Box score

DURANGO, Colo. — A balanced offensive attack and relentless defense led the Fort Lewis College women's basketball team (2-5 overall, 1-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) to a 69-55 win over Adams State (3-4, 0-3) tonight in Whalen Gymnasium in a game that wasn't as close as the final score.
 
And a little home cooking didn't hurt, either. Including exhibition games, Fort Lewis opened the season on the road the past four weekends.
 
“It was great to get back home and have a full week of practice,” said first-year FLC head coach Jason Flores.
 
“It was a good defensive effort, holding them to basically 30 percent from the field,” Flores said. “And we outrebounded them. Those two stats were huge for us.”
 
The Grizzlies shot just 14-of-46 from the field while committing 18 turnovers. Fort Lewis recorded seven steals (three by Katerina Garcia) and five blocks (three by Christie Groh) in the game.
 
The Skyhawks outrebounded Adams State 42-33, including 13 offensive caroms. Garcia and Kaile Magazzeni led the way with seven caroms each, while Groh and Alex Easterbrook each grabbed six boards.
 
“We were a lot more balanced and got a lot of inside scoring to go along with some perimeter scoring,” said Flores. “Five people in double figures is a great thing for us.”
 
Leading the way for FLC was Easterbrook, who made four treys and scored a career-high 17 points.
 
“I'm really happy for her,” Flores said of Easterbrook, a part-time starter a year ago who has assumed full-time starting duties as a senior. “She worked really hard and is a good senior leader for us.”
 
Groh and Ashley Kuchar added 11 points each, while Magazzeni and Erika Richards chipped in 10 points apiece.
 
“Our assist to turnover ratio more than doubled (21 to 10) and was great,” added Flores. “We've been on the road kind of forcing some things so we took care of the ball and got better looks.”
 
Garcia led the way with seven assists, while Easterbrook dished off four helpers.
 
Keyondra White came off the bench for the Grizzlies to score a game-high 21 points, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc. She was the lone ASU player to hit double digits.
 
The win was FLC's 13th straight in Whalen Gymnasium and 59th in the past 60 home games. The only team to beat the Skyhawks on their home court in the past four years was Adams State, which upset FLC 77-66 in overtime on March 11, 2011 in the opening round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
 
In tonight's game, Richards hit a three-pointer and scored a fastbreak layup in the first 2:11 to stake FLC to a 5-0 lead in a game in which the Skyhawks would never trail. The Grizzlies managed to tie the score at 5-5 on Ann Pauly's three-pointer 3:41 into the game, but watched FLC reel off a 12-0 run in the next five minutes to take a commanding 17-5 lead.
 
Fort Lewis led by double figures throughout the entire second half, stretching the advantage to 26 points midway through the second stanza. FLC led 41-25 at intermission.
 
The Skyhawks look to continue their strong play at home next week, when they host No. 25 Colorado Mesa (8-0, 4-0) at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 16 and Western State Colorado (1-7, 1-3) at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 17.
 
The games will be played on Sunday and Monday rather than the normal Friday/Saturday rotation due to FLC's graduation ceremony next Saturday in Whalen Gymnasium.