Written By: Ryan Owens
February 21, 2010. Durango, CO. - For about 30 minutes of Fort Lewis College's women's basketball matchup with Mesa State Saturday, the script played out much the same as the previous night's victory over Western State: The Skyhawks appeared intense one minute and on cruise control the next.
This time, however, coach Mark Kellogg had seen enough, and ripped into his team with serious vitriol during a timeout with 10:24 remaining Fort Lewis (26-2 overall, 15-1 RMAC) responded by holding the Mavericks scoreless for nearly five minutes late in the game until emptying their bench with 3:10 left, and the No. 6 Skyhawks knocked off Mesa State 72-54 to claim their third consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular-season championship on Family Night.
For Kellogg, it's the third crown in five years on the bench for FLC, and he said cutting down the nets never gets old. “I just told the girls, (the championships) are all sweet in different ways," he said.
Kellogg was in a much less celebratory mood early in the second half. After Fort Lewis staked itself to a 39-24 halftime lead, MSC (8-16, 5-12) responded, cutting the lead to 10, 52-42, on a Hannah Briedel bucket with 10:26 left. After seeing his team give up this latest open look at the basket, the head coach tore into his team during the timeout that followed, and the Skyhawks responded with a 20-7 run to put the game away.
“Again, we just weren't containing the ball to start," Kellogg said of his defense.
“I think defensively we kind of picked it up," guard Lauren McCulloch said of their play after the tongue-lashing. “We started defending the perimeter."
The run, much like the 13-0 run to end the first half, was mostly a product of the Skyhawks' bench, and McCulloch in particular. The senior guard scored a career-high 20 points, including a scorching 6 of 8 performance from beyond the arc. Three of McCulloch's 3s came early in that second-half run.
“I wasn't really thinking about (my shooting)," she said. “It just kind of flowed."
Having a career night is great, but having it with family in attendance makes it all the better. McCulloch's father Brian McCulloch was in attendance, and mother Kathy McCulloch was tuning in from back home in Allen, Tex.
“It couldn't be better," McCulloch said of her big night and the championship. “It's the greatest thing ever."
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