The run-and-gun Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team raced out to an 8-2 overall start and a 4-1 record in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Now, the challenge of the second half of the season awaits.
The Skyhawks will welcome a pair of home games at 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. First up is a tested Metro State University of Denver squad that has played in some tough games already. Then, Chadron State (2-9, 1-4 RMAC) will visit Saturday.
“Metro is a really good team that has always been able to find themselves in the postseason, so the girls understand it’s a big game for us,” FLC head coach Orlando Griego said. “They are energized and focused on wanting to win.”
Griego, the first-year leader of the Skyhawks, has got his team to buy into his philosophy of getting up and down the floor. It has helped FLC score an RMAC-best 72.3 points per game. Meanwhile, FLC’s trademark tough defense has held opponents to only 54.7 points a game, which is the third-best in the conference.
“I think our girls enjoy being able to get up and down, get up a lot of shots and attack,” Griego said. “They’ve had some growth with understanding shot selection and time management. We try to get a lot of possessions in the game, and credit to our post players running hard and, on top of that, our guards running wide and getting shots.”
Metro State (6-5, 2-3 RMAC) is in the bottom half in scoring and scoring defense this year, as is Chadron State, as both teams are under 60 points scoring and allowing opponents to score in the high 60s.
Both FLC and Metro State feature balanced scoring attacks. Forwards Jordan Carter and Jordan Vasquez have led the Skyhawks with 10.8 points per game each to give FLC two top-20 scorers in the league. Carter’s scoring has come on 50% shooting from the field, while Vasquez had made 51.2% of her shots. Sydney Candelaria has scored another 9.2 points per game, while point guard Katrina Chandler has 8.7 points per game.
It’s Bree Wellington who has led Metro State with 9.6 points per game.
“They are very similar to us. They don’t have one person out there who is going to score, score score. They have an even attack balance,” Griego said. “Their post game is pretty strong, and Wellington and (Jaela) Richardson play very hard and are very athletic, and (Leya) Harvey is a really good post player. When they get the ball, they’re looking to score or get offensive rebounds and putbacks.”
Carter and Vasquez also lead FLC in rebounding at more than seven per game, while Kayla Herrera-Flores has 7.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
The point guard battle will be fun between FLC’s Chandler and Metro State’s Jaiden Galloway. Galloway is second in the RMAC at 4.9 assists per game, and Chandler has 4.2. Galloway also has 2.3 steals to go with 8.2 points per game.
It will be a homecoming of sorts for Metro State’s Morgan Lewis. The former Pagosa Springs star is getting more playing time in recent games and is up to 7.9 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds.
“She’s been scoring and playing more than she has in the past,” Griego said. “We need to limit them to one shot, rebound, and then we go.”
Griego said consistency will be key to his team having success the second half of the season. He hopes to see that this weekend.
“There’s times we find ourselves in a closer game than it needs to be,” Griego said. “We need to lock in, put four quarters together and play good basketball. We gotta do better making free throws and putting those points on the board, too. Those are crucial in these close conference games.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
RMAC
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Women’s Basketball
Note: WBCA ranking in parentheses
TEAM OVERALL RMAC
Westminster (12) 10-1 5-0
Colorado Mesa 9-2 5-0
Fort Lewis 8-2 4-1
Western Colorado 6-3 4-1
Dixie State 8-3 3-2
Black Hills State 6-4 3-2
Colorado Mines 6-4 3-2
Metro State-Denver 4-7 3-2
Colorado Christian 3-8 3-2
S.D. Mines 4-5 2-3
CSU-Pueblo 3-7 2-3
Regis 3-8 1-4
Chadron State 3-11 1-4
Adams State 1-10 1-4
New Mexico Highlands 1-9 0-5
UCCS 1-10 0-5
