by Angela Roberts
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – A difference of 10 three-pointers was the ultimate decider in a 90-60 loss for the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team on Friday afternoon. Wayne State College benefited from 14 threes to just four for the Skyhawks to take the Holiday Inn Airport Thanksgiving Classic opener from Brownson Arena.
Fort Lewis falls to 3-2 overall while Wayne State improves to 3-1 this season. The Wildcats were led by Lauren Zacharias who contributed 37 points by going 12-of-18 from the field (7-of-10 3PT). Her contributions led the Wildcats to their most threes in a game since the 2018-19 season.
Fort Lewis shot 36 percent (18-of-50) from the field versus 52.4 percent (33-of-63) for Wayne State. The Skyhawks had opportunities from the charity stripe and connected on 20-of-29 chances. Fort Lewis committed more turnovers on the afternoon but converted 25 points of their own off of turnovers compared to 16 for the Wildcats.
For the Skyhawks, it was freshman Lanae Billy (Navajo) who paced the squad with 21 points—a career-high. Junior Kelsey Sorenson followed with 15 points and a career-high six steals. Sophomore Ava Strange and freshman Ruby Sweeney-Spitzeck followed with seven and six points, respectively. Sophomore Avery Evans had a well-rounded outing with four points, three rebounds, two blocks, and one steal.
Wayne State connected on its first of 14 three-pointers to open the game, and the team eventually grew the lead to 6-0 after one minute of play. Sorenson got the Skyhawks on the board with a layup thanks to a dish from Billy, but the Wildcats immediately countered with another three. Sorenson accounted for the team’s next score as well, making it 13-4 midway through the quarter. From there, Billy and Evans combined for five points to narrow the gap to just four points. Fort Lewis continued chipping away with an onslaught of free throws to make it 17-12 at the buzzer.
Billy began the second quarter with a jumper, but the Wildcats responded with a pair of threes to lead by nine. Billy had a pair of near misses at the four-minute mark, eventually resulting in a Wayne State defensive board and a three-pointer to make it 30-17. Evans responded immediately, gathering a steal from Sweeney-Spitzeck to see the score at 30-19.
The team would go on to trade three-pointers, Fort Lewis’ off the hand of Billy, for a 30-22 score with 2:30 remaining in the half. The Wildcats burst ahead on an 11-0 run over the following 90 seconds while holding the Skyhawks scoreless through to the halftime buzzer with the score at 44-24.
The scoring seminar continued for the Wildcats as a pair of layups extended the lead to 48-24 before a jumper by Sweeney-Spitzeck stopped the run.
Unfortunately, the good times kept on rolling for the team in black as another run had the score at 54-27 when the teams headed into a media timeout. Though field goals weren’t falling for Fort Lewis, the team benefitted from a handful of free throws to bring the score to 59-30 with 3:24 to go in the third. Wayne State’s scoring was nearly the opposite as the group’s five-of-five field goals extended the lead to 63-32. Free throws ruled the final two minutes of play, Billy sinking six, as the score sat at 70-43 with one quarter to play.
Sorenson opened the fourth with a layup, giving her 13 points on the afternoon, but the Wildcats countered with back-to-back scores from their hot hand to bring the score to 75-45. Strange brought the Skyhawks beyond the 50-point threshold with a pair of free throws for an 80-51 score with 5:37 remaining. Wayne State’s magical game from beyond the arc continued into the final minutes of play as the team’s 14th three-pointer fell for an 86-53 score.
Sweeney-Spitzeck dropped in a driving layup, made possible thanks to an offensive rebound from freshman Kate Gallery, and Strange followed that up with her first three of the day to cut the lead with a minute to play. Gallery had the final opportunity for Fort Lewis in the contest and drained a pair of free throws to close things out in a 90-60 final from Brownson Arena.
“I’m thankful for all of our fans and families that came to support us today while we celebrated Native American Heritage Day,” said head coach Taylor Harris. “All credit to Wayne State for playing really well. We look forawrd to getting back onto the court on Sunday night.”
