by DURANGO, Colo. – With six rebounds in Saturday night’s win over Western Colorado University, women’s basketball senior Kelsey Sorenson surpassed 1000 career rebounds. The 75-66 win snapped a brief losing skid for the Skyhawks, improving the team’s overall record to 12-12 with a 9-9 mark in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.
Fort Lewis shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field compared to a 37.7 percent (20-of-53) mark for Western Colorado. The Mountaineers benefited from 11 made three-pointers versus six for the Skyhawks. Fort Lewis gained an advantage at the free-throw line, making 23 shots compared to 15 for the opposition. The Mountaineers came away with 37 rebounds while the Skyhawks grabbed 31.
Four players reached double figures for Fort Lewis, led by sophomore Lanae Billy who contributed a game-high 23. Sophomore Kate Gallery followed with 13 while junior Avery Evans ended with 12. Junior Samantha Wattawa rounded it out with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Junior Sadie Misner led the team with a career-high six assists.
The Skyhawks got off to a hot start from beyond the arc, scoring on a pair of made shots by Gallery to see an 8-2 lead early. The lead extended to 16 points thanks to points from four Skyhawks, capped off by five points from Evans to bring the quarter to the three-minute mark. Western Colorado answered with threes on back-to-back possessions to make it 20-10 at the end of the first.
Billy and Wattawa began the second quarter with a pair of field goals to build the lead back to 14 points, but the Mountaineers came back to two buckets to see the score at 24-15. The teams traded points over the following three minutes of play, including a three by the visitors to cut the lead to seven points. Billy responded with a three-pointer to make it a double-digit lead again, but Western Colorado stuck around and trailed by eight with two minutes on the clock. The Skyhawks closed out the half on a 7-0 run to lead 40-25 midway through the contest.
Fort Lewis’ toughest offensive quarter began at the free throw line with Gallery making a pair. That trend would continue throughout the quarter as the Skyhawks compiled 13 made free throws throughout. Western Colorado started to chip away at the lead, first with a made three-pointer with 6:36 on the clock. The Mountaineers drained another 90 seconds later, countered by two made free throws from Evans. Fort Lewis would continue to spend time at the stripe for the remained of the quarter as the lead dwindled to eight points heading into the fourth. The Skyhawks were 0-of-9 from the field in the third quarter.
A tightly contested fourth quarter opened with a made three by the Mountaineers, followed by a feed from Misner to Wattawa for a made layup. Western Colorado pulled within four points twice through the six-minute mark, but poised shooting from Wattawa added separation for the home team. Billy went on to score four points to make it a 10-point game with under three minutes to play. The Mountaineers responded with six made free throws for a six-point deficit. Misner put the nail in the coffin with 30 seconds remaining, making four straight free throws after a technical and personal foul was assessed to the Mountaineers. Billy closed out Fort Lewis’ scoring with a layup, and the Mountaineers scored a late three to end the game in a 75-66 score.
