Written by: Dale Strode
January 30th, 2010. Durango, CO. - If the first act was a follies' skit that didn't make the final cut, the second act was pure Broadway.
The Fort Lewis College women's basketball team, breaking open a close game in the second half, pulled down the curtain with an 82-68 victory over CSU-Pueblo on a Snowdown Friday night at Whalen Gymnasium.
The win gave the Skyhawks, ranked No. 8 in the nation, sole possession of first place in the West Division of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (9-1). The Fort Lewis women are 19-2 overall after a victory that tested coach Mark Kellogg's patience - particularly in the first half, which ended in a 34-34 tie.
“We had to make some adjustments defensively in the second half," Fort Lewis senior Katie Mackey said. “We gave up too many 3s (seven) in the first half. In the second half, we did … much better," said Mackey, who scored 19 points with five rebounds in the FLC victory.
“We had to eliminate their 3-point shots," FLC junior point guard Abby Jackson said. “That's CSU-Pueblo … the 3-point shot."
The visiting Thunderwolves hit 7 of 10 shots from the 3-point line in the opening half.
But the Skyhawks limited them to only 1 of 6 in the decisive second half.
“The whole flow of the game in the first half wasn't good," Fort Lewis head coach Mark Kellogg said. “But we changed some things defensively, and that led to some easier baskets.
“In the second half, we made more shots than they did," Kellogg said.
More importantly, Kellogg said, the Skyhawks won the rebounding battle in the second half after the Thunderwolves outrebounded FLC 19-9 in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Fort Lewis reversed the numbers in the second half, outrebounding the Thunderwolves 21-9.
Jackson, with four 3-pointers herself, led Fort Lewis in scoring with 20 points.
Senior Allison Rosel added 15 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Senior Audrey George scored eight points.
Senior Laura Haugen had six points and six assists.
“Haugen … for a six-minute stretch (in the second half) was fantastic," Kellogg said.
Rachel Espinoza, the reigning RMAC West Division Player of the Week, scored 22 points to lead CSU-Pueblo.
“Espinoza is a really, really good player," Kellogg said. “But our point guard matched her with 20 (points)."
Caitlyn Jewell, a former Pagosa Springs prep standout, added nine points for CSU-Pueblo, which fell to 8-2 in conference, 12-6 overall.
Katrina Selsor, a freshman from Glenwood Springs, added eight points for CSU-Pueblo.
“You know when you play Fort Lewis, they are an outstanding shooting team," CSU-Pueblo coach Kip Drown said.
“Mark does an outstanding job. They are very smart, and they have great senior leadership," Drown said.
“And they play 40 minutes," said Drown, who prepped the Thunderwolves to handle Fort Lewis' full-court pressure defense.
But it was the Skyhawks' half-court defense that limited CSU-Pueblo to only 40 percent shooting from the field in the second half.
The Skyhawks, meanwhile, converted 57 percent from the field.
“We needed a game like this," Kellogg said of the close, competitive contest. Kellogg was honored prior to the game as the All-Time Winningest Coach in FLC Women's Basketball history with 103 wins in only four and a half seasons.
“We haven't had (a close game) like this in a while," Mackey said. “This is more like the playoffs."
The Skyhawks will have a rematch with the Thunderwolves in two weeks in Pueblo.
Tonight, the Fort Lewis women will host New Mexico Highlands at 5:30 p.m. at Whalen Gymnasium in a Gold Rush game. The first 200 students to arrive at tonight's RMAC doubleheader will receive free Gold Rush T-shirts.
Box Score
dstrode@durangoherald.com
