Western Colorado University showed why it is again one of the top women’s basketball teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference on Tuesday night.
After a buzzer-beater home loss Saturday against Black Hills State University in the season opener, Fort Lewis College went on the road to Gunnison to face the Mountaineers. An early run allowed the home team to gain a strong advantage of 21-12 after one quarter. That was all the Mountaineers needed en route to a 84-69 win.
“They shot the ball really well and were physical,” FLC head coach Orlando Griego said. “They’re a really good basketball team and played consistent. There were times where we made some runs, but we weren’t able to get that next big shot to gather any momentum. It’s tough.”
Western Colorado (2-0, 2-0 RMAC) made 10-of-22 shots from 3-point range and shot 47.5% from the field overall. The Mountaineers also made 18-of-22 free throws.
Hannah Cooper led the home team with 17 points on 4-of-5 shooting and a 8-of-9 performance at the foul line. She also snagged five rebounds. Emmery Wagstaff added 14 points and four rebounds. She was 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3. Sam Coleman added another 15 points with three made 3.
FLC sophomore forward Jordan Vasquez backed up a 23-point performance in the season-opening loss to the Yellow Jackets with 21 points Tuesday. She was 9-of-15 shooting and made 3-of-4 at the foul line. Alyssa Adams added 11 points, going 6-of-6 at the free-throw line. She had three rebounds, while Vasquez had four.
The Skyhawks shot 43.1% from the field but only went 4-of-18 from 3.
“We were passing the ball and had opportunities. Jordan was seeing double teams and kicking it out for good looks, we just weren’t able to knock them down,” Griego said. “Moving forward, I know our girls will knock those shots down.”
Alison Chanhthala, a sophomore transfer from College of Southern Idaho, had another big game for FLC to continue her strong debut. She finished with 10 points and made 2-of-6 from 3-point range.
“She is doing a great job. We brought her in to score and play defense, and she’s doing a good job out there,” Griego said. “We like what we see from a lot of our players. We are building chemistry, and it’s important for us to keep building it. We’re close. We’ve played two really good teams and been able to compete with them. This one just got away, but we will be right there soon.”
FLC will face Colorado Christian at 3 p.m. Saturday in Lakewood if both teams pass COVID-19 testing on Friday.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
