The Skyhawks women’s basketball team has shown stretches of good basketball throughout the season. But Thursday night’s 83-72 loss at Chadron State was another example of how the FLC program doesn’t yet know how to win in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

FLC started out very well on offense and scored 23 points in the first quarter. The Skyhawks had a 10-point lead at half before it all fell apart in the third and fourth quarters.

Chadron State got into the paint at will and controlled the boards in the second half. Forward Ashayla Powers had a phenomenal night and finished with 32 points without a single 3-pointer. The Eagles scored 50 points in the second half compared to only 29 for FLC as the Eagles were victorious.

“We played well in the first half; we were scoring,” FLC head coach Lauren Zuniga said. “Then, in the second half, we got a little complacent and didn't have maybe the same sense of urgency that we did in the first half. That, just in total, comes down to our entire season. This team needs to learn how to win. We need to learn how to have a winning culture and a winning standard.”

FLC fell to 6-21 overall and 3-16 in the RMAC after it shot 38% from the field, 26% from 3-point range and 65% from the free-throw line. It was FLC’s seventh consecutive loss and FLC is 2-13 in 2025 against Division II opponents.

Junior guard Deniece Ryan led FLC with 21 points on 7-12 from the field, 2-5 from 3-point range and 5-12 from the free-throw line. Senior forward Darla Hernandez had 18 points on 6-16 shooting from the field, 1-4 from 3-point range and 5-5 from the free-throw line along with seven rebounds. Senior guard Livia Knapp added 18 points on 8-14 shooting from the field and 2-5 from 3-point range.

Chadron State improved to 6-19 overall and 5-14 in the RMAC after it shot 47% from the field, 44% from 3-point range and 82% from the free-throw line.

Powers shot 13-19 from the field, 6-8 from the free-throw line and had 12 rebounds. Megan Counts finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Eagles.

“We knew that she was their best player,” Zuniga said about Powers. “We knew they were going to feed her the ball. Every set they ran for her, we, I felt like we prepped our girls for and just don't think we did a fabulous job of slowing her down and making adjustments. I should have done a better job of prepping them or maybe changing defenses.”

FLC really pushed the pace off misses early in the first. Chadron State continued to get into the paint but also started to hit some 3-pointers as the quarter went on. Counts hit a 3-pointer for the Eagles to put them up 14-11 with 4:26 left.

Then the Skyhawks went on a scoring spree to end the quarter on a 12-2 run and led 23-16 heading into the second. Ten of those points came in the last 2:20. The Skyhawks had active hands on defense, continued to push the pace and hit outside jumps hots. Knapp had the last seven, including a tough, high-arching floater in the paint as the buzzer expired.

Powers was very active to start the second quarter with her rebounding and finishing inside. Hernandez had the response with some nice mid-range shots and finishes inside.

The Eagles hit some outside shots to cut the deficit in the middle of the second but Ryan had the response. She had a beautiful spinning bank shot with her left hand and on the next possession had a strong drive to the right. Her finishes put FLC up 35-28 with 4:40 left in the second.

Both teams shot a lot of 3-pointers to end the half. With the clock ticking down, Ryan had the ball and the Eagles defenders backed way off her. So she hit an open 3-point from the top of the key to make it 43-33 going into halftime.

“Compared to the second half, we were the aggressors,” Zuniga said. “We were being super proactive on offense, making good reads and being aggressive defensively. We did a better job with personnel. That's why our first half looked like and felt so much better.

The Skyhawks got to the free-throw line early in the third, but they could not stop the Eagles. Chadron State got in the paint at will. FLC stopped getting to the line and started settling for jump shots that weren’t falling. Powers was fouled inside and hit a free throw to give the Eagles their first lead of the second half, 50-49 with 4:30 left.

Chadron State’s paint domination continued while Hernandez had three consecutive misses as the Eagles’ lead grew. Chadron State’s 18-1 run in the third was snapped by a nice spin and score by Knapp to cut Chadron State’s lead to 56-51 with a minute left. The Eagles led 58-53 after three quarters.

The Skyhawks kept pace with the Eagles for the first few minutes of the fourth but once again, Chadron State found the paint with the drive or good passing to increase its lead. Counts had a putback attempt and was fouled. She hit a free throw to put the Eagles up 70-59 with 3:35 left to seal the victory.

FLC ends its season with a game at South Dakota Mines on Saturday.

bkelly@durangoherald.com