Turnovers added up quicker than points, putting the Fort Lewis College women a hole they couldn’t shoot out from.
The Skyhawks’ women’s basketball team hung close with Colorado Christian, as the two teams combined for 51 turnovers in 40 minutes of action. FLC struggled slightly more with turnovers, however, committing 17 in the first half and 28 in the game, leading to a 62-49 loss.
“We couldn’t come back from that,” FLC head coach Jason Flores said of the 17 first-half turnovers. “I preface that by saying if we didn’t do that again in the second half, we might have had a chance. It kills momentum of the game, never get into a flow. You’re just losing possessions, putting the pressure on your defense, and having to play defense with no momentum is hard.”
Paired with the turnovers, the Skyhawks (9-7, 6-6 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) made only 15-of-45 shots from the floor and 1-of-7 3-pointers. They also were outrebounded 35-32, with the Cougars (7-11, 7-6 RMAC) scoring 11 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds.
FLC had the game’s leading scorer in junior forward Mary Brinton of Pagosa Springs, as she scored 20 points and grabbed a co-team-high seven rebounds. But she also turned the ball over a game-high eight times.
“They played better. They were active, they hustled off the ball,” Brinton said of the Cougars. “We didn’t hustle. I would say they wanted it more than we did.”
FLC trailed 26-15 at halftime with more turnovers than points going into the break. The Skyhawks got the game within nine points several times in the second half but never could inch closer.
Flores was equally upset with his team’s defensive effort, which has been the strength of the Skyhawks all season.
“We certainly didn’t do anything to deserve to win the game. We played bad, and that’s upsetting to me,” he said. “I’m really upset that when it got tough and there were times to try to dig in, we didn’t dig in defensively and rebounding. To me, that’s worse. We weren’t tough; we cracked when things got tough.”
The Cougars were led by 11 points from Alyssa Fressle, a senior transfer from Boston College and Colorado who was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year with the Buffaloes. Christina Whitelaw added 10 points and had a game-high eight steals. Ali Meyer led Colorado Christian with 10 rebounds.
FLC will try to forget Friday’s tough loss that came one game after a big overtime win at Metro State. Colorado Mines will visit the Skyhawks at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re used to it. We always have to turn around if we lose on a Friday,” Brinton said. “I think we’ve proved to that in the past. I think it will motivate us.
“I want to kill Mines, and I think that’s what the team will do. That’s going to be our attitude toward it, at least.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
