Box Score
LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Freshman guard Christina Whitelaw's three-point play as time expired lifted Colorado Christian (10-3 overall, 9-1 in the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) to an 80-79 upset previously undefeated and No. 3 Fort Lewis (14-1, 9-1) last night at the CCU Events Center.
The Cougars trailed 79-77 with 3.5 second remaining, inbounding the ball near midcourt. After the inbound pass, Whitelaw was handed the ball by a teammate and drove into the lane, where
Stephanie Beeman was defending. Whitelaw leaned into Beeman and sent a six-footer toward the basket — a shot that bounced in as the buzzer sounded, tying the score. The referees whistled Beeman for a foul on the play, sending Whitelaw to the line with no time on the clock. The freshman calmly sank her charity shot, giving the Cougars their only lead of the game and causing the 800-plus CCU fans to explode in celebration.
Whitelaw, the nation's leader in steals per game and a player who has three double-doubles and one triple double this season, finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals to lead CCU.
The freshman from Colorado Springs' St. Mary's High School was matched by FLC's
Dana Schreibvogel, notched her fifth double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The Skyhawks saw two school record streaks snapped in the game. FLC's 14-game winning streak to start a season ended (the previous record was 8-0, set in 2009-10 and 2003-04). FLC's 12-game road winning streak, which began on Jan. 8, 2010, also came to an end. The Skyhawks' last road defeat was 73-64 at West Texas A&M on Jan. 3, 2010.
The Skyhawks dominated play for most of the contest, taking the lead in the first 10 seconds and holding it until 0.0 seconds showed on the second half clock. Knowing that the Cougars preferred a fast-paced, fast-breaking offense and full-court pressing defense, FLC planned to penetrate the lane for easy baskets. Fort Lewis had layup attempts on its first five possessions, jumping out to an 8-2 lead and forcing a quick CCU 30-second timeout. FLC took an 11-point lead into intermission, 45-34.
Midway through the second stanza, after pushing its lead to 17 points, the Skyhawks started doing two things that were uncharacteristic: missing free throws and allowing offensive rebounds to their opponents.
The Cougars whittled the lead to a single point in the last minute. The Skyhawks had the chance to pad their lead on two occasions. With 17 seconds remaining, guard
Katerina Garcia appeared to have her arms slapped by Whitelaw on a 12-foot jumper. Whitelaw — playing with four personal fouls — was not whistled, and Colorado Christian collected the rebound.
Fort Lewis forward
Mary Rose Paiz stole the ball with 7.8 seconds left and was immediately fouled by CCU. She made her first foul shot to extend the lead to 79-77, but missed the second, setting up Whitelaw's heroics.
Paiz finished the game with 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Jenna Santistevan added 10 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots before fouling out midway through the second half.
The Skyhawks' three-point shooting was effective for most of the game, helping them build big leads in both halves.
Erika Richards came off the bench to hit three-of-six long-distance bombs to finish with nine points, while senior point guard
Abby Jackson scored a couple of treys en route to a nine-point, eight-assist effort.
Colorado Christian, which outrebounded FLC 48-35 and grabbed 15 offensive caroms, received strong post play from several big bodies who ranged from 6-foot-1 to 6-foot-3. Mallory Lowe had a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards, while Kelsie Hert added 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Skyhawks were trying to become the first RMAC team to go undefeated in conference games. Each of the past three years saw FLC finish 18-1 in league play.
Fort Lewis will try to rebound at 6 p.m. tonight when they travel to Colorado Mines (7-8, 3-7) at Lockridge Arena.
