2014-15 Skyhawks Women's Basketball Game Day Notes - 12/3/14

Dec. 5 - at University of Colorado Colorado Springs - 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 6 - at Colorado State University-Pueblo - 5:30 p.m.

About the Skyhawks
Fort Lewis is off to a 3-1 start with wins against University of Dallas, Northern New Mexico and Eastern New Mexico. Their only loss this season is to St. Edward's, which was a NCAA tournament qualifier last season.
 
Fort Lewis is opening their season with five road games in the first six games of the season. Their lone home game thus far was against Northern New Mexico.
 
The Skyhawks are out-scoring their opponents by nine points (62.5 to 53.5 points per game) and out-rebounding them by 8.0 rebounds per game.
 
Through four games, Fort Lewis ranks in the top five in the league in numerous categories, including blocked shots (first, 5.0 blocks per game), scoring defense (second, 53.5 points per game), rebounding defense (second, 34.2 rpg), rebounding offense (third, 42.2 rpg), rebounding margin (second), scoring margin (fourth), and field goal percentage (fifth, 41.9 percent).
 
Junior forward Mary Brinton is averaging 15 points per game, tying her for the eighth most points scored in the league. She also has 7.0 rebounds per game (sixth), and the second highest field goal percentage (61.0).
 
Defensively, senior Kaile Magazzeni leads the league with 2.5 blocked shots per game (10 blocks in four games), and she is averaging 2.5 steals per game (fourth in the league).
 
The Skyhawks are returning nine letterwinners from last year's team, two of which are starters (Erin Curry and Kaile Magazzeni). Fort Lewis finished the 2013-14 season 16-11 overall and 13-9 in the RMAC (third place).
Since adding the program in 1979-80, Fort Lewis is 495-449 all-time (heading into the 2014-15 season).
 
About the Mountain Lions
New to the UCCS sidelines this year is head coach Shawn Nelson, who has 10 years of head coaching experience. The Mountain Lions graduated one senior from last year's program. This year, UCCS boasts five seniors, two of which are starters.
 
UCCS is coming off of two home wins against Montana Tech and Texas A&M International.
The Mountain Lions are in the middle of a six-game homestand as they play their first four games of the conference season at home. Their only loss this season is from against Cal Baptist.
 
Heading into the conference season, the Mountain Lions lead the league in scoring with 77.8 points per game and three-point percentage with a 42.6 percent mark (52-of-122). They also have the second best field goal percentage (44.2 percent) after making 165-of-373 attempts.
 
Abby Kirchoff and Brittany Hernandez are the top two scorers in the league. Kirchoff is averaging 21.8 points per game. Hernandez is the only player in the league who is averaging a double-double with 20.8 points per game and a league high 10.3 rebounds per game. Only three players in the league are averaging 20 or more points (Bay'lee Purdy, 20.3 ppg).
 
Aside from leading the league in scoring, Kirchoff has the third most assists with 4.8 assists per game. Hernandez has accounted for 16 steals, ranking her second in the league with 2.7 steals per game. When not stealing the ball, Hernandez is blocking shots. In six games, she has tallied 13 blocked shots, ranking her second in the RMAC with 2.2 blocks per game.
 
The Skyhawks have a 25-20 series advantage over the Mountain Lions. However, the Skyhawks are 7-14 when playing at UCCS. FLC's last win at UCCS was Dec. 3, 2010 (W, 79-69).
 
About the ThunderWolves
Ashley Piper leads the Pack offensively with 19.0 points per game and in rebounding with 6.3 rebounds per game. Angie Moore is the Pack's sharp shooter with a 59.5 field goal percentage (22-of-37).
 
CSU-Pueblo opened the season with two wins at home against Montana State Billings and Upper Iowa, but the Pack is coming off two regional losses to St. Mary's and Angelo State.
 
Colorado State-Pueblo is 36-33 all-time against the Skyhawks. The ThunderWolves are on a two-game winning streak against FLC. The Skyhawks are 11- 20 when playing at Massari Arena. Their last win on the Pack's home court came on Feb. 10, 2012 (W, 61-55).