Box Score
GUNNISON, Colo. — No. 3 Fort Lewis (25-1 overall, 20-1 in the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) survived a late Western State (11-14, 9-12) rally to defeat the Mountaineers 71-65 last night at Paul Wright Gym.
In doing so, the Skyhawks moved into a first place tie in the RMAC standings with No. 11 Metro State (24-1, 20-1) on the eve of the regular season finale.
“It was a really hard fought game tonight,” said sixth-year FLC head coach
Mark Kellogg, whose team is poised to win an unprecedented fourth straight RMAC crown if they can defeat Mesa State at 5 p.m. tonight.
“I thought we did a good job trying to keep our composure, even when Western made their run. It was nice, in a way, to find a way to win when we didn't shoot very well. We battled enough and got a few stops when we needed to,” he added.
The normally hot-shooting Skyhawks made just three of 21 three-point attempts (14.3 percent) and 16 of 26 free throws (61.5 percent).
And while Fort Lewis led nearly the entire game (the last Western State lead was by a slim, two-point margin a minute-and-a-half into the game), the Skyhawks rarely got a comfortable lead. After building a 13-point edge midway through the first half, Fort Lewis saw Western trim the lead to 40-34 at halftime.
“They always play us really well there,” said Kellogg, whose teams' perfect RMAC regular season bids were spoiled by Western State in late February in both 2007-08 and 2008-09.
Dana Schreibvogel led the way for the Skyhawks with 25 points and seven rebounds, while
Abby Jackson added 14 points.
The Mountaineers were led by Katie Hall, who notched a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Brooke Pendergraft and Nikki Trujillo each added 12 points.
Now the stage is set for Fort Lewis to at least share the RMAC crown with Metro State, a team it trounced 73-47 last month in Durango. To do so, the Skyhawks will need to survive a Mesa State team battling for positioning in both the league playoffs and NCAA Division II Central Region rankings. The Mavs lost to Adams State (19-8, 14-7) 73-57 last night in Grand Junction.
“It should be a big game in a really good environment,” said Kellogg. “It's time to close out what we've started.”
Metro State closes its regular season against Regis (10-15, 9-12) at 5 p.m. tonight.
