The Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team’s defense is performing at the right time and is leading to victories, including a 62-56 home win against South Dakota Mines on senior day on Sunday.
After limiting SDM to 18 points in the first half, the Skyhawks got involved in a shootout in the third quarter, but still maintained an 11-point lead going into the fourth.
The Skyhawks had a 10-point lead with 3:30 left in the fourth, but an 8-0 run by the Hardrockers, completed by two baskets in the paint, cut FLC’s advantage to 58-56 with 20 seconds left. FLC sophomore guard Claudia Palacio Gámez hit her free throws when she was fouled, and a game-sealing steal by junior Makaya Porter made sure senior day was ended in style with a win.
FLC’s win over SDM was the third consecutive game the Skyhawks have held their opponent under 60 points. FLC’s calling card has been defense all season, and the Skyhawks are relying on it as they battle for the last spot in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament with a week left in the regular season.
“For our seniors, it’s amazing,” FLC head coach Lauren Zuniga said. “You never want to lose on senior day. It was a hard-fought win. We did a lot of really great things and then a lot of things we probably want to work on.”
FLC improved to 16-10 overall and 9-9 in the RMAC after it shot 37% from the field, 32% from 3-point range and 75% from the free-throw line. Junior guard Natalie Guanella led the Skyhawks with 17 points on 5-10 shooting from the field, 3-5 from 3-point range and 4-4 from the free-throw line. Freshman forward Alemanualii Fonoti added 12 points and five rebounds off the bench.
SDM dropped to 9-17 overall and 7-11 in the RMAC after it shot 39% from the field, 27% from 3-point range and 78% from the free-throw line. Savea Mansfield led the Hardrockers with 14 points on 5-9 shooting from the field and 4-4 from the free-throw line.
The Skyhawks jumped out to an early 10-4 lead after two 3-pointers but the Hardrockers responded to take the lead late in the first quarter, but Guanella’s 3-pointer gave FLC a 13-12 lead after the first quarter.
It was a defensive masterclass for the Skyhawks in the second quarter, holding the Hardrockers to two points over the final 6:30 of the quarter. FLC expanded its lead to 26-18 at the half.
“We continuously talked this week about how one missed coverage, or one personnel mistake could cost us the game,” Zuniga said. “We did a great job of executing that in the first half. Then credit to Mines, they made some adjustments at halftime.”
The nets were used in the third quarter, with each team shooting 58% from the field and making three 3-pointers as FLC outscored SDM, 26-23, to take a 52-41 lead into the fourth. Zuniga said the pace picked up, and her team realized how big a game it was in the third.
FLC led 54-43 in the fourth quarter, before the Hardrockers must’ve given a few Skyhawks fans a mini heart attack with their comeback. Zuniga wasn’t happy with how her team controlled the game down the stretch. The Skyhawks took some bad shots and had some sloppy turnovers.
It was a big win for FLC that put them in a tie for seventh place with CSU Pueblo and Colorado School of Mines. The Skyhawks have the tie breaker with Colorado School of Mines, and they face CSU Pueblo next week.
Another main reason it was a big win for the Skyhawks was to honor their two seniors, Ashten Martinez and Laisha Armendariz. This is Martinez’ lone season with the Syhawks, averaging 3.5 points per game. Armendariz is wrapping up her second season with the Skyhawks, averaging 0.8 PPG in 46 games played.
“Laisha's seen the worst of it with me last year,” Zuniga said. “She saw it through, she's bought in, and she's the best culture kid in the entire world … Then to follow suit, you have Ash, who saw our record last year, could have gone anywhere, decided to have belief in us and come here. She's really made such a big difference with her leadership skills and her communication standpoints.”
FLC hits the road to play at CSU Pueblo on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
