by Angela Roberts
CHADRON, Neb. – The Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team battled back to pull within a pair in the waning minutes of Friday night’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game versus Chadron State College, but the Skyhawks ultimately fell by a 66-61 final after trailing by 16 points at the half.
Fort Lewis falls to 6-9 overall and 3-6 in RMAC play while Chadron State improves to 3-13 on the year a 3-7 in the conference.
“I am proud of our ability to bounce back in the second half,” said head coach Taylor Harris. “Ultimately, we just ran out of time. The whole team stuck together, and I’m proud of the way they bounced back.”
Fort Lewis shot 27.4 percent (17-of-62) from the field compared to a 44.9 percent (22-of-49) mark for Chadron State. The Skyhawks dropped in 23 points from the charity stripe versus 17 for the Eagles. Chadron State held a 48-31 advantage in rebounds, but the Skyhawks were superior with 17 steals to just six for the Eagles. Fort Lewis forced 29 turnovers for Chadron State.
Leading the Skyhawks was freshman Lanae Billy who had a career-high 29 points. Junior Kelsey Sorenson followed with 17 points and six offensive rebounds. Sophomore Avery Evans rounded out double-digit scorers with 10 points to go along with four rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Chadron State was led by its veteran, Ashayla Powers, who had 27 points and 11 rebounds.
The Skyhawks took an early 4-0 lead behind buckets from graduate student Kaitlyn Bell and Sorenson, but the Eagles chipped away to take a 5-4 lead after three minutes of play. The Chadron State lead began to build, but a three from Billy broke a scoreless steak to see the score at 13-8 with 4:09 remaining in the quarter. The Eagles responded with their third three of the opening quarter to double the lead with just over a minute to play. The home team rattled in another from deep to close out the first quarter with a 19-8 advantage.
Billy knocked down a quick jumper to begin the second quarter, but Chadron State added a pair of scores to extend the lead to 23-10. Defense on the side of the Eagles continued to force turnovers midway through the quarter, holding the Skyhawks to just two points as the score drifted to 27-10. Evans and Billy contributed points leading into the final two minutes of the half to bring the score to 31-14. Evans closed out the scoring effort with a make from beyond the arc to send the Skyhawks into the half trailing 35-19.
Fort Lewis was held to a 25.9 percent mark from the field compared to a 44 percent clip for Chadron State. The teams were equal with 12 turnovers apiece, but the Eagles executed well with 18 points off the miscues compared to just four for the Skyhawks. Billy led the team with eight points through two quarters, followed by seven points for Evans. Senior Alyssa Adams had three rebounds.
The Skyhawks came out of the break on a mission, scoring five off a three from Evans and a jumper by Billy to close the gap at 36-22. Billy continued her tear, scoring five straight to make it a nine-point game with under five minutes on the clock. The scoring surge continued into the later portion of the third quarter, combined with improved defense to pull Fort Lewis within seven points. The teams traded points to close out the third with the Eagles leading 44-37. Fort Lewis outscored Chadron State 18-9 in the quarter.
Sorenson came out on a tear in the final quarter of play, driving to the rim for her third make of the game to bring it to 44-39. Billy followed with a jumper to bring her total to 21 points for the night while cutting the deficit to just three points. Billy connected on a three-point play in the following possessions, but the Eagles responded with a similar play to make it 49-44 with 6:50 remaining. Chadron State started to connect offensively over the following minutes of play, but the Skyhawks were able to answer back to hold the contest at a two-possession game.
Finding themselves at the free throw line in the weaning minutes of the contest, the Skyhawks were efficient as a pair of makes by Sorenson made it a 59-55 game with 2:02 to go. Both sides found made buckets in the following minute of play, capped off by a Sorenson layup to make it 62-57. A key foul on Billy’s three-point attempt in the following possession made it 62-60 in favor of the Eagles while establishing a career-high for the freshman at 29 points. Chadron State went one-of-two from the line out of a timeout, bringing the score to 63-60 with 26 seconds remaining. Sorenson picked up a huge offensive rebound and connected on one from the charity stripe, but the Eagles held tough with free throws of their own to sneak away with a narrow 66-61 win.
