by Angela Roberts
PUEBLO, Colo. – Paced by a 20 points effort from sophomore Lanae Billy, the Fort Lewis College women’s basketball team fell to CSU Pueblo in a 73-65 road final on Friday night.
Fort Lewis dropped to 11-11 overall and 8-8 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play while CSU Pueblo improved to 13-10 on the year and 8-7 in league play.
The Skyhawks shot 31.8 percent (21-of-66) from the field and 17.9 percent (5-of-28) from three. Fort Lewis converted on 18 free throws (81.8 percent). The Pack shot 45.8 percent (27-of-58) from the field and 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from three. The Pack held a 42-39 advantage in rebounds.
Following Billy’s 20 points was junior Sadie Misner who contributed 14. Junior Samantha Wattawa had 11 points, eight rebounds, and four steals while senior Kelsey Sorenson picked up 10 points and eight boards.
The Pack took an early lead in the contest before the Skyhawks managed to score their first basket at the 7:38 mark. Evans quickly followed that make with a layup to give Fort Lewis a 4-3 edge. Wattawa added to the lead with her first score of the night at the midway point of the quarter to send the teams into a timeout at 8-5. CSU Pueblo snapped a scoreless skid at the 3:50 mark with a made three to tie it up, but Gallery immediately countered on the following possession to reclaim the lead. Offensive rebounding continued to spark opportunities for the Skyhawks as the lead grew to five points with under two minutes remaining. The Pack chipped away to pull within one, but a last second jumper from Misner made it 16-13 Skyhawks heading into the second quarter.
Wattawa opened scoring for Fort Lewis in the second quarter with her third and fourth made free throws, and Billy followed with a deep three to make it 21-15. The quick scoring burst by the Skyhawks was halted by a six-point CSU Pueblo scoring run to narrow the lead to 23-21. Billy ended the run out of a 30 second timeout thanks to a corner three by Billy, but the home team came back with one of their own to hold the deficit at two points. A layup tied the game, and CSU Pueblo eventually took a 29-28 lead with just over a minute on the clock. Fort Lewis had a chance during its final possession, but a missed shot sent to teams to the locker rooms in a 29-28 score.
The home team saw its lead extend to five points after a minute of play in the third quarter before a made second-chance layup by Sorenson made it 34-31. The Pack went on to score two more times to force a timeout with a seven-point lead. Sorenson was the first to score out of the break, but the Pack responded with a layup to hold the three-possession lead. Sorenson’s scoring carried into the three minute warning as a pair of makes had the Skyhawks down by five. The Pack went on to extend their lead to a game-high nine points with 1:35 remaining. CSU Pueblo maintained a 48-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Skyhawks enjoyed a 5-0 scoring run to start the fourth quarter, capped off by another Billy three to trail by four points. CSU Pueblo held on to the lead as three minutes ticked by, but Fort Lewis went to work and made it just a three-point separation with 6:38 remaining. The Pack took advantage of a physical style of play to extend the lead to 11 points with three minutes remaining before a made free throw paused the run. Billy dropped in another three after a loose ball scramble pushed the ball to her feet, but the Pack came back with two made free throws to maintain a double-digit edge. The game’s final minute consisted of free throws as time expired on a 73-65 final.
