Box Score

DURANGO, Colo. — No. 4 Fort Lewis (24-1 overall, 19-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) avenged its only loss of the season by defeating Colorado Christian (16-8, 14-6) 92-68 tonight in Whalen Gymnasium.

“I thought we made some big adjustments from the first time we played them,” sixth-year FLC head coach Mark Kellogg said, referring to his team's 80-79 loss at Colorado Christian on Jan. 14 — a game that the Skyhawks led wire to wire, only to have CCU's Christina Whitelaw convert an old-fashioned three-point play as time expired to spoil FLC's perfect season.

Fort Lewis' trademark defense was the key in tonight's victory. The Skyhawks forced 33 turnovers while recording 20 steals and four blocked shots.

“I thought our defensive energy and effort was really good and sustained — we sustained it for most of the game and forced that team into 33 turnovers,” said Kellogg.

The final score belied what was a hotly contested game for most of the first half. The Cougars led for much of the opening stanza before FLC took the lead for good on a Stephanie Beeman three-pointer with 6:19 left in the half. The Skyhawks closed on a 29-12 run to take a 49-35 lead into the locker room at intermission.

Abby Jackson, FLC's floor general and lone senior, made the most of her final regular season home game. She scored 17 points, passed for a game-high seven assists and sank three treys. More importantly, she taught her younger teammates a valuable lesson in playoff-type basketball.

“Abby was not going to let us lose that game,” said Kellogg. “She was just going to will us to that win, and we need that from her. That was a regional tournament kind of atmosphere and a great crowd. We fed off it quite a bit.”

Dana Schreibvogel provided her usual scoring punch, leading all players with 23 points on eight-of-11 shooting from the field.

FLC's other big offensive threat came from an unusual source: Beeman, a versatile reserve who fills whatever role asked of her. Tonight, it meant scoring a career-high 19 points and dishing a career-best six assists.

“Stephanie Beeman had the game of her life,” said Kellogg. “She's been doing that all year, so it's about time that she was rewarded for playing so hard and doing all we ask.”

Mary Rose Paiz chipped in 11 points, nine rebounds and five steals on a night that saw her struggle from the foul line (five of 11).

“Mary really battled hard,” said Kellogg. “I don't think she was great offensively, but really just hung in there and kept battling.”

Colorado Christian was led by Stephenie Allen's 21 points and seven boards. Whitelaw, the freshman who sealed FLC's fate in Lakewood last month and the overwhelming favorite to win RMAC Freshman of the Year honors, had 18 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals.

The taller Cougars outrebounded FLC 36-34 and blocked six shots.

FLC's Jenna Santistevan had a strong defensive effort with six steals, four rebounds and two blocks. Katerina Garcia came off the bench to dish off six assists.

“It was a learning experience for our young kids,” Kellogg summarized. “It was fun to play in it and a step in the right direction.”

The Skyhawks kept pace with No. 11 Metro State (24-1, 20-1), which owns a half-game lead in the league standings but plays just one game in the season's final weekend. The Roadrunners defeated New Mexico Highlands 69-45 tonight in Denver. Metro's final game of the regular season is at Regis (10-15, 9-12) at 5 p.m. next Saturday — a game that, on paper at least, should favor the Roadrunners.

Fort Lewis likely needs to sweep its final road trip of the year next weekend to claim at least a share of their fourth straight RMAC regular season crown. The Skyhawks travel to Western State (11-13, 9-11) at 6 p.m. next Friday and to Mesa State (16-8, 13-7) at 5 p.m. next Saturday.

Fort Lewis is assured of at least one more home game — the opening round of the RMAC Shootout on Tuesday, March 1. Starting time and opponent are yet to be determined.