SPEARFISH, S.D. – Ashley Kuchar scored 24 points as all five Skyhawk starters scored in double digits in Fort Lewis' 80-71 win over Black Hills State tonight in the Young Center.
 
With the victory, FLC improved to 5-6 overall and 4-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Skyhawks have won four of their last five league games after starting 0-2 in RMAC play.
 
“It was a good won for us tonight on the road,” said first-year FLC head coach Jason Flores. “We had a couple of stretches playing really good basketball. It's nice to be a long way from home and get that road sweep.”
 
Kuchar made six of eight three-pointers, including one early in the second half that capped a 7-0 FLC run that stretched a 38-32 halftime edge to a 45-32, 13-point advantage for the Skyhawks.
 
“Ashley had a really good game,” said Flores. “We had five players in double figures. Even though we didn't get much scoring from the others, they contributed in other ways. Erin (Curry) and Kaile (Magazzeni) gave us good minutes off the bench.”
 
Joining Kuchar in double digits for the Skyhawks were Erika Richards (12 points, eight rebounds), Katerina Garcia (12 points, six assists), Alex Easterbrook (11 points) and Christie Groh (11 points, seven rebounds).
 
Fort Lewis extended its lead to 20 points in the second half before the Yellow Jackets (3-9, 2-6) closed the gap.
 
“They crept back in it,” said Flores.
 
Chelsey Biegler exploded for 31 points (18 in the first half) to keep BHSU close. Biegler went 11-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from behind the arc, including a long bomb with a minute-and-a-half remaining the cut the FLC lead to 6 points.
 
Calli Bechtel was the only other Yellow Jacket in double figures with 12 points.
 
Fort Lewis shot 47.4 percent from the field (27-of-57), 41.7 percent from behind the arc (10-of-24) and 69.9 percent from the line (16-of-23).
 
Black Hills State shot 42.6 percent from the field (26-of-51), 30 percent from three-point range (6-of-20) and 81.3 percent from the charity stripe (13-of-16).
 
The Yellow Jackets won the rebounding battle (35-34) and committed fewer turnovers (16-17) than the Skyhawks, but couldn't overcome FLC's hot shooting.
 
Fort Lewis returns to the friendly confines of Whalen Gymnasium next weekend, where they've won 60 of their past 62 games. The Skyhawks host New Mexico Highlands (3-9, 3-5) on Friday and Western New Mexico (1-11, 0-8) on Saturday. Both games start at 5:30 p.m.
 
“We look forward to getting back next week and being at home again, trying to continue what we've built lately,” said Flores.