Box Score SILVER CITY, N.M. – Western New Mexico University closed out regulation with a 10-0 lead Saturday night, handing the Fort Lewis College women's basketball team their third straight loss.  The loss moves the Skyhawks to 7-6 overall and 4-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
"It's a painful loss; we should have won," said Fort Lewis College head women's' basketball coach Jason Flores.  "We had the opportunities to win and we had the lead.  We got the ball to the rim and got the shots we wanted and we played hard, we just missed some shots."
 
The Skyhawks trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half but came back to tie the game at halftime, 30-30. 
 
Ashley Kuchar hit a three-point with 3:59 left in regulation that gave the Skyhawks their largest lead of the game, 64-56.
 
Hanging on to a seven point lead with 2:52 remaining, the Skyhawks would finish the game going 0-4 from the floor and 0-2 from the free throw line while the Mustangs made all three field goal attempts and 3-of-5 free throws.
 
WNMU's Desiree Young nailed a three-pointer at 1:04 that gave the Mustangs a 69-68 lead. The Skyhawks turned the ball over twice in the last 48 seconds and fouled three times.  Ashley Mitchell's two made free throws put WNMU up by three points.  The Skyhawks had one last attempt to tie the game with five seconds left, but were unable to convert.
 
Kuchar led all scorers with 18 points, with 12 of them coming from beyond the arc (4-of-8).  She added seven assists, eight rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.  Christie Groh posted 12 points and Mary Brinton came off the bench to net 13 points.  In the first half, Brinton was perfect, netting 5-of-5 field goals and all three free throw attempts.
 
The Skyhawks made 42.2 percent of their field goals (27-of-64) but struggled from the free throw line, making 62.5 percent (10-of-16). 
 
RaTanya Newsome led WNMU (7-8, 4-6 RMAC) with 16 points. 
 
Fort Lewis out-rebounded the Mustangs, 41-34.
 
The Skyhawks return home Jan. 17-18 to play host to Regis University and Metro State.  Both games will tip-off at 5:30 p.m.