by Angela Roberts
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Reaching the 20-point mark for the second-straight game, freshman Lanae Billy led the Skyhawks women’s basketball team in a 78-61 nonconference loss to Colorado Mesa University on Sunday evening. Fort Lewis returns home with a 3-3 overall record after closing out the nonconference schedule at the Holiday Inn Airport Thanksgiving Classic.
“Lanae is a very gifted player. Her teammates have confidence in her and they are her biggest fans,” said head coach Taylor Harris. “That is what you love to see in a team.”
Fort Lewis shot 43.5 percent (20-of-46) from the field compared to 50 percent (30-of-60) for Mesa. The Skyhawks connected on five three-pointers versus seven for the Mavericks. Mesa outrebounded Fort Lewis 35-28 and dished out 25 assists on the night.
Billy’s 20 points led the team, followed by 12 for sophomore Avery Evans. Junior Kelsey Sorenson contributed 10 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. Seniors Kaitlyn Bell and Alyssa Adams each had two blocks to lead the way.
Billy picked up right where she left off from Friday’s game, scoring the team’s first five points to see a 5-0 lead after one minute of play. Sorenson tacked on five points to go along with a trio of rebounds to extend the lead to 12-7 at the media timeout. The Mavericks turned it around to score on three-straight possessions to knot the game at 14’s with just over one minute to play. The run continued for the home team as a 12-2 scoring run closed out the first quarter with the Skyhawks trailing 21-15.
Mesa’s dominance carried into the second quarter as a pull-up jumper had the score at 28-17. From there, the Skyhawks’ defense managed to keep the Mavericks from scoring for two minutes while adding three from sophomore Sadie Misner for a 30-22 score. The tides turned again, though, as Mesa jumped ahead on a 9-0 run to pull ahead 39-23 with under three minutes remaining in the half. Billy scored on her fourth field goal of the half to end a scoreless skid, but the Mavericks beat the buzzer with their sixth three to make it 45-28 at the half.
Billy and Sorenson led the team with 10 points apiece in the first half, followed by Misner with five. The Skyhawks shot 43.5 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from the charity stripe. In total, Fort Lewis led for just under eight minutes in the half and the teams spent one minute with a tied score.
Mesa came out of the break by adding six additional points before a three from Adams could slow the momentum after four minutes of play. Billy joined in on the second half scoring action with eight points down the stretch to make it a 56-39 deficit with two minutes on the clock. Evans dropped in the team’s 11th and 12th free throws of the game, followed up by a driving layup for Mesa to end the quarter with a 62-45 score. Fort Lewis matched Mesa with 17 points in the third—the team’s highest-scoring quarter of the night.
Opening the fourth quarter, it was sophomore Samantha Wattawa who dished one to Evans for a corner three to move the score to 62-48 with 7:25 to go. Fort Lewis went scoreless over the next 2:40 before a layup from Ember Cervantes righted the ship. Misner followed with her second three of the night with three minutes remaining, seeing the score at 71-55. Free throws comprised the following pair of minutes, neither side making a field goal for three minutes as the score moved to 78-61. Adams followed the onslaught of free throws with a jumper to close it out in a 78-61 final.
