Box Score

DURANGO, Colo. — Katerina Garcia and Mary Rose Paiz each scored 15 points as No. 4 Fort Lewis (13-1 overall, 10-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) cruised to a 74-50 win tonight over Colorado Christian (6-10, 4-6) in Whalen Gymnasium.

“I loved our energy and effort. We played really hard for the majority of the game,” said seventh-year FLC head coach Mark Kellogg. “All in all, a good win.”

Still, the Skyhawk skipper found room for improvement. “I don't think it was the smartest game we've played as far as our basketball IQ,” he said, citing fouls, turnovers, and the ability to play with the lead as areas in which his team can get better.

While Fort Lewis never trailed, it failed to jump out to a big margin until midway through the opening half. With FLC clinging to a one-point lead at 9-8, Erika Richards sank a pair of free throws 8:21 into the game to ignite a 10-0 run that stretched the margin to 19-8. Fort Lewis kept the pressure on defensively for the remainder of the half, outscoring the Cougars 24-6 during the last 11:39 of the half to take a 33-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.

“I thought we defended really well,” said Kellogg, whose team held CCU to 37.8 percent shooting from the field (11 of 29) in the opening frame while forcing 13 turnovers.

Part of FLC's success came in shutting down the Cougars' standout sophomore guard, Christina Whitelaw, for most of the game. “We did a pretty good job on Whitelaw,” said Kellogg. CCU's floor general still finished the contest with a solid line — 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals — but was never really able to dictate the play.

The second half started out just as the first had ended. The Skyhawks reeled off a 27-11 run in the first seven-and-a-half minutes to build its biggest lead — 35 points — when Paiz's basket in the paint pushed the margin to 60-25 with 12:22 remaining.

“In the second half, the starters got it going and we almost put the game away pretty early,” said Kellogg, who praised Paiz for sparking the Skyhawks. “I thought Mary Rose played really well. She was kind of a rock. She kept us together, played a lot of minutes, and hit a couple of threes.”

Paiz added a game-high seven rebounds, plus three assists and three steals.

Garcia, who has been plagued by an assortment of injuries thus far in 2011-12, found her scoring stride, going 5-of-10 from the field and sinking a pair of timely treys.

The Cougars were led by Jessica Murdoch, who had 16 points, all in the second half.

Foul trouble limited the minutes of RMAC Player of the Year Dana Schreibvogel, defensive standout Jenna Santistevan, and versatile reserve Stephanie Beeman. All totaled, FLC committed 19 fouls.

Fort Lewis won the rebounding battle 38-33, but surrendered 13 offensive caroms to the Cougars.

On the defensive end, CCU notched 16 steals and eight blocked shots and forced an uncharacteristically-high 24 FLC turnovers.

Fort Lewis hosts Colorado Mines (5-11, 4-6) at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow night. The Orediggers lost 64-57 at Adams State tonight.

“Mines will be a whole different test with a different style of play,” said Kellogg. “We'll get ready for the challenge tomorrow night.”

Saturday's contest also marks the midpoint of the 22-game RMAC regular season. Fort Lewis currently clings to a one-game lead in the league standings over No. 7 Metro State (13-1, 9-1), which defeated third-place Colorado State-Pueblo (11-3, 8-2) 55-49 tonight in Denver. The Skyhawks still face the Roadrunners and ThunderWolves on the road.