Box score
 
DURANGO, Colo. — Katerina Garcia hit two free throws with two seconds remaining to lift Fort Lewis (14-8 overall, 13-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) to a 65-63 come-from-behind win over UC-Colorado Springs (17-5, 14-4) tonight in Whalen Gymnasium.
 
The bigger story was FLC's defense down the stretch. Trailing by eight points at 57-49 with 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Skyhawks held the Mountain Lions to just six points — two field goals and two free throws — the remainder of the game.
                                                                                                                              
“We're really happy to come out with a win,” said first-year FLC head coach Jason Flores. “They're a really good team and the crazy part is, it was just one of those grind-it-out kind of games. We did what we needed to do to win.
 
“It wasn't really pretty,” he added. “I don't think we played our best basketball. That's a good sign — where we don't play great but were still able to scrape together a W. We wouldn't have been able to do that earlier in the year. Give credit to our players for being able to buckle down and do whatever they need to do towards the end of the game and get the win.”
 
UC-Colorado Springs lead nearly the entire game, at times in double digits. Abby Kirchoff hit a three-pointer to give the Mountain Lions a 9-7 advantage just 4:38 into the contest. The next time UCCS would trail would be 63-61 when FLC's Ashley Kuchar scored on a layup with 3:13 remaining in the second half.
 
Flores chose “gritty” as the adjective best fit to summarize the victory. A look at the stats sheet pointed to a UCCS win. The Mountain Lions shot 41.5 percent from the field (22-of-53) and held FLC to 31.7 percent shooting (20-of-63). UCCS outrebounded FLC 43-36. Both teams shot well from the charity stripe, with FLC knocking down 81 percent of its free throws (17-of-21) and UCCS 77.8 percent (14-of-18).
 
But the Skyhawks forced 23 turnovers while committing just 15.
 
UC-Colorado Springs center Kellie Krueger led all players with 21 points, going 9-of-12 from the field. But the 6-foot-1 sophomore also committed a game-high seven turnovers, including a couple of crucial three-second calls in the waning minutes.
 
Kirchoff, who was FLC's chief nemesis in the two most recent games in the series — UCCS wins in Colorado Springs during the 2011-12 and current seasons — added 19 points and made 11-of-12 charity shots in the second half.
 
Fort Lewis had three players scrap their way into double digits. Garcia scored 17, but made just a third of her field goals. She did go 3-for-7 from behind the arc and made her only two free throws after driving the lane and forcing UCCS' Jeri Pikul to foul out with two ticks left on the clock.
 
“With the game on the line, Kat took it strong to the hole and then made her free throws,” said Flores.
 
Erika Richards added 14 points and nine rebounds. Alex Easterbrook had 11 points and nine caroms.
 
“We were able to win tonight without everybody having a great game,” said Flores. “We had some players who, to be honest, didn't have their best game. But they did just enough to win.”
           
Coupled with last night's 78-64 win over Colorado State-Pueblo, Fort Lewis kept its chances alive for a March 5 home date in the opening round of the RMAC playoffs. The top four seeds host seeds Nos. 5-8.
 
Colorado Mesa, ranked No. 4 in the latest WBCA Division II coaches' poll, leads the RMAC with an 18-1 league record. But the battle for the second through fifth seeds is tight. Metro State (15-3) and UC-Colorado Springs (14-4) have the upper hands over Fort Lewis and CSU-Pueblo (each 13-5) with two weeks remaining. No other team has a realistic shot at securing the No. 4 seed.
 
“We did what we needed to do in these two games,” said Flores. “We have another big weekend coming up, starting with Metro State coming in on Friday. We will enjoy this one for a night and then we'll turn our focus and be prepared to play next Friday against Metro.”
 
The Skyhawks host the Roadrunners at 5:30 p.m. next Friday in Whalen Gymnasium. Friday's doubleheader, which features a Top 25 men's showdown between No. 1 Metro State and No. 22 Fort Lewis, is slated as a “white-out,” with fans encouraged to dress in white.
 
Senior guards Easterbrook and Garcia will be honored at 5:30 p.m. Saturday when FLC hosts Regis (9-13, 8-10) in its final regular season home game.