Box Score

DURANGO, Colo. — The seventh-ranked Fort Lewis women's basketball team fired on all cylinders to trample winless Western New Mexico 116-47 tonight in Whalen Gymnasium.

Ashley Kuchar set the tone early, going a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the three-point arc in the first six minutes to help FLC open up a 27-10 lead early.

“We shot the ball really well, obviously, and made a lot of shots,” said seventh-year FLC head coach Mark Kellogg. “The whole team just feeds off of it when one person who gets it going like Ashley did, especially there in the first half. It's good to see her get it going. She probably needed a game like that.”

Kuchar finished with a game-high 24 points — including 22 in the first half — and added six assists, four rebounds, and three steals in just 24 minutes of action.

Fort Lewis (17-2 overall, 14-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) shot a blistering 63.9 percent from the field (46 of 72), 63.6 percent from behind the arc (14 of 22), and 83.3 percent from the charity stripe (10 of 12).

Kuchar wasn't the only hot hand. Erika Richards scored 15 points of 6-of-7 shooting (3-of-4 from three-point land). Jenna Santistevan added 13 on a 6-of-7 night. Dana Schreibvogel had 12 points and nine rebounds.

“They played some zones and we got a bunch of touches,” he added. “We crashed the boards very hard when we did miss a shot.”

Fort Lewis finished won the rebounding battle 42-23 and collected 13 offensive caroms.

The Skyhawk defense did its part, too.

“We were really active again defensively. I thought there were some steals and deflections that led to some of that good offense,” said Kellogg. The Skyhawks scored forced 33 turnovers, scoring 39 points off Mustang miscues and 30 points on the fast break. FLC had 23 steals and eight blocks.

Fort Lewis tied a school record with 39 assists. Katerina Garcia led the way with eight helpers, while Alex Easterbrook added seven.

“39 assists is just remarkable. It's an unselfish team,” Kellogg said of his squad. “They spread the wealth and that's fantastic.”

Fort Lewis' 116 points set a record for most points against NCAA Division II competition and was the second most in school history behind a 120-point effort vs. Northern New Mexico on Nov. 17, 2009.

The 69-point win also set a team record for largest margin of victory against an NCAA Division II foe.

Kellogg's troops kept the heat throughout the game, employing a full-court press in the first frame and an active half court defense in the second.

“We played a depleted team that was missing a lot of players … missing even more players than their starting point guard,” said Kellogg. “We wanted our pressure to dictate the majority of the game, which I thought it did.”

Beset by injuries, Western New Mexico (0-19, 0-16) fielded a roster of just eight players and battled throughout, despite the lopsided score.

Sasha Montez came off the bench to score 10 points for the Mustangs. Desiree Young added nine points and five steals.

Fort Lewis' entire 12-person roster got into the scoring column. In fact, each player had at least one rebound and one assist; and everyone except for Santistevan notched an assist.

“It's a good night when everybody plays and everybody scores,” said Kellogg. “Now we'll get ready for a different type of game tomorrow night against Highlands.”

The Cowgirls (11-9, 7-9) are in a dogfight for an RMAC shootout berth and improved their chances with a 70-60 win at Adams State tonight.

Many of tonight's other RMAC games were postponed due to heavy snows on the Front Range, allowing FLC to climb back into a first-place tie with No. 3 Metro State (18-1, 14-1).

Tomorrow's tilt against New Mexico Highlands also marks the annual Play 4Kay night, in which Fort Lewis will sport pink jerseys — a tradition they began three years ago. The Skyhawk will again team with Alpine Bank to raise funds for the Journey of Hope Fund that provides free mammograms to women in the community who may not otherwise be able to afford them. Breast cancer survivors and patients are encouraged to attend the game free of charge. Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. in Whalen Gymnasium.