By the Durango Herald staff report.

The Fort Lewis College women's basketball team earned a spot on the national map with a stunning 66-64 victory over the No. 4-ranked team in the nation, West Texas A&M, on Monday afternoon.

The No. 22 Skyhawks pulled off the upset on the second day of the Holiday Inn Tournament at Mesa State College in Grand Junction.

One night after turning back Northern State, the FLC women put together a signature victory by knocking off the highly regarded Buffs of West Texas.

"This is a win to put our program on the map," FLC head coach Mark Kellogg said in a postgame interview.

"We played so, so hard. The girls are as excited as they've ever been," Kellogg said after the Skyhawks improved to 11-1.

West Texas A&M fell to 10-2.

"That was as fun a basketball game as I've ever been associated with," Kellogg added. "We didn't play great, but we played well enough to win."

He said patience and offensive execution helped the Skyhawks down the stretch.

Laura Haugen led the Skyhawks with 18 points.

Allison Rosel added 17 points, with 13 coming in the crucial second half.

Audrey George scored 14 points.

Abby Jackson totaled nine, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Emily Brister of West Texas A&M led all scorers with 27 points.

After FLC led 31-28 at the half, the teams played a back-and-forth second half.

West Texas went ahead 45-44 on a basket by Brister.

But FLC responded to lead 46-45 - and the Skyhawks would not relinquish the lead.

West Texas pulled with two at 60-58.

After a Katie Mackey basket, West Texas hit a 3-pointer to pull with 62-61 with 3:15 to play.

Rosel's basket's at the 2:42 mark put FLC ahead 64-61.

A West Texas free throw cut the lead to 64-62.

And with 1:22 to go, George hit a turnaround hook shot for a 66-62 Fort Lewis lead.

Brister managed a steal and a layup for West Texas with 36 seconds to play, cutting the FLC lead to 66-64.

FLC missed a pair of free throws with 15 seconds to play, but the FLC defense held on with Rosel collecting the crucial final rebound as the Skyhawks won their 11th game.

"We got open looks (in the second half)," Kellogg said. "If we could be patient, we knew we could score."

He said the Skyhawks also took advantage of a unique national matchup.

"You don't get these opportunities very often ... to play the No. 4 team in the country. This was a (NCAA) regional-type game ... a great, great win," Kellogg said.

"I've never been more proud of these girls."

heraldsports@durangoherald.com