC. Piper had a double-double for CSU-Pueblo with a game-high 12 rebounds to go with her 10 points.
FLC will return home next week for a 1 p.m. Saturday game against Adams State.
“We’ve only had one game at a home so far. That’s tough when you’re trying to find yourself when constantly on the road,” Flores said. “We’re looking forward to going home, getting better and making the jump.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
