Box Score PUEBLO, Colo. – It was a tough defensive battle for the Fort Lewis College women's basketball team at CSU-Pueblo Friday night at Massari Arena.  The Skyhawks, ranked third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings with a 10-7 record (13-8), fell to the ThunderWolves, 53-49. 
 
CSU-Pueblo is second in the league standings with a 14-3 mark (17-6 overall). The 49 points scored are a season low for the Skyhawks.
 
"This time of the year, both teams had all week to prepare for each other," said Fort Lewis College head women's basketball coach Jason Flores.  "We both did a good job of taking each other out of the offense.  There were a lot of contested shots.  Both teams did a good job of forcing situations. We had a couple of tough breaks down the stretch that changed momentum of the game.  It was a hard fought game from both teams. It was tough game, but a good game."
 
The Skyhawks held two brief one-point leads in the first half and trailed by four points going into halftime, 22-18.  CSU-Pueblo out-scored the Skyhawks 16-9 in the first part of the second half to take a 38-27 lead.  Fort Lewis responded by netting eight straight unanswered points to cut the lead to three, 38-35.
 
Erika Richards netted five straight points to get the Skyhawks within one point, 40-39 with 4:09 left in regulation.  Fort Lewis knotted the game at 44-44 with 2:53 remaining, but CSU-Pueblo went on a 6-0 run and out-scored the Skyhawks 9-5 in the final three minutes of the game.
 
Richards led the Skyhawks offensively with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.  Ashley Kuchar and Christie Groh each tallied 10 points, while Groh recorded her third double-double of the season (11 rebounds).
 
Fort Lewis netted 26.6 percent from the floor (17-64), 25.9 percent (7-27) from long range and 8-of-10 free throws.  The Pack, who made as many free throws as the Skyhawks attempted, netted 10-of-22 from the charity stripe and 20-of-68 from the floor (29.4 percent).
 
The Skyhawks held a nine rebound advantage, but committed 15 turnovers to the Pack's six.
 
Fort Lewis will travel to UC-Colorado Springs Saturday.  Tip-off against the Mountain Lions is slated for 5:30 p.m.