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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Jordan Carter 1.31
Bob Bonnar, FLC Athletics
Junior forward Jordan Carter finished with 14 points and four rebounds in Friday's win over Dixie State.
56
Dixie St. Dixie 13-7,8-6 RMAC
65
Winner Fort Lewis FLC 14-5,9-4 RMAC
Dixie St. Dixie
13-7,8-6 RMAC
56
Final
65
Fort Lewis FLC
14-5,9-4 RMAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Dixie St. Dixie 13 11 15 17 56
Fort Lewis FLC 17 15 15 18 65

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

FLC tallies third straight win, downs Dixie State by 65-56 final

DURANGO, Colorado — Behind another solid defensive effort, the Fort Lewis College women's basketball team extended its win streak to three on Friday with a 65-56 victory over Dixie State University that carried heavy playoff implications.

Fort Lewis (14-5 overall, 10-4 RMAC) kept pace with Colorado School of Mines to stay tie for fourth place in the RMAC, while the loss dropped Dixie State University (13-7 overall, 8-6 RMAC) down to seventh in the jumbled conference standings.

The Skyhawks limited the visiting Trailblazers to just 36% shooting (22-of-62) on the evening, making it four straight games that the FLC defense has held an opponent under 40% from the field.

Junior guard Sydney Candelaria drew the initial assignment of guarding Dixie State point guard London Pavlica before being switch over the DSU's top scorer Ali Franks, who finished with 14 points but on 6-of-15 shooting and four turnovers.

"The biggest thing we focused on was going under their ball-screens. We felt like we had the athleticism and size out there to get under and that, if they were to shoot (the 3-pointer), we'd be able to get out and challenge it," said Fort Lewis head coach, Orlando Griego. "The girls guarding on the perimeter did a good job of guarding and keeping the ball in front. When (Dixie State) did drive, we had hands slapping at the ball or our post players stepping over to stop the ball."

Candelaria finished with five rebounds and two steals on the defensive end, while adding three assists and seven points on the offensive side of the floor.

Friday night belonged to the FLC bigs, though, as the forward duo of junior Jordan Carter and freshman Jordan Vasquez controlled the painted area.

Vasquez led all scorers with 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Carter posted 14 points and four rebounds in her 21 minutes, helping FLC to a dominating 38-20 advantage in points in the paint.

Sophomore forward Eve Kulovitz would also provide the Skyhawks' front court with a lift as she scored two points and had two rebounds in seven minutes to spell Vasquez and Carter.

"She played huge minutes," Griego said of Kulovitz. "She was able to help off of her man, really challenge shots, able to rebound the ball and we talked about her one turnover. But that's part of her growing, getting that experience. She did a nice job in practice this week and it really reflected in the game."

Fort Lewis carried a 32-24 lead into the half and led by as many as 13 points at 41-28 in the third quarter before the Trailblazers counter-punched with a 10-1 run to cut the deficit to four with 3:06 remaining in the third quarter.

The Skyhawks put a halt to DSU's momentum the next trip down the floor, though, as Carter passed up a baby-hook to dish out to a wide out Chloe Warrington, who buried a 3-pointer for three of her six points to push the FLC lead back up to 45-38.

"If Chloe has a wide open three, Chloe is going to make the wide open three," Carter joked about her kick-out pass. "Three points is better than two and that was my mentality there."
Dixie State wouldn't inch any closer than seven points the rest of the way as FLC cruised to the 65-56 final.

Junior point guard Katrina Chandler chipped in six points, five rebounds and four assists, while senior guards Kaitlyn Romero and Kayla Herrera-Flores also added six points to help pace the Skyhawks.

Up next for Fort Lewis will be a Saturday night date against nationally ranked Westminster College. The Griffins come to Durango ranked No. 21 and sitting in second place in the RMAC standings at 17-3 overall, 12-2 in conference.

Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. inside Whalen Gymnasium.

"Obviously, they're a nationally ranked team for a reason and they have a lot of wins," Griego said of Westminster. "I'm very confident in our team and what we've done so far. It's going to be a battle and I know our kids are going to leave it all out there on the floor. We're really going to run and push the pace. At the end of 40 minutes, our team is going to be tired because we're going to be pushing so hard."
 
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